World War Three RPG

[GhostHammer]

Well the response was overwhelming in favor of a WWIII RPG so here it is!

Rules

1. Your character may be yourself or a created person, but be realistic.

2. No "famous" or "fake" characters. So no Duke Nukem's or Obama's running around please! :P

3. Your "kit" can be whatever you'd like it to be WITHIN REASON. Sorry, you may not have a flamethrower on the bottom of your M4 or ODST Drop Pods. In terms of what is in service, I'll make it easy. If it's been in a Ghost Recon game, Call of Duty game, Battlefield game, etc. then it may be used in this RPG. In a major war like this, I'm sure all nations would use everything they had.

4. You may fight for whoever you want, where ever you want, so long as it is within an APPROVED conflict zone. (This is simply to ensure things are relatively close together and we're not all spread across the globe.)

5. Your character may be apart of ANY branch of ANY military forces involved. Airforce, Army, Marines, Navy, whatever you choose!

6. You may not kill off someone's RPG character without their EXPRESS PERMISSION. Encounters are allowed of course, but if you start shooting at that person (Should they be an enemy) be sure to remember you leave the end result open so the characters writer can determine what happened.

7. Please stay on topic. If you need to clarify/discuss/provide info on something, please do it at the top of your post in a quote box or some other way of separating it from your character section so we can all see it better.


RPG Details:

Date: August 27 2016 / August 28 2016 (Depending on location)
Active Battle Locations & Faction Information

- New York / Russian Fleet Front
--American Commander: General Wolfe / Russian Commander: Admiral Volstag
--- Theater: Russian battle fleet invades NY with air support and airborne paratroopers.

- Florida / Cuban Front
-- American Commander: Major General Harrison / Cuba Commander: Admiral Espadno
--- Theater: Cuban forces invading Florida with air support.

- French-German / Russian Front
-- AEA Commander: Major General DuGalle / Commandant Markoff
--- Theater: Russian forces pushing hard with heavy armor support into AEA territoy.

- Indian / China Front
-- Indian Commander: General Lehal / Chinese Commander: General Tse
--- Theater: Indian forces in dire straights, seeking help from AEA SF training citizens to repel Chinese.

NOTE: JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE IN GERMANY DOES NOT MEAN YOU MUST BE GERMAN. YOU MAY BE AN AMERICAN STATIONED THERE, ETC.


Back Story

Late into the year 2012, Iranian nuclear scientists successfully created and tested the country's first nuclear weapon amidst major dispute among countries worldwide. Feeling immediately threatened by this motion, a newly elected president of Israel attacks Iran in self preservation. Not long into the conflict, both countries turn to nuclear methods and wipe each other off the planet. The void of power left has Middle Eastern nations scrambling to attain control of the region and war breaks out, thrusting the middle eastern region into chaos, old coalition powers abandoning the region due to increased tensions over failed UN policies over the now destroyed Israel and Iran.

Early 2013, the Mexican President is assassinated by a major drug syndicate due to his major push for a war on drugs. Leaderless, Mexican drug lords begin to fight for territory throwing the entire peninsula stretching to Columbia and Brazil into major unrest as governments collapse to the now unchecked drug lords. By Late 2013, most of South America has become a wild west, with the Americans carefully watching their border to the south. During this time, China moves into parts of the middle east, claiming territory, as well as signing a treaty with Russia, an alliance based on blaming the west for failed negotiations that have now put the majority of the world in a serious oil drought.

As 2014 turns into the spring months, African famine and genocides increase in certain regions but go unchecked, as major world powers find themselves quarreling about age old problems that have festered over years of coexistence, fueled by the lack of oil which is now crippling parts of North America and Europe as Russia and China block shipments of oil to non Russo-Asiatic treaty members. North Korea, taking the opportunity, begins to build forces to take South Korea in the coming year. Cuba, in a protest to the United States and in need of oil, signs into the treaty with China and Russia, followed soon after by North Korea, thus creating an unbalance of power rising in the east and a serious lack of oil for Europe and the Americans.

2015. Canada finds massive oil reserves in their arctic north and pledge their allegiance to the U.S. alongside the United Kingdom, Germany, and France. The major divisions of these superpowers comes to a head when both Russia and China leave the UN, followed soon after by the U.S. and Britain thus ending the United Nations after years of service. In need of resources to fuel their military, China invades south towards India. Japan objects, but after a series of calculated strikes, China quickly takes Japan and pushes south into the Philippines. The U.S. demand litigation, but with the Russo-Asiatic treaty refusing to talk, war appears to be imminent.

The year is 2016. As China pushes across Indian borders and moves down the Philippines towards Australia who recently joined the American-Euro Alliance (AEA) the U.S. declares war upon China, supported by the entirety of the AEA. In response, Russia, North Korea, and Cuba declare war upon the AEA in defense of their ally and the two sides, the American-Euro Alliance and the Russo-Asiatic Treaty enter into the third world war. Dozens of countries stand in the middle, praying for a quick end to hostilities while the nuclear wastelands of the Middle East still rage with unchecked terrorist groups and shattered governments alike. One thing is for certain, no one dares touch their nuclear arsenal out of fear, for a nuclear holocaust will ensue.

Here is a map of the current world in 2016. Please note, if there are no black lines, then whatever color shown is now that country. As such, Russia and China have both expanded their territories considerably over the past few years in their war efforts.
1888

As per tradition, I will start us off.





JTF2 Lieutenant Cody ran a finger down the deep jagged scar that ran along his temple to jaw, sweat beading on his shaved head as the V-22 Osprey banked hard right. Every operator under his command grabbed onto the handrails as the massive aircraft shuddered, the pair of turbine engines roaring as the pilot brought the aircraft level once again. Pulling his helmet onto his head and securing the chinstrap, Cody couldn't help but wander towards the past few years. Joining the Canadian Army fresh out of high school, he had quickly excelled during Officer Training School and was given command of a platoon assigned to peacekeeping missions in the Congo where he had his first combat. Loosing few men during the 9 brutal months in the jungle, he returned home to medals and a promotion. It didn't take long before JTF2 had come knocking.

Little known to the outside world, JTF2 had long been one of the world's best Special Forces units over the past few decades, often working hand in hand with DEVGRU and SAS in both Iraq and Afghanistan. So naturally, when they came calling, Cody jumped at the chance to join them. A month later after a grueling indoctrination, he was accepted and became the leader of his own unit at a fresh 25, a very young age for any special forces operator let alone team leader. A couple years of service in counter terrorism, and next thing he knew, he was in the middle of WWIII.

The pilots voice over his headset brought him back to present, static washing over the channel as the Osprey slowed to a hover. "Alright Lieutenant, we're at the drop zone. 30 Seconds till ramp down."
Cody stood and checked his rifle, the MK18 reassuring in his experienced hands. A cut-down CQB version of the standard M4, it was much more maneuverable and lightweight than it's longer counterpart which would be an essential asset where he was going. Satisfied his weapon was in chec, he keyed his team COM and addressed the three other JTF2 Operative who sat across from him, each cradling their weapons, all staring blankly at him. "Alright boys, you know the drill. This is our first action in WWIII, but not our first time together in combat. Let's get it done."
The Operators yelled a "Oo-rah" over the roaring engines as the Osprey touched down, ramp slowly opening allowing a blinding light of an early sunrise to flash into the cargo bay.

[Nocte]

August 27th, 2016
U.S. Army
10th Mountain Division
New York City, New York
Corporal Alexander Hayes

The 10th Mountain Division’s entire 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Spartans” was inbound to New York City from Fort Drum. Their objective was to reinforce Fort Hamilton. Corporal Hayes was in Echo Squad under the 1st Battalion 32nd Infantry Regiment. Hayes and his entire squad were riding in V-22 Osprey. They would be one of the first teams putting boots on the ground, a Russian battle fleet was right off the coast battle an American battle fleet. While the naval battle unfolded a few miles off shore, New York City itself was being attacked by Russian aircraft, helicopters, and paratroopers. Fort Hamilton is right in the middle of Russian held ground, and the U.S. Army would be damned before they gave up on all of those trapped civilians.

“We have limited assets on this one, most of the helicopters in the air are combating Russian helios, we have no arty support until ours get setup outside of the city.” Master Sergeant Blanc said. “The second we land, we will be securing General Lee Avenue along with the rest of 2nd Platoon. Scans show the Russian paratroopers are organizing to assault Fort Hamilton. So prepare for combat, hoo ah?”

“Hoo ah!” Echo chanted in the shaky Osprey cabin. Hayes clicked the safety off on his ACR and pulled the bolt back. He checked to make sure all of his spare magazines were secure on his armor and that his side arm was properly holstered. He could feel the Osprey preparing to land as they abruptly stopped moving forward and began descending to the drop-zone.

[UNLUCKY NUM13ER]

08-16-2016
1100 Hours
559th Green Berets
New York City, U.S.A
Sergeant Major Jason Miller

The United States Army Green Berets aren't what they used to be. Once the most advanced and tactically trained special forces in the world, were now just another unit taking up space in a world of spec ops. Every nation these days has their own elite special forces, all highly trained and very lethal. The Green Berets were no longer the best of the best, but they were far from gone and still just as skilled as they had always been. SGM Miller has been serving his country for 7 long years now. He has a long record of missions in countries including Russia, Somalia, Pakistan, France, and Guatemala. Over the years he has lost friends and made new ones, eventually giving him field command of the 559th Green Berets. When hostile boots first landed on U.S. soil he and his men had been eliminating a terrorist threat within India. They had spent 8 months disguised as geologists camped outside a small village. In fact their actual camp had been over 5 miles away, the geologist camp was only a cover and the camp's residents knew to keep up the charade for as long as Miller and his men were stationed there. Eventually they discovered the cluster of huts on the other side of the mountain that hid the terrorist leader. This man had been responsible for the deaths of 500 plus Canadians two years ago. The Pentagon decided to take action against the terrorists to A-uphold their treaty with Canada, and B-a number of the victims were American citizens as well.


Miller and his men were were tired and looking forward to seeing their families again, but with the recent attacks on U.S. soil the military needed every soldier it could spare, even if enlistment was at an all time high......... That damn siren....it got on Miller's nerves. And the flashing red light didn't help either. Miller was at a forward operating camp near the front lines in the city. Although by this point it was near impossible to even tell where the front line was. It had been changing every day back and forth. The camp was littered with empty brass bullet casings, bloodied rags, damaged vehicles, etc... As soon as the alert went up every available soldier who wasn't already armed ran for one of the armories. Even with multiple armories in camp each one was packed with men and women racing to grab weapons and armor. As Miller put on his uniform he would get pushed and shoved as others attempted to reach theirs. Typically the trustworthy HK-416 Carbine was Millers weapon of choice, but the camp had a low supply so instead he armed himself with a standard MP7 smg, and his .44 Caliber Magnum as a sidearm. A few Fragmentation grenades, one Flash and he was ready. He ran outside to gather his men and receive orders.

[GhostHammer]

The half dozen JTF2 Operators stomped down the ramp and to an assembly tent as Cody keyed his COM back to the pilot. "Thanks for the ride Elvis-12. We're good from here." he finished with a thumbs up to the man seated in the Osprey's cockpit who returned the gesture and yanked the stick, the Osprey rising and spinning off into the distance before the ramp had even closed. Tearing his eyes from the bird, Cody spun and jogged into an assembly tent where a stunned Sergeant Major stood with a clipboard, mouth open and the Canadian SF unit stood in front of him. A few unit commanders from the United States glanced up from their desks. The Sergeant Major looked down at his clipboard and back up at the Canadians. "Sorry Lieutenant, but who the hell are you?"
Cody expected this response. Not may knew they had been coming in. "We're backup from up north. Uninvited. Thought you could use some help. We have gear from aquatic operations with us." he finished as his team Sergeant lifted a black canvas bag.

That wasn't entirely true. A group of SF operators from a SAS-SEAL operation in the harbor had requested Tier-One backup from their command who in turn contacted the Canadian Government as the majority of the U.S. SF were engaged with hostiles across the globe. Luckily for General Wolfe out of NY, a unit of JTF2 Operators was en-route to Florida and could be re-routed to NY. Cody still had no clue why they were needed, but it was the same to him. Cubans, Russians, they were all RA members that started this whole mess.

"I'll take them Sergeant Major" a burly Lieutenant grunted from a desk at the back, waving Cody and his team forward. The Canadian unit passed the still stunned desk clerk and followed the Lt. out of the back flap and into a hangar where dozens upon dozens of Marines sorted through gear and moved to waiting helicopters and Ospreys. "Nice to see your boys got into town in once piece. We have a tent for you in the corner here." The Marine Lieutenant said as he led the six Canadians into a white canvas tent. "I'll leave ya'll to it."

Cody thanked the Marine and stepped inside with the rest of his team. A tidy assortment of weapons and ammunition lined the back wall in racks, a pair of long folding tables sat empty, ready to be used. His team Sergeant let out a low whistle. "Damn El-Tee, they're giving us an awful lot of toys here." he exhaled, picking up a javelin resting against a stack or crates.
Cody nodded. "Damn rights Matt. Be ready for action up close, we're going to have to fight our way into the harbor. So you might want to bring some AA along in case those inbound BMP's reach the coast before we do."
Matt nodded and joined the rest of the unit who had already began to adjust their kits accordingly.

Cody had just finished loading his vest pouches when a sharp crack followed by a deafening boom blew the six Canadian operators off their feet and sprawling to the ground.

[Bodaciousbaconn]

August 27, 2016
Louisiana Army National Guard
156th Infantry, 3rd Battalion
Lake Charles, Louisiana en route to Miami, Florida
Sergeant Jacob Hogg


The morning sun was just cresting over the horizon, as Jacob woke up to the hum of the Humvee's engine. He wiped the sleep from his eyes as he looked over the convoy. His fireteam, "7th Crusade" as they called it, were split between the two front Humvees, and the rest of the 156th made up the four others. At only the age of 21, Jacob was leading the 7th into their first live combat. They had left Lake Charles yesterday around 1300 hours, and were just pulling into Miami. They still had roughly 20 minutes until they got to the base, so Jacob made a quick equipment check.

M27 IAR, Check. All spare clips strapped down, Check. Colt M1911 and spare clips, Check.

His shoulder insignia, a red and yellow Fleur-de-lis on a blue X, hadn't seen much live combat. Hell, it hadn't seen any live combat since the war started. But, the 7th Crusade had been performing well, and were chosen to help on the Florida/Cuba front. His grandfather would be proud, a Vietnam Veteran, as well as a retire Lieutenant Colonel. Jacob's prayers went out to him to keep him safe, as well as Jacob's own immediate family. "LeBleu, Nicholson, wake your asses up." Jacob said as he reached into the back seat and shook the two Privates awake. "Call over to Edwards and Bailon and wake their asses up too." Jacob said as he sat back up in his seat.

The 156th rolled to a stop in Firebase Bravo, in Southern Miami. The 7th got out of their Humvees and headed toward the barracks to drop off their equipment, and then headed straight for the briefing room where Major General Harrison was about to give an update on the war status. The 7th settled into some empty seats and awaited the speech.

[Nocte]

August 27th, 2016
U.S. Army
10th Mountain Division
New York City, New York
Corporal Alexander Hayes

“We got contacts!” One of the Osprey gunner’s barked and he began spraying enemy targets with his chain gun. In return bullets slammed into the side of the Osprey, and soldiers were quick to pull out Rosaries and started to pray. Corporal Hayes simply started to think about his girlfriend back in Ohio. Hoping to God that the fighting wouldn’t reach that far inland.

“Dropping in 3...2...” The pilot counted down and as he said one, the ramp dropped and Echo was opened up to the Hell they would be sitting in for the next few hours.

Bodies littered the ground, Civilian, Army, and Russian. It didn’t matter the smell was horrific, open wounds left open for at least three plus hours in the hot sun. A few of soldiers in Echo started to gag.

“Cover now!” Master Sergeant Blanc barked, and his soldiers listened. They scrambled for a line of cars. When they got settled in, they were split into two fire-teams. Alpha lead by Sergeant Major Blanc and Bravo lead by Corporal Hayes.

“Hayes listen up, we need to strip the body armor off the wounded and line the car with it. If not bullets will cut through these cars like butter.” The Master Sergeant explained and pointed to the soldier’s bodies that covered the ground behind them. Currently both fire-teams were stacked up on two cars. Whether behind a wheel or the engine block. Hayes motioned for his guys to move and they did fire-team Alpha provided cover fire.

“God damn these guys are heavy,” Private Myers grunted as he drug one of the bodies back into cover so he could strip the body armor off without worry of getting hit.

“Well Myers, I always knew you were a pussy.” Private First Class Colemen said dragging two bodies back into cover. In under ten minutes fire-team Bravo had enough vests of body armor to cover the cars so they could be used as proper cover from small arms fire.

“Alright, now that, that is settled. All we need to do is dig in and not let a single Ruskie pass this road. Fort Hamilton is holding about 10,000 civilians right now, and we need to hold long enough until everyone of them have been evacuated. Corporal Hayes brought his rifle up and peered through the window hole, he took aim at two contacts trying to sprint into cover and fired off three quick bursts. Peppering one of them, but the other made it safely into cover.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

(Okay, so this document used to be around 4,500 words long and expanded a few pages. After deleting a few descriptive paragraphs and dialogue lines, I was able to shorten the document to around 1,800 words. I was kind of disappointed at how it turned out after I deleted a few of the paragraphs, but I still get the main plot into it. I want to apologize because I feel like I could have done way better than this, but I’m too tired to create another one. I promise my next few will be better, for now, here).

It was a nice summer’s day during the year of 2015, the wind created a nice breeze to counteract the hot 91 degree day. As of now the world is beginning to fall apart, chaos dominates the world, but for two teenagers in Michigan, the rest of the world’s problems seemed nonexistent. Underneath the shade of a tall red maple tree, two young lovers were taking a rest from the heat of the day. A young, strong male with medium lengthen red hair closed his light blue colored eyes and took in a deep breath of summers fresh air, the wind carelessly blowing through his hair.

He opened his eyes and took a glimpse at the beautiful young women laying down next to him, also young named Jenna, she had the most gorgeous brunette (sp) hair that Jesse had ever seen, her eyes a mix of two colors: brown, and green, were just as breathtaking as her other facial features. Her only downside was the fact that she had small breasts, but with someone as pretty as her, Jesse could care less. He had never been one with the ladies before, in fact, she was his first girlfriend, and Jesse thanked god every night that he had blessed him with her. She caught his stare.

"I love you," she said, and that wasn't a lie. Her feelings for him were just as strong as his with her. She flashed a beautiful smile, and Jesse returned the gesture.

"I love you too babe," his soft spoken words making Jenna's heart beat faster. She rolled over under the tree and placed her hand on his cheek, stroking it slightly before planting her lips upon his. For a moment, time and nature froze to ponder the spectacle called love. As they separated lips, their eyes never moved from each other, a strong passion could be seen in their eyes, then silence as they rolled back over to stare at the sky. Jenna was the one who broke the silence.

"Jesse?" She asked, making sure he was still awake.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"Don't ever leave me . . ." She said in a small, almost whispering voice.
"What do you mean?" Jesse questioned her confused, 'leave her' he thought, 'never'.
"The world . . . it's, it's in a bad shape . . . there have been rumors that even the US is about to get into the conflict, and if that happens they might ask you to go to war." She spilled her thoughts to him, but Jesse just laughed as he usually did.
"Don't worry about that Jen, the future is a far off place, and all I care about, is right now, under this oak with you." As he said that all the worry in Jenna's mind seemed to lift, Jesse had never made a promise he couldn't keep, this was one reason she loved him.
"Then . . ." She paused, looked at the ground, and blushed. She didn't say anything else, but began to kiss him again. This time however, she began to undress. Jesse, who had never been in this kind of situation before began to blush hard, but he didn’t push her away. First it was her shirt, then his, then her pants, followed by his. Finally they were both half naked, nature surrounded them, and Jesse peaked at his girlfriend’s body. He instantaneously lost his breath, she was amazing, everything he had ever dreamed or had seen on a video from Red Tube. The two teen’s body temperature skyrocketed, and their kisses became as hot as the sun. Jesse reached for Jenna’s pair of pretty purple panties and slid them to her knee’s. They went unbothered, with only nature as their witness.

The sun had set, and the sky was now full of stars, both of the now non-virgins were fully clothed, and resting under the night sky. Nothing was said after their previous event, it seemed like nothing had to be said. Still holding hands, Jenna had fallen asleep already; however, Jesse found it hard to sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about what he had just done, and how amazing it was. Then he looked over at his lovers face, and kissed her forehead.

“I love you,” He told her, even though he knew she was asleep, and then he looked up at the red maple which had been their guardian that night. “I’ll never forget this place,” he thought, “or this tree . . .” as he finished that thought he took his grandfather’s old knife from his jean’s pocket and began sketching on the trunk of the tree, when he finished the tree read JJ+JC.

Satisfied, Jesse laid back down next to his woman, and grabbed her hand again. As he slipped away into the dream world, the song: “Don’t want to miss a thing” by Aerosmith began playing in his head, sadly, midway into the song, he fell asleep.

August 27th, 2016
U.S. 75th Airborne Rangers
New York City, New York
Pfc. Jesse Jenkins
1100 Hours

Pfc. Jenkins began to awaken from being knocked unconscious. His vision was still blurry, but his entire body ached, so he knew he was alive. Looking around, the city was in ruins, a clear sight of the Statue of Liberty revealed that it was missing it’s head and torch.

“Those bastards . . .” Jesse said aloud as he pushed some fallen debris of his body. His memory began to recollect what had happened: He was with his unit, who was trying to make their way to a pinned U.S. squad a few blocks away when they came under fire. Within a few minutes half of his squad was killed, and the other half pinned by a squad of Russian troops. Then there was an explosion, and he blanked out.

“Fuck!” Jenkins cried to himself as he tried to stand up, his entire body protested as sharp pains shot throughout his body. Shouting was the worst thing he’d ever done though, because about ten seconds after his cry of pain he had finally sat up, only to be kicked back down to the ground, and have the barrel of an AK-101 pointed directly at his face. Jenkins screamed in agony again as more pain jolted his body, but he took it like a man, and looked his attacker in the face.

The man was about as tall as Jesse was, 6 foot 2 inches, and just about as muscular also. Since the Russian had not shot him yet, Jesse assumed that he was awaiting orders to capture him, and much to his horror, the Russians superior was by his side within seconds after spouting some words that Jesse couldn’t understand. The Russian officer looked Jenkins in the eye, then up and down. After a short pause the officer shook his head in the ‘no’ fashion and pulled a finger across his throat. It appeared that they weren’t going to take the Ranger prisoner. Jenkins cleared his throat, and stared the Russian with the gun pointed at his head, in the eyes. Jesse said a final, silent prayer, and began thinking about Jenna again, about how he had promised to never leave her, yet he did. Then he promised to come back alive, and now . . . he felt sick to his stomach, but didn’t back down.

The Russian jabbed the barrel of his weapon into Jenkins forehead, then a loud bang sounded. A large building a couple blocks away erupted in a gigantic explosion sending strong shockwaves, even over to Jesse, who covered his eyes from the flying bits of debris and brick. After the shockwave both the Russian and his officer were both looking at the large structure crumble to the streets, the tall Russian with the AK had it to his side; Jenkins took this time to attack.

Jesse grabbed the AK rifle and kicked the taller Russian soldier behind the knee, causing him to stumble and clutch his wound in pain. Grabbing his weapon Jesse fired a barrage of rounds into the officer’s chest, ripping a dozen bloody holes into his lungs and heart, he died instantly. The previous enemy, who had just recovered from Jesse’s kick, went to stand back up, but it was too late, Jenkins latched his legs around the Russians neck and pulled him back down, finishing the job by grabbing his grandfather’s old knife and sticking the steel blade directly into the man’s neck. The attack cut his jugular and left him bleeding, gasping for air. Being someone who still respected life, Jesse ended the Russians misery with a bullet from his own weapon.

Jenkins dropped the Russian made weapon and began to search for his own, which had been lost after he was knocked unconscious. He found it quickly, the barrel sticking out of a pile of brick and cement. Jesse pulled the MK. 17 SCAR-H Battle Rifle from the debris and checked the weapon to make sure it was serviceable. After inspecting the weapon and finding it in good condition he checked the magazine currently loaded into it, which was almost empty. He expelled the old clip and replaced it with a new one, 30 rounds of 6.8 SPC ammunition, which was a nice mix between the stopping power of a 7.62, and the accuracy of a 5.56. Before 2014 FN armories didn’t release a SCAR version that could use the 6.8 round, but after considerable thought, the company decided to completely scrap 7.62mm ammunition in favor for the 6.8 round, giving the SCAR-H the new caliber, which proved immensely useful on the battlefield, and afterwards the U.S. Rangers weapon of choice became a SCAR-H chambered in 6.8 SPC ammunition.

After collecting his bearings, the Private First Class checked the streets around him in order to make sure the two Russians he killed didn’t have any pissed off friends around the corner, Jenkins crossed the street at full sprint and checked his surroundings again, trying to remember the position of the squad his unit was supposed to bail. If they survived maybe he could find them, which would prove more useful than sneaking around the city alone. Trying to remember which way to go Jenkins heard voices coming from the street corner to his right, he couldn’t tell if they were in English or Russian, so he crouched inside the doorway of an apartment complex he was next to and aimed at the corner. He wanted to be ready for whatever was coming, no matter what.

[GhostHammer]

A cool breeze swayed the tall grass as Cody pulled on Blue Thunder's reins, slowing the pace as he led his younger sister behind him down the trail on the family ranch.

Lieutenant!

Haley laughed as Cody kissed her cheek and hugged her, shaking Bryan's hand before standing and toasting the bride and groom.

Sir!

Cody tore open the door, racing down the embankment and dove into the lake. The cold water smashing into him as he broke her window to get her out. Haley's cold lifeless eyes staring at him in the murky water.

Cody!

Cody shook his head, images of his sister fading as the blazing New York sun flickered through a haze of dust and smoke swirling around Matt's concerned face. A high pitched ring rocked Cody's ears as he stood, vertigo causing him to grasp Matt as he struggled, finally standing on his own power at the ringing vanished. "You alright?"

Cody nodded. "Yes. Jesus what the fuck was that? I haven't been that rattled in years."
Matt pointed to the far end of the hangar where an entire section of wall had been reduced to rubble, a large gaping hole in the roof acting as a window the the sunlight above. "Damn Russians hit us with something. Missile by the looks of it, airs to packed for bombers to get this close."
The rattle of a .50 Cal echoed from outside followed by yells of Marines. "Contacts! Russian's are assaulting!"
"Shit. Rally up!" Cody called as he circled a pair of fingers in the air as he ducked down behind an overturned table. Three JTF2 members quickly hustled over to join him and Matt and quickly ducked down behind cover of their own. "Mike," he said motioning to a taller operator carrying an M14, "Where's Stan?"
Mike shook his head. "Not good, he took a piece of re-bar to the neck. It was quick."
"Damn it." Cody swore, peaking over the table to see dozens of Marines outside rushing to the perimeter defenses, rifles in hand. "Alright listen up, we stay on mission. Grab what you can, we're moving out in 5." he finished cocking his rifle. The other operators quickly scrambled to locate whatever gear had been strewn about by the blast when a door behind Cody slammed open. Spinning, his rifle shouldered, Cody centered his Eotech reticule on the center of the entering man's chest and placed his finger on the trigger, ready to fire. He relaxed however, when he checked the uniform, noticing the American flag boldly displayed on the sleeve. He lowered his rifle.
"Gunna be a long day Matt," he breathed, "Get the guys ready, we're leaving now." he finished as a large explosion from outside finished the sentence for him.

Matt called to their unit. "Damn rights El-Tee. Who ready?"

Cody grimaced. "We ready."

[Bodaciousbaconn]

"Listen up soldiers!" Said General Harrison as he walked into the room. "The Cuban forces are readying for their assault. Their personnel planes will be sweeping over Florida in anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. We'll sound the alarms when they are 10 minutes from deploying their paratroopers."

Jacob raised his hand, and was called on. "Sergeant Hogg, 156th Infantry. What's our attack plan, sir?"

"Our plan is to cut them off from advancing past Miami. We have troops as far north Sarasota to keep the Cubans from being able to drop in behind us." The Major General replied. "Any other question?" Just silence. "Okay men, jet geared up, saddled up, and head to your stations. Dismissed."

When the 7th finally shuffled out of the room, they headed straight for their barracks. They had been hearing rumors that the attack on the northeastern coast was already underway. They were just settling into their gear when the sirens started blaring. "Jesus, it's only been 15 minutes!" Jacob shouted. Right ten, they heard the faint hum of engines flying overhead. A private ran into the room, distressed, and shouted "They're right on top of us!" Then, a cloud of red mist shot from the man's chest, and less than a split second later, there was the crack of a sniper rifle. "Damn! Form up on the door men!" Jacob yelled. "Bailon! Get your ass out of that window and counter-snipe the bastard! Edwards, your with him!"

Edwards busted open the window the butt of his rifle, cleared out the glass, and jumped through the window, with Bailon right behind him. Edwards laid down some cover fire with his M4 as they from car to car, trying to get a clearer shot at the Cuban sniper on top of a 3 story parking garage. They settled for an abandoned SUV and set up camp. Edwards kept the Cubans off of Bailon as he set op the shot with his Barrett M82. Crack. A piece of cement flew apart as the fifty caliber bullet passed through the Cuban sniper.

"Clear!" Bailon said into his radio. Seconds later, Hogg, Nicholson, and Lebleu walked out, weapons ready, to the SUV.

"Alight guys, we gotta get to the fallback point." Jacob said. "Quick question Sarge: Where's the fallback point?" Asked Edwards. "North, so that's where we're headed. Let's roll." Jacob finished.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

Jenkins readied his rifle, his EOTech's reticle pointing straight at the street corner. He could hear the sounds of a firefight close by, it appeared that the squad he was sent to help hadn't been decimated after all. That gave him a slight hope for survival, and he once again began to concentrate on the street corner, the shouts from around it getting louder and louder. Explosions thundered in the air somewhere else in the city, the roar of anti-air weaponry firing at the support above. There was no where untouched by war, the Russians had completely taken over before U.S. and Canadian forces arrived. Even Jesse remembered the sight of hundreds of troops in the air, slowly falling to the ground in their parachutes while being shot at by flak and ground soldiers. When he had got there, the city was already in flames, the two armies navies were still in a breath taking battle on the coast. Heavy armor was rolling down Wall Street, and the Empire States building had already been toppled, the city was a mess.

The voices kept getting louder and louder, still unrecognizable due to the ear splitting noises occurring all around. Finally Jesse spotted a soldier sprint from the street corner, he waited for his squad mates to catch up. Jesse relaxed his breathing and began to lightly squeez the trigger, but he didn't fire. The three troops that had sprinted from the corner weren't wearing U.S. uniforms, however none of them wore the uniform of a Russian either. Jenkins decided to take his chance.

"Texas!" He shouted, keeping his aim on the three men, his SCAR set to fully automatic, at the range he had to fire at he would be able to control the recoil enough to spray down the three men within seconds. He waited, all the troops were sweeping the area with their eyes, they didn't see anyone. Then one of the soldiers whispered something to a buddy, who whispered back, and with that he lowered his weapon and walked away from his fellow squadmates.

"Ranger!" The man shouted, but it wasn't any American accent that Jesse had ever heard. Regardless Jesse came out of cover, keeping his weapon in both hands, but not pointed at any of the troops in front of him. None of the others pointed their weapons either though, good sign. As Jesse approached, the man who had returned the call sign began to ask a hundred questions.

"Where is your squad? What happened here? Who are you? What's your rank?" Those were the first four, after that Jesse stopped listening and took a look at the flags patched onto the man's uniform, it was Canadian.

"My squad was killed by some sort of explosion, where are you comming from?" I asked the Canadian, who looked at me with a little anger since I only answered one of his questions.

"My squad took heavy fire a few blocks down the road, it's clear from here up to there but there is no way in hell I'm going back there man, the damn ruskies are shelling the place with mortars and RPG fire." He finished and looked back at the rest of his men, who looked worn out. Jesse looked at the poor men who probably were right to leave, they didn't look like they even had the spirit left to fight. Jenkins had only seen this one other time in his life, after his first battle with the Ruskies somewhere up north of New York. There were hundreds of U.S. soldiers with the same looks on their faces, and Jesse took the same pitty on them.

"Alright, here's what we'll do. I'm going to head over that way and see if I can help get the rest of your men out of there, you guys keep looking for survivors, remember the call sign is: Texas Ranger." With that he started to sprint off into the direction of gun fire.

"Are you fuckin' crazy? I said they were shelling the place, anyone alive over there will be dead by the time you arrive!" He shouted back at me, but I ignored him and continued to run into the danger zone. The Canadian and the rest of his surviving squad mates once again began to roam the streets. I continued to sprint and about half a dozen blocks later I found a cross section that looked something like a whack-a-mole machine, with asphalt and infilstructure littering the street, and holes caused by mortar tubes. A litter farther than that was a building that resembled something like swiss cheese, with holes all over the building, and metal bars sticking out of walls. The place was a mess but the gun fire seemed to be coming straight from the building and beyond, so Jenkins continued his sprint until he reached it. Panting hard, Jesse took a moment to gather his breath and slowly entered the first door, which came off its hinges and fell down when he tried to turn the knob. The room he entered had wall paper scratched and torn in places, most of the furniture was fine, except for the couch by the outside wall, you could see the fluff sticking from everywhere around it.

Another explosion, more screams, everything seemed like hell, Jesse went through the next door, then the next. Finally he reached the other side of the building, on the other side of the wall he could hear soldiers screaming in english. He burst through the door and raised one of his hands, but as he did one of the soldiers in the building turned and aimed his weapon at Jesse's chest, slowly lowering it when he noticed the United States flag stitched onto Jenkins Kevlar armor. The man was tall, tough looking, the look of a leader, it took Jesse a moment to collect himself. The room Jesse had just burst into was a wreck, a gaping hole in the ceiling. Blood painted all four walls, and dead troops, Canadian and American were sprawled lifeless among chucks of debris, blood pooled from open wounds. This was worse than what he had seen happen to his own squad, at least they were burried by the rubble.

"We ready" The same man grimaced, and turned his attention away from Jenkins. Jesse turned his fire selector from full auto to semi automatic and joined the Canadian troopers.

[UNLUCKY NUM13ER]

"OUR ORDERS ARE TO AMBUSH A RUSSIAN CARAVAN SUPPLYING THEIR TROOPS 8 BLOCKS TO THE SOUTH!" Miller yelled, trying to be heard over the hailstorm of bullets and helicopters.
Bullets kept wizzing only a few feet over their heads. Miller continued to shout the commands to his men. He saw their facial features change as they began to understand what they were getting into. It wasn't their first time in live combat, but none of them ever imagined that they would be fighting on their own soil....it was never supposed to get this bad. Finally after he was done with their mission briefing they broke from the steel barrier that had been protecting them. The 2 marines that had been on the eastern side of the base swung around to begin providing them with cover fire so that they could exit the camp. The Berets instinctively broke into 2 fireteams and began to leap frog from cover to cover until they reached a laundromat with the front windows shattered. Once inside six men took firing positions in the front of the store as Miller took the other six through the back door. Immediately after they opened it they were fired upon. The russians must have seen them making their way to the laundromat and went to go intercept them before their allies could be flanked. Miller slammed the door shut and took up a defensive position in case the russians tried a breaching maneuver. They were now at a stalemate.

"Specialist Marshall..." Whispered Miller, "Yes Sir?" replied the soldier. "Take Alan with you and find a window to fire upon the russians in the alley. We'll keep them busy on our end." The specialist then tapped Alan on the soldier and the two of them disappeared from the room. Miller then gave the hand signal for a door breach maneuver immediately followed by a cover signal. His demo specialist placed a breaching charge on the door and then took shelter behind a locker. Miller put up 3 fingers....2......1....an d the room had a large BANG as the door flew open. On the other side a russian soldier was now on his back not moving...2 more began to open fire inside the room, everybody ducked. Within 10 seconds more gun fire erupted and then it was quiet. From somewhere in the back of the building Miller heard Marshall yell "ALL CLEAR". Miller regathered all 12 of his men and continued to move out into the alley way.

[GhostHammer]

"Matt!" Barked Cody as he pointed to a JTF2 Operator carrying C8, "Take Adrian and secure us an exit at the back. We're going to circle around the main assault." The pair nodded and moved towards the back of the hangar, weapons up and sweeping. He turned to the American who had came rushing the the side door, noting the ranger tab sewn on his sleeve. "Where's your unit Ranger?"
The man shook his head. "They got hit hard, I'm all that's left." he breathed as another shell rocked the building, sending dust fluttering down from the parts of the ceiling that had remained in tact.
"What's you condition solider?" Cody grunted as Matt waved an "all clear" from the open back door.
"Pfc. Jesse Jenkins, my rifle's locked and loaded, I'm good to rock roll sir." he said yanking the charging handle on his SCAR.
Cody nodded and signaled for Mike to move to Matt. "Alright Jenkins, stay close and keep up, we'll take you as far as the harbor and then we'll hook you up with someone, we're on mission to assist your Tier-One assets."
Jenkins nodded and fell in behind Cody as the pair followed Mike out the back door and into a parking lot where Matt and Adrian had started moving forward. The pair froze, Adrian holding his hand in a fist by his head. Cody and Jesse quickly dove into cover behind Matt as gunfire erupted from a parking garage ahead, bullets spraying up the asphalt towards them shattering car windshields. Cody keyed his team COM. "Mike, get a bead on that bastard. Matt, Adrian, provide cover, fire pattern delta, go! Jesse, stay put!"
Cody waited until Matt and Adrian had started pushing fire onto the shooter before vaulting over the blue pickup he had hidden behind and shouldering his rifle, fingering the trigger and sending a steady stream of lead towards the parking garage as he side stepped over to another car before ducking down behind it. A loud crack from Mike's M14 followed by a scream silenced the lot. Cody waited a few seconds before calling for everyone to regroup.
The remainder of the JTF2 arrived at the car followed by Jenkins. Cody quickly motioned to the Ranger. "Listen up, we picked up Jenkins here until we hit the harbor." He gave the Ranger a light punch to the shoulder. "Let's see if the legendary Ranger's can keep up with us."
Jenkins smirked. "Don't you worry El-Tee. I'll keep up and some."
Cody nodded. "Who ready?"
The chorus of "We ready!" echoed in the lot as the six soldiers started moving towards the harbor.

The rattle of AA fire and heavy ship guns alerted Cody they were close to the harbor as he slid across the wet pavement, slamming into an upturned van, a fire hydrant was fountain next to him, the cool water refreshing in the August heat. He COM buzzed with incoming traffic.
"Eskimo, this is Hatchet, we're coming up the alley on you 3. FOF tags are on over."
Cody looked to his left to see a squad of Canadian infantry moving up the alley, their armor oblong in shape. But where is the...
Cody's thought was interrupted as the Coyote Fighting Vehicle he was looking for came tearing up the road from behind him, bushmaster chain-gun ablaze sweeping the building ahead, Russian's screaming and diving for cover as the heavy rounds punched holes in the heavy concrete wall. Matt let out a cheer as he came vaulting over a road barrier, landing next to Cody behind the van. "Business is good today sir!" he yelled leaning out and letting off a burst from his rifle.
Cody swore as he waved forward the Canadian Infantry joining them. "Too good. We need to get them out of this fucking building!" Cody propped himself up on one knee and surveyed the road ahead. A dozen allied infantry were dug in along the road behind cars and barriers in a stalemate with a large contingent of Russian infantry barricaded in a large bank at the end of the street. He spotted Adrian and Jenkins behind a truck putting fire on the upper windows oft he bank while Mike carefully picked off targets with his rifle, the heavy boom a steady beat among the harmony of gunfire. A whoosh ripped up the road, a heavy trail of smoke clouding the street as the rocket, launched from a bank window, impacted the front of the Coyote, burrowing into the front armor plate and detonating inside, sending molten metal and shrapnel flying into store windows, littering the pavement with glass. A few soldiers verbally swore and dug in deeper, the Russian fire picking up speed, emboldened by the destruction of the allied armor.

Cody ducked back down and opened up his TACMAP on his helmets HUD Monocle, his team highlighted by their JTF2 icons, other infantry insignia's dotted the map along with the towering bank shaded in red. A quick check of the bank's blueprints reveled a side door down an alley a block over. Closing the map and returning his HUD to the primary screen, he clicked his COM and broadcast to the entire street. "Hatchet this is Eskimo, we need you to keep the fire up on the bank, we have an entrance to the bank a block over. On my mark, pop smoke to the west. Once we're inside, you boys are going to have to keep up the fight while we clear it out, boo-ya?"
Hatchet flashed a green light on Cody's HUD, obviously too occupied in the firefight to handle his radio. Cody switched over to his team channel. "Adrian, grab Mike and Jenkins and move to the west, push through the clothing store and out the back into the alley. Move on the smoke, over."
Adrian gave him a thumbs up and tapped Mike on the shoulder while Jenkins got ready to run. Cody hit an amber light, signaling Hatchet to toss smoke. Seconds later, a muffled pop announced the start of a thick yellow smoke. Jenkins tore across the road first as Cody and Matt opened fire at the upper levels of the bank, smashing any remaining windows and poking holes in the heavy wall. Once all three had crossed the intersection, Cody tapped Matt and the pair ran forward towards the store, ducking under an oncoming hail of bullets. Cody's helmet alarm began to wail as his armors infrared sensors started to ping. "Matt! Down!" he yelled as he dove into the pavement as a resounding boom echoed down the street.

Cody spun in time to see the heavy sniper round strike Matt in the throat, ripping open his light neck armor, sending his esophagus flipping through the air like a bloody snake. Matt went down as if he hit a clothesline, his head slamming back onto the pavement with a wet smack. A second shot tore an apple sized hole in the pavement to Cody's left, snapping him back to reality. He rolled left behind a concrete barrier and crawled into the alley where a panting Adrian rested on one knee, rifle spiting bullets at the bank through the haze of smoke. Cody rolled to his feet and spun into the wall holding down vomit as the grotesque images of Matt's death played over in his head. "El-Tee where's Matt?"
Cody shook his head. "Russian's. Keep your head down, they brought infrared."
Adrian swore as the pair moved down the alley, rifles up until they reached Mike and Jenkins who had secured the corner before the bank's side door, the rattle of gunfire in the street a block over intensifying. Cody moved forward beside Mike who waved him forward. "We're good sir, no windows, and no way the Russian's could see us coming. Can't pickup anything from the other side of the door though, it's too damn heavy."
Cody spat. "Hate going in blind, door's probably rigged with C4. Any other route?"
Mike jerked his head towards Jenkins who stepped forward. "I may have a way sir, but you might no like it."
Cody opened his mouth to reply when a window behind him smashed and a Russian solider came vaulting into the alley not three feet from where he stood. Instinctively moving in front of him men, Cody dropped his rifle and launched forward at the surprised Russian, striking the man in the chin with a quick jab, following with an uppercut to the kidney. A swift kick to the chest sent the Russian sprawling onto his ass as Cody drew his sidearm, clicking off the safety and firing a pair of shots from the heavy Sig Sauer P226 putting him down for good, the heavy .45 slugs ripping holes in the Russian's chest. A final shot to the face put him down for good.
"Jesus Christ!" Jenkins swore as he watched the JTF2 Operator holster his pistol. "You guys are fucking hardcore."
Mike clapped a hand on his shoulder. "The El-Tee is a real warrior."
Cody spat on the Russian and re-shouldered his rifle. "Enough bullshit. What's your idea Ranger?"
Jenkins pulled a strange looking shotgun from his back. "The iGrapple sir. I can launch it onto the roof, scale up the rope, and let you all in from inside once I defuse and booby traps at the door."
Cody cocked his head. "Why not all scale up the rope with you?"
Mike grinned as Jenkins shrugged. "It's an experimental device, it may not even hold my own weight once I get up there. Better me falling twenty feet then all of us."
Cody calculated the odds, the increasing fire from the street slowly becoming overwhelmingly AK in nature.

"Alright Jenkins, it's on you. Get up there and get us in. Adrian, stay put and watch the door. Mike, with me, we're going back to the clothing store to provide support. Rally back here on the door once it's clear. Got it?"
A chorus of approval answered as the soldiers exchanged fist bumps. Cody paused and called to Jenkins who had been moving towards the bank. "Hey Jenkins!"
The Ranger spun.

"Stay alive."

[Nocte]

August 27th, 2016
U.S. Army
10th Mountain Division
New York City, New York
Corporal Alexander Hayes

When there was about 500 civilians left in Fort Hamilton is when shit really hit the fan. The Russian Navy had punched through the American Navy’s front line and pushed directly into the harbor where the massive naval ships laid siege to New York City.

“2nd Platoon this is 1st Lieutenant Randal, we have Apaches inbound so just sit tight. They will clear out that hospital for us, and then we can fall back and get on the final convoy out of here. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge is still in one piece, but they will target it soon. So when those Apaches get in range. Haul ass to the center of the fort.” The Lieutenant broadcast over his platoon’s com. He looked out into the bay and watched as shell after shell was launched into the city as watched as massive slabs of concrete and hundreds of specks of smaller things would rain down from the impact of the shells. He had grown up in New York, and after a few minutes of staring at the destruction felt a warm stream flow down his face.

“Lieutenant.... sir?” A sergeant was asking for him, and he wiped his face quickly before turning around to see what he wanted.

“Woods, get your god damn M249 up again and soak those bastards.” Blanc barked pointing to the middle of the hospital where muzzle flashes happened sporadicly followed by their bullets slamming into the bullet proof vests which were slowly being eaten away. Hayes leveled his rifle and fired off a few bursts before taking cover again. Echo squad followed suit and they got a rotation to keep a steady stream of fire.

“There they are!” Private First Class Williams yelled pointing behind them as five Apaches flew towards them. They started firing rockets and chain gun rounds into the hospital and floor by floor the building turn into rubble and dust.

“Hoo ah!” Private Lee yelled raising his rifle to the Apaches before Echo squad followed their orders and began to high tail it back to the fort so they could load up and move out.

“Shit, we got Russian fast movers!” Private First Class Rogers screamed and the squad looked up to watch as two Russian Mig-29’s came sweeping in and launched missiles at the unprepared Apaches. Two missiles connected, but because the Apaches were so close together they slammed into each other. All five Apaches crashed into the ground exploding in a ball of flames and twisted metal.

Echo continued even though, they all wanted to turn and look at the massive ball of flames that was lit behind them. They entered the fort’s courtyard to see two Strykers waiting for them and another squad. The rest of the convoy had just left, and Echo was quick to hop into the Stryker. Colemen got on the 50 cal.

“Hang tight, shit might get bumpy!” The driver announced to the cabin.

“Fu.....ck! Those two fast movers are circling back around!” Colemen yelled and the 50 cal. went off. Hayes gripped the handle that would open the back hatch just incase.

“Brace for...” Colemen could never finish his sentence as the MiG’s heavy cannon rounds smashed into the Skryker’s armor and ripped Colemen to shreds. His shredded remains dropped into the Stryker and two of the soldiers puked from the sight. A few seconds later an explosion sent everyone in the cabin flying about.

“They hit the bridge! We’re going into the water!” The driver screamed, and Hayes was quick to open the hatch. The force of gravity kept it from opening, something that Hayes hadn’t thought of and now fear set in. The idea of being kept in this metal tomb was enough to make his mind race as they were free falling, he was quick to draw his side-arm and shoot the two hinges that kept the door in place and when he felt the door would move he grabbed onto the railing to his right and kicked the door. The heavy door jerked and flew up from where it was hinged to the Stryker. Hayes saw everything above them, dust and small chunks of the bridge falling. He closed his eyes knowing he was going to die and just thought of home. The sweet fall evenings he would spend on his back porch writing, his beautiful, and his young son. The thoughts all ended by a loud splash and water flooding the cabin.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

"Stay alive," was the JTF2 Operators last words, Jenkins flashed a quick salute and made haste towards the allyway outside of the building. As soon as he exited bullets began to pound the walls around him, "peeling" pieces of asphalt and brick all around him. Jesse moved deeper into the ally to avoid fire, but it discontinued shortly anyhow, most likely because those Canadian special forces had his back. The vision of El-Tee popping that Russian in the head still in his mind, Jesse aimed the iGrapple at the top of the roof, making sure to aim carefully he fired and the metal claw at the end of the gun landed on the roof, quickly latching itself via metal extentions that pop out once the grapple hits its target (the same system made it possible to kill people). Dropping the shotgun looking device Jesse planted both hands on the rope and started to climb. Gun fire continued to roar on the other side of the building, Jenkins knew he had to pick up the pace, those operators wouldn't make it forever under the amount of fire they were under.

He reached the third floor quickly, he was about 25 feet in the air and almost at the roof. However as he passed the third floor window he spotted two Russian troops with their weapons pointed at the stairway. Heart pumping he quickly pulled himself up above the window as one of the troops turned, most likely because they had heard him. Pausing for a second to let out the breath he had been holding in, he finally reached the roof and placed his left hand on top of the roof to pull himself up. As soon as he went to pull himself up however, a mortar round pounded straight into the building, seemingly shaking the foundation apart.

"SHIT!" Jenkins screamed as he lost grip with his left hand, he only stayed up with his right latched on hard to the iGrapple rope. Hanging by the balance for a half second Jesse went to grap the rope with his left hand, but as soon as he started to pull up the grapple gave. The sound filled Jesse's ears, and instant fear began to bubble up in his stomach, screaming explicitives Jenkins held onto the rope for dear life as it distanced itself from the building, then, his last glimmer of hope came into sight, the third floor window. Acting at unhuman speeds Jesse thrust himself at the building at just the right time to crash through the window and into the two Russian soldiers crouched beside it. Jesse rolled across the floor for about a second before stopping himself and pushing himself to his knees, both of the other Russians were still shocked and confused about what happened, giving Jesse enough time to grab his SCAR which had been slung around his back, and shoot each Russian between the eyes. Blood splattered the wall being each of them as the rest pooled out onto the floor beneath them.

As soon as he shot more Russian voices came from the next room, Jenkins switched his rifle to fully automatic and as soon as the door swung open, another two Ruskies were greeted with a hail of bullets to the chest. As close as they were the Russians body armor wasn't enough to stop Jenkins shots from penetrating and killing them. Those two Russians slumped to the floor, dead as the other two. Jenkins replaced his old mag with a new one and pulled back on the charging handle, he only had one mag left after this one, so he switched back to single fire. Now inside, Jesse burst through the third floor door onto the stairway, and rushed to the first floor, skipping the second just in case a few more Russians were sitting there waiting. With a few jumps Jesse was at the first floor, looking out the tall glass window placed on the door. On the other side was nothing, so Jenkins slowly opened the door and walked straight through, coming under no fire. He could feel something was wrong. As he moved towards the direction of the heavy steel door he found a good reason that they hadn't tried to force that door open. There was no C4 strapped to it, but there was about six Russian troops all pointing their weapons at the steel door.

"Damn," Jesse whispered to himself, "I can probably take out three or four of them but the other ones would light me up instantly." He thought for a second, but couldn't find a way he could shoot all of them without it being his final hurah. Then a thought came to him, he hadn't come into New York with any fragmentation grenades, however he was equiped with two breach and clear flashbangs, now was the right time to use them. Jenkins let his SCAR-H dangle from his kevlar armor where it was attached and unpinned a flashbang grenade, tossing it straight into the group of enemies'. Moving back behind the wall and covering his ears he waited for the grenade to go off, and within half a second he heard a loud bang. Taking that time to move he jumped the corner and started firing bullets at the opposing troops, who were either on their knees covering their eyes or on the ground covering their ears. Within five shots he had four Russians on the ground with bullet holes in their necks, another shot found it's way into another Russians groin area, causing him to unleash a blood curdling scream, Jesse finished him off with a bullet to the head. One last Russian remained, but now Jesse had another problem on his hands, that Russian was standing up.

He had to react quickly, if Jesse tried to aim his weapon at the Russian who was already pointing his AK at him, he would be killed. So, instead of shooting Jesse charged in at the Rusky head on taking a bullet into his armor before Jesse bashed the stock of his rifle into the guys skull. With that the Russian kicked Jesse away, who stumbled a little bit, but came out standing and weapon aimed straight at the Russians head, problem was, Jenkins head was also targeted. It was a stale mate now, neither one of them shot, or made a move. The air tensed and had there been any spectators, they could argue that there were sparks flying around the room from the intense glares. Finally one of them made a move; the Russian, and he dropped his weapon on the floor, following up by taking out his Combat knife. Jenkins smirked.

"So you want to play it that way huh?" He laughed, and also dropped his rifle, but as he tried to grab his own blade the Russian had charged him with his. A second later Jesse was blocking and dodging multiple swift strikes from his opponent, throwing his own punches in between. The situation was difficult, after ten seconds of fighting Jesse would have been able to strike the Russian down had he pulled his knife, but the Russian had caught him off guard, and the punches had little affect. Another slash at his neck, another jab at his ribs, Jesse dodged them all with the most concentration that he had ever had besides the day he had asked Jenna out on a date for the first time. Finally, the Russian made another fatal error and Jesse grabbed his arm and threw him against the wall, pushing his arm away from his body and towards the Russians, the knife was now by his neck, maybe a centimeter from.

However, nothing happened after that, neither man could force the blade into their opponent, both Jesse and the Russian were equal in strength, making the battle look odd from other aspects of the room. "This isn't good," Jesse thought to himself, "I can feel my strength slipping, and I can't even tell if this bastard is getting tired!" He continued to think about what to do, then a dangerous, sinister, but hopeful plan crossed his mind. What if Jenkins caught him by surprise? A pause in the battle would be enough to finish it, but it would be dangerous, if Jesse slipped it could mean his death too. After another ten seconds of struggle (that seemed like eternity) he decided that he had to do what was necessary. Jesse flashed the Russian a smile, but continued to struggle, finally Jesse mustered the courage he needed and pulled the knife upwards instead of towards his rival, and with one quick, swift blow, sank the combat knifes blade into his own flesh.

The Russian stood there on the wall, shocked that this American had just stabbed himself, he paused to think but just couldn't come up with any idea why, then it happened. Jesse saw his puzzlement and pulled the knife from his abdomen, pointing it upwards and striking the cold steel blade straight through the Russians neck, he turned the blade a few times. The surprised, and defeated Ruskie spat up blood onto the floor, and dropped, a picture falling from his hand along with the knife. Staring at his dead body, Jesse picked up the picture, holding the wound he had given himself, which wasn't serious as the cut hadn't hit any major organ, he had struck himself a inch left of the stomach. Wiping blood of the picture he saw the same man he had just killed holding hands with a women, a pretty Russian girl about the same age as Jesse, the man looked that age as well. A pain struck his stomach as thoughts ran through his mind had it been him who was killed, what about Jenna? She would be crushed, and that is what Jenkins had just forced upon that same young women in the picture, his heart dropped.

Then Jenkins reminded himself that if he hadn't killed him, he would have been killed. Jesse pocketed the picture and began to run towards the heavy metal door, the pain in his lower body peaking as he moved. The door hadn't been locked, so he opened it the best he could (about half way) and shouted over to the Canadian forces on the other side of the door.

"It's open!" Jesse shouted, and seconds later the doorway was fully opened, the JTF2 operators standing over him, who was sitting on the wall by the door clutching his stomach.

"What happened?" The leader named Cody asked once noticing the room.

"I'll explain later, get in here and get that door shut." The rest of the special operators entered the room and shut the heavy metal door, but when they turned back to check on our Ranger, he was unconscious (not dead don't kill me off here haha).

[UNLUCKY NUM13ER]

08-16-2016
1230 Hours
559th Green Berets
New York City, U.S.A
Unknown Office Complex
Sergeant Major Jason Miller

Miller stood over the last corpse....It was a mercenary by the looks of him...German. Miller and his men had found about five of them spread out throughout and office complex. They had advanced gear and tattoos that gave evidence that they were ex GSG-9 operatives, Germany's equal to our SWAT teams. Highly trained and not easy to take out....but somebody did. The first two were killed my a booby trap, a landmine by the looks of it, too hard to tell. The next two were found about fifty feet apart from each other heading in the same direction, both shot to death. The last one had his throat slit execution style, but instead of continuing the same path the previous two had he had taken a hard right once he passed the fountain in the plaza. Forrest, the squad's core intel specialist guessed that he had been interrogated first and Miller agreed. Their weapons were gone as well as any at hand forms of identification. Miller ordered pictures to be taken of each body before they moved on. He would send it to HQ and hope they could provide some more information on the matter. Whatever it was it couldn't be good. Those five were highly skilled soldiers, that had probably been working together for years. Whoever killed them should not be dealt with lightly. Miller and his men moved on.

1330 Hours

Still no word from HQ about the dead mercenaries, it was starting to get into Miller's nerves.
He and his squad had finally reached the Russian convoy. There were an estimated 12 trucks carrying soldiers, ammo, and other supplies. 4 Hummers with .50 Cal guns on the roof, and 2 light Anti-Infantry tanks. The convoy was ahead of schedule, Miller had to rush his men to set up their ambush. Seth, good kid, was the team's local Sharpshooter. He put a silencer on his carbine and fired at the two back left tires of the middle truck. Soon the entire convoy came to a stop. Some russian officers got out of their respective vehicles and began yelling up and down the convoy. Eventually the front half of the convoy began to pull out leaving the other half behind. Not what Miller wanted. He had to stop the entire convoy. But 2 of his men hadn't gotten to their positions yet and he didn't want to risk losing them, he'd have to catch up to the rest of the convoy later. When his squad was ready Miller gave the attack order. A Javalin missle went shooting in the air, the Russians all looked up in horror and when they realized what it was they scattered like cockroaches. The missile came down hard on the tank, damaging it but not yet destroying it. Miller's squad then popped up from their cover and began firing on the Russians. The soldiers in the trucks didn't stand much of a chance. Their bullets easily tore through the tarp covering the back of the trucks and the front cabs containing the drivers. One truck that must have contained ammo erupted in a big ball of flames. The Hummers were the real trouble. their .50 Cal guns began to tear up the cover Miller's men were hiding behind. Luckily there were only 2 guns and Miller had his men spread out over 6 different locations. They would pop in and out of cover and shoot the Russians manning the guns when they had their backs turned. After the Hummers were taken care of Miller's men focused on killing the crew inside the tank. The popped the hatch and dropped an grenade into it. While they were distracted one Russian snuck into one of the Hummers and started the engine. Miller began shooting at the driver but he was protected by bullet resistant glass. There was nothing he could do as the lone Russian sped off into the distance.

"GRAB WHAT YOU CAN AND PREPARE TO MOVE OUT MEN! WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE SOME MORE COMPANY" Screamed Miller, they had to reach a defensible position soon before the rest of the convoy returned.

[GhostHammer]

Cody's COM buzzed as he jammed a fresh clip into his rifle, adjusting his knee on the dozens of shell casings that littered the roof of the clothing store. He and Mike had been providing covering fire from the roof for Hatchet who had slowly been advancing towards the bank, their efforts renewed as a squad of Marines had joined the fight, bringing with them a AH-6 Little Bird which made a few runs down the street before being pulled back inland due to increasing Russian air activity. Needless to say, the battle in the harbor wasn't going well. With a good chunk of the U.S. Fleet engaged in the Pacific and in the defense of Florida, the Navy was stretched thin.
"Lieutenant, Ranger has the door open, suggest you haul ass, over."
Cody clicked his green response light and tapped Mike who had steadily been picking off targets since they had reached the roof, laying prone, bi-pod resting on the ledge. The entire team agreed Mike was scary when he was shooting. The pair of JTF2 Operators jogged to the opposite side of the roof and clipped onto a pair of rappelling lines before vaulting over the edge and zipping down to the alley where Adrian was already moving towards the open door.
Cody pushed through the heavy door and into the dark maintenance room, Russian bodies littering the floor in pools of blood. Jenkins sat against the wall, hands clutching his stomach, looking pale. "What happened?"
Jenkins gasped for air. "I'll explain later, get in here and get that door shut."
Cody turned and called in Adrian and Mike who had been securing the alley. The trio slipped back inside, closing the door with a heavy metal slam. Mike shoved the deadbolt across and locked it into the Down position. "We're secure El-Tee!"
Cody nodded and turned back to Jenkins, who now sat slumped over, hands at his sides covered in blood, his uniform darkening by the second as he slid sideways and hit the floor. "Adrian! Medical now!" Cody cried as he dove to the ground, rolling Jenkins onto his back and ripping open his shirt and exposing a gaping slit from a combat knife. Adrian knelt next to him and placed a pressure bandage over the bleeding wound, both men pushing down with both hands.
"Mike, secure the entrance in front, no entry!" Cody yelled as Mike slung his M14, pulling his SPAS-12 from his back and moving the door leading into the bank. Cody grabbed his radio. "Hatchet Hatchet this is Eskimo, I have a man down and need medical. Do you have one with you, over?"
Static answered.
Cody tried again, "Hatchet come in! Hatchet! Anyone? Over?"
Silence.
Cody cursed and took a moment to wipe sweat from his nose with the back of a bloody hand. "Adrian you need to keep this up, I'm going to Hatchet and find us a Medic."
"Boo-ya sir. Stay frosty."
Cody released his pressure and took a moment to wipe his hands on a dead Russian before sliding the door's bolt into the Up position and stepped into the alley, rifle ready.

Weapons fire exploded next to his head, sending him diving to his right, rolling behind a dumpster. Taking a moment to thank their bad aim, Cody peaked around the dumpster down the alley. A pair of Marine's knelt at the corner of the clothing store, apparently looking for the Canadians and the Ranger. Cody swore. "Hey fuckheads! Watch your fire! Friendly coming out!" He raised his rifle out first, then slowly emerged, the troopers waving at him. He quickly jogged to join them. "What the fuck asshole?"
The Marine's, both Privates, visibly stiffened. "Sorry sir, our CO sent us to see if you'd made it in or not. Saw someone coming out and reacted, won't happen again sir."
Cody nodded, understanding their thinking. "Thank god your aim's piss poor Private. Listen, we're inside, but I got a man down needing attention, you got a Medic with you on the road?"
The taller private nodded. "Hell yea sir. Got a Corpsman with our CO setting up a CCP. Little Bird put a dent in the Russians, they're not pushing forward as much now, giving us a chance to breathe, but we're hurt bad."
An explosion sent dust washing over the alley as a renewed gunfire erupted from the street over.
Cody checked his ammo. "Bring me to him Marines."

Moving to the corner store, Jennings, the taller Marine checked the corner before waving for his counterpart Tillman to cross the street. Cody queued up for his bounding maneuver when a loud boom blasted down the street, the heavy Russian sniper back at work. The heavy round caught Tillman in the kidney, lifting him up and spinning him around, the young solider smashing into a car as the troops on the road began to fire on the upper windows. Jennings swore. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck!"
Cody knelt and leaned around the corner. "Go Jennings go!" he yelled as he moved his sight reticule over the windows lining the upper floors. A shadow moved behind a shade. Cody fired a burst, neat holes punching through the cloth as the Russian behind crumpled against the wall. Jennings dove and rolled behind a truck and moved into position for Cody to cross. A quick check of his rifle, Jennings waved Cody forward. Here goes nothing. Cody thought as he pushed off from the wall towards the Private and the alley where the CCP had been established.

His boots filled with lead as he charged across the road, his feet pressing into the ground as time slowed, dust and ash swirled around him amidst bullets and shrapnel. The sniper's boom resounded once again, a windshield in front of the Canadian shattered, spraying him with glass as he reached a blue sedan. Grasping his rifle in his right hand, he braced against the hood and jumped, kicking his boots forward and vaulting over the hood before hitting the ground running, ducking into the alley. A black Marine stood before him, covered in dust and sweat, his uniform bloodied. Cody panted, "Hatchet I presume?"
The Marine grinned and extended a hand, "Nice to meet you Eskimo. Not everyday you meet a Tier One Operator. Lieutenant Marcus Brown."
Cody shook it. "Cody Shaer. Thanks for the cover getting us in there."
Marcus nodded. "Jennings said you got a man hit?"
Cody was about to reply when a door slammed open at the end of the alley, a line of Marines pouring towards them as yet another squad joined the push to harbor. A young looking Sergeant came running over to the pair of Lieutenants. "Where do you need me guys sir?"
Marcus looked over the unit, "You got a combat medic?"
The Sergeant nodded.
"Good, you go with Eskimo here, he's got a man down and needs your Medic. Once you're finished, start clearing the bank, we'll send more men once reinforcements arrive, oo-rah?"
The Sergeant cheered back. "Oo-rah sir. Eskimo? Lead the way sir!"
Cody thanked Marcus and led the Marines back to the road for another deadly cross.

Cody threw open the metal door, all but two Marines behind him. Adrian looked up. "He's stable. Just needs to get patched up and given some fluids."
The Marine Corpsman rushed to Jenkins and began working instantly while another marine held a medical kit open. Adrian released his pressure and stood, flexing his shoulders. Cody stood over the working Marine. "What's his status doc?"
The Corpsman shrugged. "He'll be alright. Mostly blood vessel damage, looks worse than it is, nothing major has been hit. I'll dress him up, fill him with Quick-Clot and shoot some juice in him. Give me a few."
Cody sighed as Mike came in from the main hallway, the entering Marines taking his position and starting their clearing of the banks lower floor. "How's our Ranger?"
Adrian gave him a thumbs up. "He'll live."
Mike smiled. "Good. I'm starting to like the kid."
Cody grunted. "We can't wait around for him to get back up. We stay on mission. If we don't get to the rally point at the harbor our fellow SF might not make it out."
Both JTF2 Operators nodded.
Cody turned to the Corpsman. "When he's up, let him know we had to stay on task. And thank him, he's one hell of a soldier."

Before the Corpsman could say anything in return, Cody fired a series of quick hand gestures and sent Mike and Adrian ahead, rifles up and sweeping as the trio of Operators moved to the Bank's back door, pushing once again for the harbor.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

It was getting late in the day, the sun had already set upon the breath taking shores of the Great Lakes, and now the air was filled with fire works. The winter had just previously ended, and Spring was in full bloom in the year 2016. It was April 10th, the first year anniversary of Jesse's relationship with Jenna, and they decided to spend it at the lakes. It was Jenna's idea really, a nice day at the beach under the sun, in nice warm weather, her in a bikini, and that was when Jesse was sold to the idea. When they arrived they rented a small cottege by the lake near a secluded area on the beach, the entire day was spent just the two of them, and their love was just as strong as the year before, if not stronger. The real reason Jenna wanted to come to the lakes was because she had never been there, and she wanted to visit before the conflict started. It was all over the news, the U.S. and most nations around the world were boosting enlistment rates, and all vehicle manufacturing plants were transformed into war workshops producing tanks and jets. The world was paving the way for a third world war, but that didn't bother Jenna, being blown up by a nuclear strike meant nothing to her as well. As long as she spent her last moments with her lover, she would be fine, ready to die.

The fireworks created a sight almost as beautiful as the sun setting on the lake, but it was enough to keep the two love birds attention as they laid down on the sand and held hands. For fifteen minutes the fireworks cut through the open sky, exploding in grand fashions, but Jenna was the only one truely amazed at the spectacle, Jesse had other things on his mind. After another five minutes the fireworks stopped, and Jenna got an irritable look on her face, she turned to Jesse.

"Why did they stop? What happened to the finale?" She asked him, he didn't hesitate to answer.
"They must be setting it up, their not professionals Jenna," Jesse laughed, "Just give them a minute." She was satisfied with that answer, but when Jesse turned back to look at the night sky she caught a look in his eyes, an odd facial expression she had never seen before, call it women's intuition, but she knew something was wrong.

"Wassup?" She asked worried, at first Jesse didn't answer, he just stared blankly at the night sky, "I asked you a question." She said with a hint of irritation in her voice. This was the one thing Jesse didn't like about his girl friend, she could never, not know anything. But she was trustworthy; however, that wasn't the problem here. Jesse decided to give in, he had to tell her sooner or later.

"I've been thinking," Jenna went completely stiff, that line never meant anything good, which is something she had learned over the years. Jesse continued after a pause, "The war is going to begin soon, they're already rumors that Congress might pass another draft, if that happens it doesn't matter who or where you are you're going to get placed in the military." He paused again, Jenna started to get worried, but remained silent.

"I too, will most likely get drafted, but the people who are will only be paid half of what you get if you enlist; so, I thought that if I enlist now, I can still get the money and support you, along with fight for our freedom," he finished, but that's when it hit her, that look in his eyes wasn't blankness, it was a sense of duty, the sense of duty one young patriot felt towards his country, the duty of protecting her from any threat near or far. At the same moment she understood that Jesse was determined, and there was no way he would change his mind. Instead of replying with words first, she planted a small kiss on his cheek, he looked at her surprised . . . he had expected a slap.

"I know I can't stop you, so go ahead and enlist, but listen here, if you die I will hunt you down when I get to the after life, and I will kill you again, and again," a pause, "and again." She finished, Jesse smiled, he understood.

"It's settled then, I'll go enlist tomorrow for the Army." His destiny was now set in stone, he sat up on the beach still staring at the night sky, Jenna still laid down in the sand, a pit in her stomach. Jesse noticed her and placed a hand on her left shoulder.

"But for now," Jesse smirked evily while tracing his lovers curves all the way to her bikini bottom, "Let's enjoy this last night together." With the same evil smile Jenna knocked him onto the ground and got on top of him.

"Don't say last, there will be more, I guarentee you this, buddy." The finale started, and fireworks once again lit up the night sky.

Jesse closed his eyes and took a breath of fresh beach air, but what he smelled was nothing of the sort, what he smelled was the sweet smell of blood and the bitter taste of sweat and dust. Jenkins quickly opened his eyes and saw dozens of explosions shaking the air.

"What the-" He started, but was interrupted by a man, a Marine, standing up above him.

"He's awake!" He said to another man, presumably behind Jenkins.

"God damn, I was almost sure he wouldn't be up until we reached Times Square, yo man how ya feelin'," it was a black man behind him, the word Hatchet displayed on his Kevlar Helmet. Jesse took a moment to answer that question, the first thing he did was look at his abdomen, which had a large bandage over it, smeared and damp with dark red blood.

"It hurts but I can still fight," Jesse tried to say but the man in front spoke up again.

"Ha! Not after that one buddy, you cut a artery, we need to make sure you're actually good to fight before we can let you do anything." It was at this moment that Jesse realized that he was moving, he looked over to his side and found that he was on a stretcher and leaning forward he found about half a dozen HMMWV's (Humvee's) supported by an M1A1 Abrams tank. He didn't say anything else, it hurt a little to speak, so instead he looked over to his right, but that didn't help either.

The entire street was riddled with bullet holes, the same could be said about all the cars and buildings around the area, it was a mess. Along with the uprooted asphalt were the countless bodies of Americans and Russians, all drowning in pools of their own blood, which drained into the sides of the streets and down man holes seemingly creating "rivers" of blood, it was sickening but Jesse held his reflexes in place. When he reached the Humvee he was moved from the stretcher, but instead of having the two Marines place him inside he volunteered to walk in and sit down himself, which he did successfully even through the pain, which had subsided a little since falling unconscious. Before closing the door the Marine known as Hatchet handed Jenkins his SCAR-H.

"Wouldn't want to forget this would ya?" He joked with a large smile and shut the door. He and the other Marine then entered on the other side of the Humvee, the man who entered first mounted the .50 Cal gun on the roof. Seconds later the convoy started on its way.

"I didn't catch where we were going," Jenkins told Hatchet, who was fiddling around with his M16A4 assault rifle. Hatchet looked over, back at his gun and replied, "Times Square, we have a Forward Outpost Base set up there." With that, Jenkins removed his helmet, took his left glove off and swept a sweaty, bloody hand through his close cropped red hair. He then put everything back on and rested his head on the Humvee's door, he felt like the he wasn't out of the shit yet, it was the feeling that was conveyed multiple times in Star Wars movies, and Jenkins mind was running the same thought over and over again, "I have a bad feeling about this."

[GhostHammer]

The size eleven combat boot connected with the apartment door, breaking open the lock as Mike and Adrian criss-crossed into the room, Cody close behind them. The trio had made their way through the bank with minimal resistance thanks to the U.S. Marines that attracted the majority of the attention while they cleared the building. Silencing their weapons, they slipped down a few city blocks and into an apartment complex, the outer most windows facing the harbor. They hoped to make contact with the SAS-SEAL joint operations team and slip into the harbor while avoiding major Russian patrols and aircraft. With the U.S. Pacific fleet split between New York and Cuba, the Russian's had quickly overwhelmed the Americans. With the British and Germans still en-route, it was starting to look like the allies would have to hold them as long as possible or risk a Russian invasion of the mainland or a large scale. Cody had no intention of letting that happen.

The sun hung low in the sky, having been hours since they first landed, Cody was at least happy they could use the semi-darkness and sharp angles of sunlight to sneak quietly to the rendezvous point. Adrian gave Cody a thumbs up from the bedroom. "Mike," Cody whispered pointing a a large window across the room, "Get eyes on the harbor."
Mike nodded and slowly drew his knife, cutting a slit in the thin blinds wide enough to get a view with his M14. Adrian moved to the apartment door, covering the only entrance into the room. Satisfied they were secure, Cody pulled a small PDA from his inside pocket, furiously tapping the screen until a red light began to blink on the corner. He then flipped down his helmet monocle and watched as a series of codes scrolled down the dim green plexiglass, flickering as the helmets processor pushed itself to the limit. A minute later, the code stopped, and "Connection Established" flashed briefly before a map of the harbor, a small way-point flashed blue on a dock house near the tip of the inlet. A small text message "No COM's; Russian's listening" flashed underneath the map. Cody saved the location on his teams map and flipped up his display screen.
He turned to call for Adrian when an explosion rocked the building, shock waves sending him and the others sprawling to the carpet floor.

Mike ran to Cody and offered a hand. "Russian's are targeting the apartments with their ship batteries, looks like the don't want any over watch!"
Cody pulled himself up and quickly assessed the room. "Alright, Adrian, set up rappel lines, Mike, get that window open, we're going to have to move fast." he finished as he un-slung his rifle, checking the magazine. The trio moved faster, Adrian securing lines to the rooms far wall while Mike smashed out the curved window with the butt of his rifle. Cody quickly fired a text message to the SAS-SEAL team on his wrist mounted touch pad, "Russian's clearing house; we're on route." A second explosion, closer this time shook the room more violently, knocking over chairs and lamps. Adrian tossed Cody and Mike their lines, all three clipping in. Cody counted in his head, waiting for the right moment in between reloads.

"Now!" Cody yelled as he sprinted towards the window, Adrian and Mike but steps behind him. The JTF2 Operators hit the open window and jumped, free falling down the thirty three stories towards the pavement below. As they descended, a Russian battle ship close to shore roared, it's main batteries flashing as heavy cannon rounds blasted into the apartments above, sending rock and dust raining down behind the three soldiers now praying as the fell. To the Russian spotters on the ships, it looked like they had scored a direct hit on an enemy spotter team. As the bridge cheered, no one noticed the JTF2 operators snap their lines taught as they approached the ground, slowly lowering themselves amidst the rubble before un-clippng themselves and sliding behind an SUV. Cody paused, counting to ten before nodding and signalling to Adrian to fix suppressors and move.

Snapping on his own QD silencer on his rifle, Cody slung his M4 and threaded his silencer onto his Sig Sauer. He gave a quick jab forward, and Adrian moved down the street, Mike covering the rear as they began the five block journey to the meeting point, Russian patrols and snipers covering every inch of their route.

[Nocte]

August 27th, 2016
U.S. Army
10th Mountain Division
New York City, New York
Corporal Alexander Hayes

Hayes sat next to grandfather, tears were streaming down his face. His entire reality had been shattered upon finding out his grandfather was dying of lung cancer. A man that had never smoked a day in his life, but was still dying from something caused by one of the few things he actually hated in this world. His grandfather rubbed his hand on his back, “it’s okay Alex. I’ve lived a good life, I’m at peace with it. There’s no need to be upset, I got to do everything I’ve wanted to do in this life. I’ve done the jobs that I loved to do, I’ve torn and rebuilt old cars, and I got to watch you and your brother grow up.” The last thing he said really dug deep into Alex’s heart and soul. He dropped his head lightly to his grandfathers shoulder. “I love you, Poppy.” Alex said.

“I know butch, I love you too.” His grandfather reassured him.

Everything went blank and then Hayes was walking into his grandparents house crying.

This morning as he stepped out the door to go to his bus, he received a call from his grandmother. “Alex....” She didn’t even complete the sentence, before Alex had spun around. “Is it Poppy.” His voice trembled.

“Yes.” She said and he stopped his brother at the door pushing him back into the house and quickly moving to his parents bedroom to wake his mother. As he walked into the room he noticed his grandmother had hung up the phone.

“Mom. Get up, grandma called, Poppy, isn’t doing good.” He said and almost instantly she was up and getting ready to leave.
As he walked into the door looking down at his phone, reading a text from his best friend. Alex waited for everyone to clear his grandfather’s room before he went in, tears running down his face since they left their house that morning.

Alex leaned down next to his grandfather and grabbed his hand.

“I’m sorry for scaring you, butch.” He grandfather said weakly and Alex let out a loud sob.

As Alex looked up to his grandfather a loud explosion shook him awake. He coughed up water as he laid on the beach. He flipped himself over and puked out the rest of the water. He looked up and his vision blurred as he focused on what was happening. He tried to stand up, but fell backwards. Quickly he slipped off his backpack, and ripped his body armor to take off his uniform. Underneath all he wore was a light brown T-shirt and then slipped his body armor back on. His rifle was gone, but he had put his M9 back in it’s holster before the Stryker was fully engulfed with water. He spun around looking for his squad mates, but didn’t see any of them.

“Shit.” Was the one word that slipped out of his mouth. He looked forward and saw trees and a battered residential area. Drawing his side arm he moved up the beach and towards it using the trees as cover as he checked the area. He couldn’t hear any type of movement directly around him, but then again it was hard to hear over the salve after salvo of naval rounds that shelled the city. He moved into the residential area using backyards as his main pathway so that he had cover in case any Russians were patrolling the area. Night was falling and he would be able to use that to his advantage.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

The Humvees' sped along the street behind cover of the M1A1 Abrams, hitting every little damn crator in the road. It reminded Jesse of the times back when he was still in Elementary school, where one of his stops required that they drive through a dirt road. The bus driver wasn't too bright at the time and sped down the damn thing, poor 7 year old Jesse thought that the entire bus would shake to pieces. The Humvees' bounced along the road, still a bit away from Times Square, and the fact that a straight path there was blocked by toppled buildings or large trenches in the road didn't help either.

"Man, this fuckin' thing gonna shake apart!" Hatchet shouted at the driver, who didn't respond. Hatchet proceded to throw his hands into the air in a 'what the fuck' gesture but the driver still ignored him. The jumping around didn't help Jesse's knife wound either, pain spiking up and down his spine whenever his back was thrown against the back of his seat. The bleeding had stopped, and Jesse was operational, but it wasn't the best of situations. Then, another sharp turn jolted his shoulder against the door, sending another wave of pains through his body, making Jenkins simultaniously clutch his stomach and shoulder.

"Shit man you want to watch it there!?" Jesse began shouting at the driver too, who got sick of it and turned the radio on almost full blast. It wasn't music however, it was the multiple shouts and screams of soldiers on the battlefield. One broadcast asked for reinforcements, another was trying to call in an airstrike, none of them made too much sense. In short, from what Jesse could tell, the battle was not going well. At least on the ground, Jesse leaned forward and tapped the drivers shoulder, who turned the radio down for a second.

"How's the Navy doing?" I asked, he took a moment and with a spare hand started turning the knob on the radio, more and more emergency radio calls blared on the radio as he tuned it to the navies channel. Jenkins began worrying, New York is one of the largest U.S. cities, and terrible to defend without a Navy having your back. New York is surrounded by water, almost all around, if the Russians are able to destroy the U.S. Navy and surround the city, it would pretty much spell Russian victory, seeing as they could shell the city without opposition. Finally the driver had the radio dialed into the Navies channel, what came through wasn't very reassuring.

"How the hell did they get past us?"
"Were hit, the U.S.S Vermont is out of commission, abondon ship!"
"Their shelling the city god damnit, where are our reinforcements?"
"More Russians out on the horizon, they outnumber us 3 to 1!"
"Damnit, our ships at the Keys are also under fire, and the half stationed on the Pacific is too far to be of any use!"
"Holy shit, the Virginia has taken a hit! She's sinking, fuck we're next!"

With that last one the driver shut off the radio, either because he was trying to protect those of us behind him from losing morale, or because he got sick to his stomach listening to it. I turned over to look at Hatchet who had a blank look on his face, he never even noticed me. Jesse, starting to feel defeated looked out the window, from what he could see the city was still barely worth defending anyway. The streets were destroyed, almost every building had a huge chuck blasted out of it, it was bad. The sun was beginning to fall, the sky had went from a smoggy blue to a orangish color, but that wasn't what grabbed Jesse's attention, what grabbed his attention where the five streaks in the air heading straight for the city.

"What the hell are . . .?" Jesse began to mouth when the shapes came into sight . . . they were missiles. Jenkins panicked for a second but gathered himself and grabbed the drivers right arm.

"Look out the window!" He shouted, jabbing his thumb on the bullet proof glass, the driver looked, and his jaw dropped to the floor.

"Shit those are missiles? Where are they going?" He turned and asked Jesse, but he didn't return his look, he was fixated on the half a dozen missiles heading straight towards the city. The humvee drove out of formation and stopped, the driver grabbed the walkie talkie handing from the radio and began to shouting at it. Within seconds the rest of the convoy stopped too, all eyes were on destruction. The missiles were almost at their target when the driver suddenly noticed something.

"Those are heading straight for . . . If I'm right those god damn Russian explosives are targeted right at Times Square!" He was right, the next five seconds was something Jenkins would never soon forget, the missiles, in clear sight hit their targets, creating one large explosion blocks away from his current position. The shockwave threw rubble and asphalt straight at the small armored convoy, the building to the right of it seemed to peal away. After the five seconds it was all over, and the only thing a person could see was the smoke from the attack. The driver began to frantically shout things onto his radio, trying to get a reply back from Times Square, but nothing ever came back. Jesse was stunned, when he was a kid, all he ever used to hear was how America had the greatest army in the world, and now here they were . . . losing New York, just like in the Revolution. For the city it was deja vu, but for every American still fighting this battle it was hell.

Finally the driver gave up communications and punched the drivers wheel, rubbing his hand afterwards from the pain. He sat back with a large sigh, and with a defeated look on his face slumped in his seat.

"Are they . . . well you know . . . gone?" Hatchet asked, leaning towards the driver, who still never turned to face him. The answer didn't come instantly, Hatchet sat back and rubbed sweaty, dirt and grime covered hands over his face. Finally the driver looked back to address his passengers, the gunner who hadn't really done anything besides rest an elbow on the roof of the humvee came down to hear the drivers verdict.

"They're gone."

[GhostHammer]

An enormous whoosh sent the trio of JTF2 members ducking behind a low wall. The sound of tearing Velcro intensified as a half dozen Russian AS-15 missiles blasted overhead, heading into the city. Adrian paused and pointed forward where a pair of Russian's slowly walked towards them, AK-47 rifles up, intense beams of LED light illuminating the shadows that had now crept higher in the sunset. Cody tapped Adrian on the shoulder, directing him into a store, as he ducked behind a garbage bin. The beam of light passed over Mike's hiding spot, on his belly under a large truck, before moving up to the store, the broken glass glittering.
"Стоп. Что это такое?" one of the Russian's grunted as the beam stopped.
"Я не знаю. Будьте бдительны!" the other whispered as he tightened his grip on his AK. Cody knew Russian well enough to know they had seen something. He shifted his weight and holstered his sidearm, praying Adrian would move fast enough. Mike's status light on his monocle flashed green, signaling he had weapon sights on the hostiles. Cody held his breathe as the back of a Russian appeared, moving into the store where Adrian crouched waiting.

"Американцы! Вызовите команду!" the first Russian cried as Adrian dove forward, yanking the AK sideways and plunging his combat knife deep into the man's jugular, turning his screams into wet gurgles. The second Russian appeared in front of Cody, an AA-12 Shotgun raised, ready to blast both soldiers into ribbons. Cody shot his leg out, buckling the side of the soldier's knee, sending him sprawling into the wall. The Russian whipped out the shotgun, buttock passing over Cody's head as he ducked underneath the swing. An elbow to the jaw sent the Russian stumbling backwards. Cody continued his momentum and spun, hand grasping the handle sticking out of his back harness.
The Russian had just recovered and was raising his shotgun when the steel blade of the Tomahawk connected with the side of his head, embedding itself just below the ear, severing the major arteries along the outside of the neck. Cody withdrew the blade as the Russian clutched his neck, stumbling forward onto his knees before a muffled gunshot from Mike's M14 punctured his temple, putting the man down.
Adrian stepped out of the shop, wiping his knife on his pant leg. "We're clear sir." he whispered as he re-shouldered his rifle. Cody nodded and drew his sidearm once again before stepping back onto the road, waiting for Mike to join them before moving on, the horrible images of the Russian missiles still fresh in their minds.

"El-Tee!" Mike whispered, "Here!"
Cody ducked under a fallen street lamp and joined Mike at the corner of a dock house, Adrian watching their back. The smell hit Cody as he reached Mike. "Yea, let me check." He withdrew a black light from his vest pouch, snapping it on and illuminating the door. A glowing "X" stared them in the face before Cody snapped off the light and slipped it back into it's pouch. He called Adrian up. "Ok we're here. No doubt the Frogmen are going to be jumpy, so keep visible until they can ID us, boo-ya?"
"Boo-ya." the two replied as Cody opened the door and stepped inside.

He lowered his pistol, finger resting along the guard as the others stepped inside, closing the door behind them. Cody clicked on his helmet lamp, a red wash illuminating the dock house. A few outboards rested along the wall, dozens of nets and boat parts lined the shelves. Cody stepped around a corner and felt the barrel of a rifle pressed against his side. "Бог сохранить наши земли." said the man, his accent rough.
"Glorious and free." Cody replied lowering his pistol. The SEAL snapped on his own light, illuminating his face.
"Good to see you made it in once piece." He clicked his COM. "All clear gentlemen, come on out." his finished, offering Cody a hand. "Lieutenant Waters."
Cody shook it as a half dozen SEAL's emerged from the shadows. "Lieutenant Shaer. You guys look cozy." Cody grunted.
The SEAL shook his head. "Not after those AS-15's were launched. Time's running out."
Cody nodded when a splash of water sent the group of men spinning, weapons on and directed towards the hole cut into the floor close to the harbor. A masked face emerged, one hand in the air while the other pulled oh his re-breather. "Jesus Christ Yank! I told ya I wouldn't be long!"
Cody lowered his weapon and suppressed a smile. Walking over to the man, he offered a hand. "You're lucky I didn't put a hole in your ass Al."

The large British man accepted it and pulled himself out the water, a couple others surfacing to join him. "Good to see ya mate! Sorry it's under these circumstances though."
Cody nodded and spun to Waters who spoke briefly with another SEAL before taking out a small device and placing it on the ground. A map flickered to life and illuminated the far wall as the projector came to life. The SF Operators crowded around to get a look as Waters began to explain their mission, a few members carefully positioned to watch the doors as the group planned the crippling of the Russian Navy in New York.

[UNLUCKY NUM13ER]

08-16-2016
2200 Hours
559th Green Berets
New York City, U.S.A
Sergeant Major Jason Miller

It had gotten dark, and it was one hell of a long day. The other half of the Russian convoy had returned and ambushed Miller and his men. The fight ensued for over an hour as the Berets fought until they holed themselves inside a urban grocery store with a nearby detachment of Marines. They managed to flank around and start picking off the Russians from the side. The Russians didn't react well to the ambush from the side. They quickly fell apart and when only five remained they dropped their weapons and gave up. The Marines quickly secured the Russians to allow Miller to report to his superiors. Their next objective was to assist a FBI HRT team attempting to rescue a group of civilians taken hostage in the subway. Their secondary objective was to take the sub system to an enemy forward command center based at a further station.

Four black SUV's pulled up to the store and 3 men got out of the first one. Miller approached the leader and extended his hand. "Miller I suppose?" the man inquired. "yes sir, you the HRT?" replied Miller. "Correct, my name is Johnson. We have orders to escort you to the subway where you are to assist us in a hostage rescue." Miller nodded, "Alright get your men in the cars and we'll move out." The first two SUV's were a little banged up with cracked glass, Miller felt nervous about riding in a civilian vehicle in the middle of a war zone. But after entering the car he realized the glass was bullet resistant, and the cars also had a minor amount of armor. Still not enough for a combat zone but it was the best the FBI could provide. It would have to do.

As the cars rolled out Miller's tac pad rang. It had info on the dead GSG-9 they had discovered earlier that day. They were in fact mercenaries, but had once worked together on the same team some years ago. There was no info on who had hired them or what they were hired for, but they had been contacted by an American. It still wasn't much but at least it was something, the dead soldiers had been on Miller's mind all day.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

The sky had finally become dark, the sun had set, and the smoke that had risen from Times Square became cloaked by the black sky. The armored convoy had found a place to stop and rest, somewhere out of sight at least. They had found an underground garage that had belonged to the employees' who worked at the office building that had once stood tall next to the garage, but that building was one of the first to fall in battle. There was now only one entrence to the garage, or at least from the road, so it would be hell for enemy armor to try and get inside, making this a safe area to rest. The rumble of the tanks engine had stopped, no one was inside. The same was true for every Humvee in the garage, empty, the Marines who once rode them sat around multiple fires created from field kits and started in a few scattered trash cans, there were no cars so the soldiers couldn't use them for their heaters. With night came the cold, and the American troops wanted to stay warm, it was the only thing they had that could be considered comfort.

Jenkins sat back against a rectangular pillar holding up the floor above him, he had changed out his old blood soaked bandage for a newer, clean one. He watched as the Marines in front of him laid down in silence, awake, but saying nothing amongst the flicker of the garbage cans flame. Ever since Times Square had been bombed the Russians hadn't launched any other missiles, indicating that they either didn't want to waste ammo, or that they were waiting for surrender. Whatever was left of the U.S. Navy after the explosions retreated south along the coast, where they would regroup and turn around for a counter attack. Futile, Jesse thought, the Russians had them outnumbered greatly, no matter how powerful the U.S. Navy thought it was, they didn't have a chance against the Russian fleet which was now docked at New York harbors. If the fires weren't currently burning the men inside the garage would be able to hear the faint sounds of gun fire occasionally sounding throughout the city, indeed there was still fighting, but most of it had ended for the night. Both armies troops and armor were scattered throughout the city, something common to happen inside a large maze like New York, most likely the Russians had stopped hunting American and Canadian survivors in order to regroup, most likely at the harbor to celebrate their great victory against the Americans.

When Jesse thought that he punched the ground with a fist, his hand throbbed. He couldn't believe the Russians had decimated their opposition, it seemed impossible to him, he asked himself the same questions over and over again, never coming up with a clear answer. Then he thought about home, his family, his friends . . . Jenna. As he began thinking about his homeplace he caught himself drifting away, he grabbed his weapon and shook his head, he didn't want to fall asleep, he needed to be ready for anything. But then he heard the faint breath of his fellow Americans as they fell asleep one by one and began dreaming of home. Still, he continued to fight the urge, he held his weapon closely. Another few minutes passed and his thoughts continued to drift from one to another, like a stream just carrying him through his mind. Once again his thoughts returned to home, to Jenna, he had never felt so homesick before. That is when he lost his battle to fatigue, and he slowly began slipping into the dream world.

[GhostHammer]

"Uh sir? Can you go over this one more time? I could've swore that Frog said we were boarding the Russian Command Ship?"
Cody patted Adrian on the back as zipped open the black canvas back they had lugged with them from the hangar hours ago. The night sky hung crisp and cold, stars blinking above through smoke that spiraled from fires throughout the city. "You heard right brother, get your gear on." he finished pulling out his breathing equipment, running over the plan in his head one more time. He and Adrian would scale the main tower to the bridge while Mike took position at the observation station with the help of the SAS sniper. They would provide cover for the SEAL team on deck responsible for securing C4 packs along the ships essential deck side equipment. Below decks, the SAS team would do the same in engineering. That was the easy part. Once accomplished, the entire joint unit of American, British, and Canadian SF Operators would rally along the helm of the ship and extract. Of course, this would be after Cody and Adrian secured the Captain while the snipers watched their back. "All in a nights work" was how the SEAL described it. "Suicidal cowboy bullshit" was more akin to how Cody would put it, but with New York in such dire straights, options were limited. He tugged on his re-breather and gave Adrian a thumbs up before stepping off the blackened dock and into the frigid waters of the harbor.

"Hold." Cody whispered into his COM as he ducked down behind a crate on deck of the Russian Command Ship, Adrian treading water off the side of the motionless ship as a Russian sailor paused for a smoke feet away from where the JTF2 Lieutenant crouched. Careful not to make any noise, Cody withdrew his sidearm and moved in, the heavy .45 caliber rounds muffled pops that sent the Russian jerking. Cody caught the man before he hit the deck, tossing him overboard and waving Adrian to ascend the ladder. Once both Operators were on deck, Cody flashed a green light to Mike who was moving up the observation tower, a green "All Clear" light responded him. He signaled Adrian, there would be no more talking, radio silence. He leveled his sidearm and moved forwards, hoping his American and British counterparts could accomplish their jobs, and that he could accomplish his. The fact it was late would keep most of the crew in the gallery and their bunks, although Cody doubted there wouldn't be a Russian or two in his way.

The stairs leading up to the bridge were dark, red lamps illuminating the passage as Cody waved Adrian forward. The entrance to the ship had been relatively uneventful. A pair of Russians had fallen victim to their sidearms in one of the bulkheads under repair from fighting in the harbor. Other than the three they had put down, the only other event that had warranted any notice was an amber "Caution" light for the SAS team below decks. Cody dismissed this as a minor snag, as anything major would have warranted a red "Abort" light, but none the less it unsettled him. Adrian signaled the stairs clear and Cody moved up to join him, the pair climbing the stairs, pistols outstretched as they came upon the half open door to the bridge, a soft light pouring from inside. Laughing voices and the chinking of glasses drifted from beyond the bulkhead. Private Party Cody thought as he holstered his sidearm. Adjusting the sling on his M4, he withdrew the borrowed MP7 of his thigh and clicked the safety to off. He was thankful the SEAL's brought some extra toys. He flashed a blue "Ready" light and slipped a 9-Banger out of his vest, awaiting the "Go" light from the SAS below decks.

Minutes passed before the SAS flashed an amber light twice, checking in with the SEAL's on deck. After a green reply, the SAS and SEAL's both lit their lights a steady green awaiting Cody's reply. He look to Adrian whose eyes were wide with anticipation. After a slight nod, Cody clicked the green light, pulled the pin on the 9-Banger, and rolled it onto the bridge. He paused, the drunken voices of those inside swearing as the grenade ignited, each "mini flashbang" hammering the eyes and ears of the command crew before the flashing stopped. Wasting no time, Cody kicked in the half open door and charged in, his MP7 coughing bullets as he dropped a stunned pair of junior officers struggling to draw their sidearms, the hollow point 9mm rounds neatly perforating their light naval uniforms. Adrian spun to his right and sent a trio of rounds from his sidearm at a Russian Lieutenant emerging from the head as Cody finished off the last of the Command Crew, both Operators training their weapons on the Captain. "Cuffs." Cody whispered as Adrian moved forward, securing the man's hands and gagging him with a piece of cloth. Cody holstered the spent MP7 and withdrew a handheld SATLINK Camera. He flashed a picture of the man's face and beamed it to the SEAL's on deck, who in turn transmitted the image to Washington for confirmation of the target.

"Eskimo, we have a problem." Came Lieutenant Waters' voice over the COM. "Be advised you have a Tier One target in your possession. ID confirmed as Admiral Volstag of the Russian 2nd Fleet over."
Cody swore. Radio silence was broken, but that hardly mattered. They hadn't picked up any old Naval Commander, they had just bagged one of the biggest Russian Navy commanders in the entire war. And now, with C4 explosions rocking the deck and in the engine room, they would have to fight their way out with precious cargo. Cody clicked his COM. "Rodger that. Plan B?"
Al's voice broke through the static as he fought his way below decks. "Plan B is already in motion!"
Adrian cocked his head. "Plan B?"
Cody spat and shouldered his rifle. "Yea. You're going to love this..." he finished as he clicked on his COM and began to broadcast live to all the allied forces in New York, hoping Hatchet or anyone would hear them, praying they had some way of helping them get their cargo off the ship alive, and hopefully them with it.

For now, the allies held a serious bargaining chip to force the Russians off the East Coast, and the Russian forces in the harbor, and the incoming paratroopers at dawn, were going to fight tooth and nail to get their Admiral back.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

His tie was choking his neck, his thin American Eagle dress polo collecting sweat on the summers day, both of these made it hard for Jesse to breathe as his mom told him how much she loved him, tears in her eyes. His dad and girlfriend were waiting patiently behind her for their turn to say good-bye, but with only a few minutes left until the bus left Jesse's mom was taking up all of the time. Finally his mom broke down, and his father took her by the shoulders, giving Jesse his hand for a firm handshack before taking Jesse's mother back to the car. With only a minute left until departure, Jenna who was waiting patiently, rushed and threw herself at Jesse, her arms fitting snuggly around his chest as he held her shoulders.

"You better come back damnit'" She cried, tears streaming down her face, Jesse tightened his grasp on her and she wiped her tears on his shirt, the stains growing larger and larger.

"Don't worry about me babe, you know better than anyone that I can handle myself." He comforted her, but was pushed away when a short, clean looking man shouted across the lot that the bus would be taking off in one minutes. Although Jenna pushed him, she kept her grip at arms reach.

"Promise me Jesse . . . promise me that you'll come back safe!" She struggled to choke out these words. Jesse reached a hand and wiped her tears off her cheek, they were warm.

"How many times do I have to say it until you believe me?" He began, but when she didn't say anything he reassured her again, "I wont die, I promise." With that he kissed her softly on the lips and went off for the bus, waving a final good-bye as he ran after it. Jesse hastily entered the bus, his tie getting caught on the mini-fan placed on the gigantically large dashboard, and it made a nasty hiss and ripping sound as Jesse pulled his tie out. After extraction the damn thing looked like it had been eaten by his dog, but there was no time to worry about it now, Jesse sat his ass down and looked out the window where his lover still stood watching. Seeing this he almost couldn't stomach leaving her, a rock formed at the pit of his gut and he began to feel an all too familiar feeling in his heart, a pain, one which he hadn't felt since beginning to date Jenna. The bus roared to life, the doors closing, and they took off, that was the last time he had seen Jenna.

Jenkins, already feeling homesick laid his head back against the hard metal seat of the Army bus and put his ipods ear buds in. He slipped the device under his shirt and pulled it back through the bottom, something he often did when listening to it. He flicked through the songs with his thumb and finally reached a artist: The Scorpions, and pressed his thumb against the screen. Two songs showed up when the artist screen disappeared and Jesse picked his favorite of the two: "Rock you like a Hurricane". However that isn't what played, what played sounded like a radio broadcast, from a familiar voice. It was faint, but audiable, and it was coming from one of the humvee's radios that hadn't been turned off.

When Jesse opened his eyes again he was back at New York, every Marine he had came with was still asleep and the night was still young. The radio was still broadcasting, the voice still familiar. Jesse scrambled to his feet and went dead sprint to the Humvee, ignoring his stomach wound which still pained him. He got to the Humvee and threw the door open, the door slammed against the front of the Humvee with a loud bang, that woke up a few Marines nearby. The message was relayed again through the radio, but now Jenkins recognized the voice.

"This is a member of a joint task force team aboard the Russian command vessel docked just outside the harbor due south of the remains of the Statue of Liberty. We have a high priority target in our custody and no way out, this is a message to all U.S. or Canadian forces still inside the city, does any body copy?" The message ended again, Jesse picked up the Humvee's walkie talkie hanging from the vehicles radio.

"This is Private First Class Jenkins, do you read me?" He asked, but there wasn't an answer, and the man on the other side repeated his emergency again. Hatchet, who had just awoke, walked up to Jenkins and leaned against the side of the vehicle, scratching his close cropped black hair.

"Our signal can't travel that far dog, they can't hear us, but do you know who this is?" He asked Jesse who turned to face him and explained.

"That's El Tee, I'd recognize that voice anywhere, he was the leader of that Canadian force that dropped me off in you care, remember?" Jesse returned with another question, Hatchet looked down for a second and his facial expression changed when he remembered El Tee, but he didn't say anything.

"We have to go help, you heard him, they have some sort a H.V.I in their care, he could be important to the war effort." Jesse tried to get the importance of helping the Task force into the thick skulls of the Marines, but none of them said anything, they were all awake now, and crowded around the one Humvee but most of them carried the faces of defeat. It appeared that the loss of Times Square really took it out of them. The only Marine who didn't look like he was going to bend over to the Russians was a medium sized, thin Marine with the rank of Staff Sergeant on his uniform, he was pondering. Jesse looked directly at him, and the Ssgt caught his stare but didn't say anything. When the radio came to life again it was not a Canadian voice, it was indeed American.

"Pfc. Jenkins? Can you read me?" The voice called, Jesse picked up the radio's talkie.

"Roger that, who's this?" He waited for a response, his fingers in a death grip on the small communications device.

"This is Colonel Smith, assistant Commander of all New York operations, I have lost communications with General Wolfe and have taken full command of the situation, what the hell is going on out there?" Colonel Smith was just as clueless as he was, but Jesse still tried to explain.

"The emergency broadcast came from a friend of mine, you know the contents of his message so you know how important getting to him is, I'm stuck on the ground though, copy?" The Pfc awaited an answer. It came about a minute later, the reason for delay was explained.

"I have about half a dozen choppers still servicable, but the Russians have heavy anti-air located on their battle ships; however, I think I have a way around that. How important do you think your friends H.V.I. is?" He asked, he was obviously trying to determine whether or not losing half a dozen choppers was worth the Task Force's life.

"Sir, I know for a fact that this Task Force, its soldiers and its prisoner are worth three dozen choppers." Another long pause.

"Alright, I'm sending you a chopper, you'll be filled in on the details when it gets there. This is the last of our support son, don't waste it, pop flares outside of your location and the heli should be there any second. Good luck Private Jenkins, and god speed." That was the last words of wisdom that came from the radio, Staff Sergeant Banks shut the thing off afterwards in order to preserve the Humvee's battery life.

"Alright you heard the man Jenkins, here," He took a flare from his kevlar vest and handed it to Jenkins, who graciously accepted it, "I'm not sending you on this mission alone, Hatchet, you're with him, make sure his wounds don't catch up with him, good luck gentleman." Banks began to round up the rest of the Marines, Hatchet lightly hit Jesse in the arm to get his attention and the pair of American soldiers left the garage. Jesse took the flare handed to him by Ssgt. Banks and lit it, the fuse light up the night sky as green smoke lifted into atmosphere. About a minute later the chopper arrived, it was a Bell UH-1Y Venom, Jesse and Hatchet mounted the chain guns on each side of the rotary air vehicle and it took off almost instantly. In the air Jesse could make out the shape of five other helicopters, all awaiting the Venom to arrive. The pilot came in through the helicopters PA system.

"Alright boys," it was a woman, a scary one, "We're going to be quick about this, five Vipers are going to assault the carrier and distract the anti-air abilities of the Russians, then we're going to swoop in and grab your friends, they have about 15 seconds to get on board before I save my own ass and leave them there, got it? Good." Neither Hatchet or Jenkins said anything in return, Hatchet reached in between his legs to make sure he didn't piss himself, that was the effect this womans voice had on you, seriously, it was crazy. The AH-1Z (not sure if correct) Vipers began their assault, Jesse could already see the Russian super carrier even in the darkness. The deck was being lit up by constant explosions, along with the deck lights, it made it easily visible to see the fight insue below. The Venom approached the carrier quickly, Jesse checked the chain gun by firing a few rounds into the ocean below him, the gun worked, but it freaked the shit after him. After the first three rounds rattled his rib cage he jumped backwards, and almost shat himself.

The Viper's that had gone ahead were being wiped out one by one by Russian anti-air, only two of the five still remained above the Command Ship, and they were still taking fire. The Venom flew closer and closer to the Russian super carrier, the mere size of the ship was enough to make Jesse gasp, it was huge. Huge wasn't enough to describe it, Jesse couldn't find the words to describe what he saw before him, but that was when his attention switched from the carrier to its deck. On the deck were three men on the edge of the ship, one was taking cover behind the other, who had another man in a choke hold, pistol to his fore head. Jesse instantly recognized the man, he was Cody. But his situation wasn't good, he was cornered by about a dozen Russian soldiers, the only ones not fixated on shooting back at the Vipers.

"Right there! Those three by the edge of the ship, those are our H.V.I's!" Jesse shouted at the pilot, he wasn't sure she heard him until the aircraft began to decrease in altitude. Jesse readied the choppers chain guns and braced himself, he looked back and watched Hatchet do the same.

"Ready man?" Hatchet turned and asked Jesse, who smiled as he replied, "I was born ready." The chopper was only about 50 feet from the deck now.

"Eat lead mother fuckers!" Was what Jenkins shouted before he opened fire.

[GhostHammer]

"Adrian keep up the fire!" Cody yelled as hey pushed the Russian Admiral down the bulkhead, one hand grasping the man's collar while the other pressed his pistol into the base of his skull. Adrian fired a sustained burst, his C8 dancing in his hands as he walked bullets up a Russian sailor who had charged through an open hatch. Cody slammed the Admiral head first into a partially open hatch, sending the heavy metal door flying open revealing a brightly lit deck, fires ablaze. Cody charged out and broadcast a distress call one last time before abandoning his COM. The pair of JTF2 Operators ran towards the bow of the carrier, a dozen SF Operators ducked behind crates and a burning life raft as the battled Russian aquatic forces, cut off from Cody and Adrian. The Russian Admiral smirked. "You vill never escape!"
Cody spat in the mans face and smashed his nose with the but of his pistol, breaking his nose and sending blood gushing onto the deck plates. Swinging the man around, he wrapped his arm around the Russians neck and pulled tight, placing the HIV in a headlock, pushing his pistol deep into the soft tissue below his ear. Adrian stepped in front of him, rifle raised. A half dozen Russian Spetnaz moved forward, AK-47's gleaming in the firelight as the two parties stood at a standoff, the battle between the allied SF and Russian's raging behind them. Cody caught a glimpse of Mike and Al fighting amongst the group when one of the Russians stepped forward. "Release zee Admiral and ve vill take you prisoner!"
Adrian laughed. "Kiss my ass fucker. We hand him over you'll execute us on the spot!"


Cody was about to add to the insults when the roar of a chopper smashed the harmony of the battle on deck, followed by the overlapping bangs of high caliber gunshots. The mini-gun alongside the choppers side tore into the Russian's directly in front of Cody and Adrian, sending the pair diving to the deck with the Russian HIV. Red hot tracers walked up and down the deck as a second chopper joined in, clearing a path for the SF Team to run towards the bow, heads low amidst the steel rain. Al came sliding over to Cody, "You got him?!"
Cody yelled over the roar as the chopper descended next to them, the door gun waving them onwards. "Fuck yea, let's go!"
The JTF2 team and a handful of SEALs and SAS ran to one chopper while the rest jumped onto the other chopper landing opposite. Cody passed the HIV off to a Marine inside the chopper and took a knee, covering the oncoming Operators until all had boarded before jumping on himself. A hand grasped him from the gunner's chair. "We're even now El-Tee!" yelled Jenkins over the roar of the chopper tearing off the ship.
Cody smiled. "Deal, thanks for the save Ranger."
Mike clapped Jenkins on the shoulder, "Good timing brother."
A chorus of cheers in agreement rose inside the chopper as the two birds tore back towards the city. The crew chief tapped Cody on the shoulder. "Lieutenant?! I have CANSOFCOM on the horn for you!"
Cody took the headset warily, if Command was calling from Canada, it couldn't be good. He clicked the COM switch alongside the earmuff. "This is Eskimo actual, go ahead Command."
A gruff voice grunted over the static washed channel. "Shaer we have a situation. General Wolfe has gone dark."
Cody looked over to Adrian and waved, making a walking gesture with his first two fingers. Adrian started to transmit into his COM unit as Cody turned his attention back to CANSOFCOM. "What do you need sir?"
The voice from Ottawa continued, "The pilot has orders to drop you and your team off at his last known location. From there, you're on your own solider, we have no clue where he went or why he went dark. Confirm orders?"
Cody nodded inwardly, "Rodger that sir. We're on it." he finished passing the headset back to the crew chief. He snapped on his COM unit. back to team channel flashing a green light. The chatter quickly quietened down before Adrian cleared the air. "What's good Lieutenant?"

Cody cleared his throat and checked his monocle that had just finished downloading his new mission details. He made sure that all channels were open before starting, careful to make sure the marines and pilots were not on the line. "Alright listen up! As of approximately thirty minutes ago, General Wolfe of New York operational command has gone dark from his control location. CANSOFCOM has received a request from American Eagle to locate him ASAP. This is a priority one mission. Wolfe is a Tier-One friendly asset that must be recovered."
Al broke across the channel. "My men are without orders, with permission from Waters I'd like to assist."
Cody looked over at the chopper flying alongside them, Waters waving from the open door. "We can split the task force, my SEALs will escort the Russian HIV back to Command with the SAS, Al you can take whoever you need and join the Canucks oo-rah?"
A chorus of agreement from both Al and Cody echoed back before Cody continued. "Alright! SEAL's you now have control of the Russian HIV. Once we get to the drop zone, we'll fast rope with whatever SAS are coming with and proceed on mission. You keep that Russian locked tight, we'll get your man back."

[SuRroundeD By 1]

Jenkins was still manning the choppers mini-gun, although they were out of reach of the Russian anti-air, there was no clear locations of U.S. or Russian footholds in the city, they could be flying over a U.S. cleared area and run into a nest of Russians the next. Jesse looked back at what he could see of the Russian super carrier, shortly after leaving the U.S. SEAL's detonated the C4 they had planted underneath the ship. When the two choppers had reached the shore line the explosion ripped through the deck of the Command vessel and it tore itself into three parts, each individual hunk of steel sinking at its own pace. Soon enough the ship was out of sight and Jesse focused his attention back to the city, but there was nothing, just explosions off into the distance where all the heavy fighting was occurring.

Jesse glanced back at El Tee who was sitting at the far back of the heli, out of ear sight from everyone else. Since he had to make sure no one else heard him, Jesse figured what Cody was being told was above his rank, and decided not to try and eavsdrop. Mike walked up and sat to Jesse, his legs hanging off the side of the chopper he just stared out into the night sky.

"You alright man?" Jenkins couldn't help but ask, Mike took a glance over, and then looked back out of the chopper.

"Yeah, I'm fine, by the way there is a change in plan, were changing course for a different part of the city." He stopped without further explaination, with an irritable sense of curiosity, Jesse had to push just a little further.

"What for?" He asked, trying to pick apart what was going on. Mike was quiet for a second, obvioiusly trying to determine what to tell Jesse, then he turned to address him.

"That, I cannot tell you, but once you hear the news you'll probably find out what and where we're going." That was the brick wall, Jesse didn't try to press any further. For the next half a minute there was an awkward silence, oddly enough the one to break it wasn't Jesse but Mike.

"Do you have anyone waiting for you at home?" A simple question, there was no harm in answering it. Jesse tried to find a way to begin explaining about home without losing his concentration.

"Well . . . my family-" He was cut mid sentence.

"I meant like a girl friend," he clarified.

"Oh man . . ." Jesse began, and tried to figure out a way to answer, "Yeah . . . her name is Jenna . . . one of the most beautiful girls you've ever seen man . . . small rack but that doesn't bother me, tightest ass I've ever seen." He joked and elbowed the Canadian in the arm. Mike displayed a grin, and hit back.

"Seriously though, you miss her?" Mike asked another question, although this one slightly bothered Jesse he still answered.

"Yeah, her the most out of anyone man, I would give anything just to see her again . . ." Jesse stopped, a familiar pain hit his chest and a rock formed in his gut, the feeling of home sickness hit him hard. A tear fell down his right cheek, it was warm, almost as if it were her fingers tracing his cheek right now. His memories began to drift to his time spent with her, the feeling in his stomach intensified. He was right, there was nothing he wouldn't give to see her after all that had happened today, her face drifting in his mind. Mike caught his silence.

"You don't have to finish that, I know how you feel." Mike stated, "I have someone back home myself." The helicopter came to a stop, and hovered above a large intersection, Cody stepped up from the back of the helicopter and clasped Mike on the shoulder.

"Time to go."

[UNLUCKY NUM13ER]

08-16-2016
2345 Hours
559th Green Berets
New York City, U.S.A
Sergeant Major Jason Miller

The Green Berets & HRT slowly made their way through the service tunnels. They were en route to a nearby station about half a block away where Russians had a civilian POW camp set up. It had been set up hastily and security had not been prepared correctly. The American special forces had made contact with a Russian sentry team. Miller and Seth took one man out while 2 others dealt with the second Russian. Miller grabbed the man's rifle and swung it around behind him quickly disarming the startled man, then dropped him to his knees. Seth already had his combat knife at the ready, he covered the man's mouth and rammed it into the Russians chest and left it there until he was nothing more than a limp corpse. The other 2 had eliminated the other Russian only 10 feet away. The HRT team was instantly on the move taking point headed towards the camp.

There were over 50 prisoners at the camp. The biggest priority was a French ambassador & 2 U.S. congressmen. Of course the other civilians were of some importance but the death of a French ambassador wouldn't sit well politically. The HRT team would focus on retrieving the priority prisoners while Miller and his men would eliminate as many Russian threats as possible.

With 6 men on each side of the tracks behind the camp they opened fire. Within 5 seconds 13 Russian guards dropped. The HRT team made their move while the Russians tried to figure out what was happening to them. Within another 10 seconds 5 more Russians lay dead. In the back some prisoners began to scream. Guards were in disorder, but soon began to focus fire on the Green Berets. The HRT had breached the first gate to prisoners. More Russians dropped dead, the lights went out. 2 Berets got hit, as they switched to their night vision. The fighting began to turn into a stalemate as more Russians from the front of the camp came to assist their fallen comrades. Johnson and his HRT sucessfully got the Priority prisoners out and began to escort the other prisoners through the dark and out of the camp. The tunnels was a mass of gunfire and yelling. Eventually the Russians realized they no longer stood much of a chance and that they had already lost their prisoners. Those who remained alive retreated to the surface or made a run down the subway tracks.

Miller and Johnson regrouped to recollect and discuss the next plan of action. Miller had 3 wounded, Johnson had none. The Priority prisoners were fine, but some of the other civilians had been killed or wounded in the combat. A few had been interrogated and were pretty beat up. Johnson took the POW's and Millers injured men to the evac. After securing the camp and disposing of the weapons Miller took the Green Berets down the tracks and began their next objective...to neutralize the Russian forward command base.

[GhostHammer]

The pilot waved his hand and gave Cody a thumbs up as the chopper settled above the dark street, a small fire inside a car casting dancing shadows across the road onto the walls of the battle torn buildings. Cody checked his rifle was secured before calling a thanks to the pilot, he turned to Jenkins. "Stay frosty out there Ranger. Last one home buys the beer."
The solider nodded. "Hoo-ah sir. Stay safe."
Cody nodded and grabbed the fast rope. He took a breath, and jumped, the thick rope sliding through his gloves as he dropped forty feet to the pavement, followed by Adrian and Mike seconds after. A trio of SAS members landed on the opposite side of the chopper and the six SF Operators began their advance into the darkness, silencers fixed, all praying they could reach their target's last known location with minimal resistance.

One of the SAS members signaled a "freeze" from the front of the formation. He fired a series of signals to his comrade and the pair slowly moved towards the doors of the library General Wolfe has been using as a command post, one of the doors hanging by a hinge, blown inwards. Al moved next to Cody to translate the SAS signals which differed from those of JTF2. "William thinks it's a trap." he whispered as Adrian moved to cover the pair.
Cody shook his head. "No Russian's here, not enough cover." he said pointing the the serious damage to the old building.
Al opened his mouth to respond when William at the front cried out. A split second later, the massive crack-boom of a Claymore ripped through the air, hundreds of tiny BB's blasting into the leading SAS members, sending them sprawling to the pavement. Cody swept his rifle along the windows awaiting a barrage of rifle fire, but silence soon returned. Al moved to his men while Cody double clicked a red light to Mike who moved along the rooftops above them. A green acknowledgment replied to him. Cody moved to Al. "Status?"
Al shook his head. "Both gone. Not a chance in hell mate."
Adrian placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."
Al nodded. "Let's get on with it then."
The trio quickly pulled the bodies into the shadows and removed any ammunition and gear they would need. In minutes, they had finished, and with Adrian volunteering to run point, slowly moved past the now destroyed front doors into the vast library. A large double staircase loomed opposite them in the lobby, one leading up, the other down. Cody quickly clicked his COM. "Mike, move down from the roof, Al will meet you from the lobby. Adrian and I will take the lower levels. Whoever finds the control room first, radio in, we rally there, clear?"
Green lights flashed back at him along his monocle.

The heavy door creaked as Cody pushed it in with his rifle barrel. He quickly stepped inside, followed by Adrian, their Surefire Weapon lights illuminating the dark office. Books and paper lay strewn about, and a small desk lamp lay on the floor still on, casting long light upon the far wall where an entrance of sandbags and machine guns gleamed from the end of the hall. Cody waved Adrian forward and grabbed his COM. "Bravo team be advised, we've located the control room. Marking the location on your TACMAP over."
"Rodger that El-Tee we're on the way." Mike replied from somewhere upstairs as Cody placed a yellow triangle on the map. Returning to the situation at hand, he nodded to Adrian and the two moved down the hall towards the heavy steel door which lay slightly open. Cody quickly pulled out a mirror he called the "dentist tool" and checked inside the door carefully. After locating no traps on the door, he grasped the heavy handle and yanked it open with a loud groan. The pair stepped inside just as Mike and Al turned the corner and started down the hall towards them.

Nothing could have prepared them for the scene inside the decimated control room.

[SuRroundeD By 1]

The sound of an explosion ripped through the air soon after dropping of Cody and his men. Jesse spun his head to see what happened but nothing could be seen in the night sky. Shit, their already in the fray huh? he thought. He looked back at Hatchet who was also trying to get a good view of what happened. That's when Jesse decided to dismiss the subject, those operatives had seen worse. He then focused his attention to the multiple flashing lights coming from the other side of the city. Multiple explosions lit up the battlefield just a mile away, it made Jenkins wonder how the battle was going over there.

"Hey you two," The pilot began speaking over the helicopters COM, "We'll be arriving at the back-up U.S. Command Center in a few minutes, we're in U.S. cleared zones and my thermal isn't picking up anything, so take a break before you have to get down to business again." With that news both Hatchet and Jesse released grip from the chainguns on the side of the chopper. Jesse rested his left leg inside of the chopper and put his back against the wall, he closed his eyes for a moment, and in the blackness he found peace, even if just for a second. All the worries he carried seemed to disappear, pictures of home began floating around his mind. Memories of him and his family, games in the backyard while their dad cooked steaks. Baseball when he was in high school, the game he hit his homerun, all these memories coming and going. However before he knew it the chopper had come to a hover, and when Jenkins reopened his eyes he found himself coming to a decent. Below him was a cruedly constructed fort consisting of a few dozen tents and a few lazily made defenses like wooden barriers and such. Around the fort were dozens of M1A1's and few Armored Personnel carriers, it was definitely a back-up. When the chopper landed it was greeted by a few soldiers coming to see what the fus was about, however among them was a man, the rank of Colonel imprinted on his shoulder. Jesse got out of the chopper and gave a quick salute, the Colonel returning the greeting.

"Are you Jenkins?" He asked, Jesse nodded and waited for the Colonel to speak again, this is when he found his name tag, Smith.

"Good," He smiled, "Come with me please." The officer grabbed Jesse by the shoulder and began to escort him to the largest tent in the fort. The Colonel was about the same height as Jesse, somewhere around 6'1, but he wasn't as filled, his arms were slim indicating to Jesse that he himself wasn't a very strong man, he had probably come out of ROTC without buffing up. He was also bald, the moon light shining off of his smooth top, Jenkins held in a laugh, he could never understand why someone would go completely bald, even in the service you weren't required to shave it all off. The Colonel entered the tent and held the flap open for Jenkins to walk through, and after a polite thank you from Jesse, the Colonel let go of the flap and walked over to a large table in the middle of the "room", a large map of New York displayed with dozens of little chess parts scattered on it. The rest of the tent was also full, there was barely any walking space among the many desks and machines, many which were computers or had moniters on them, and half a dozen small generators buzzing next to them. The Colonel stopped at the table and rested his hands on the map, giving Jesse a look that signified it was ok to approach him.

"You see this," Colonel Smith pointed at the map.

"Yes sir." Jenkins gave a short reply.

"This," Started Col. Smith, "Is a map of New York as we know it now, all the chess pieces signify something of importance, the castles represent Forward Command Bases, the nights are armored divisions, the bishop is our arial brigade, which has been shortened to two of the six choppers we had left." He paused and looked at Jesse, who looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze after that comment. "The pawns are infintry divisions, and the king and queen are the Commander and Vice Commander on the battlefield, I want you to notice something Jenkins." He paused again, Jesse quickly scanned the map but didn't find anything out of place.

"I don't see anything wrong with this sir." Jenkins told Col. Smith.

"Look harder." Was his reply. Jesse sighed in his head and took another look at the map; however, this time he noticed something.

"One of the kings are missing . . ." As soon as Jesse said this the U.S. Vice Commander smiled.

"Very good Private, yes, a king is missing, to be correct our king is missing. Do you remember the rules of chess?" Colonel Smith asked another question irritating Jesse who didn't like riddles or useless questions, they both got on his nerves.

"Yes sir." Another short reply was all the Col. got.

"Good, that you must know that when one sides king is taken that side loses. The difference between our game and chess is that in our game we can still survive without the king, but the king is still a very important piece. One that is missing, and that is what we sent your friends to do." He stopped again and looked at Jenkins quizitively, pondering something in his head, maybe he was waiting for Jesse to speak up. Our Private couldn't take the riddles anymore, so he spoke his mind.

"Why are you telling me this sir, what is the point?" He wanted the answer, not more questions.

"Because that's only a quarter of our master plan, another part of the plan is to take their king, but we already have people doing that too. Can you guess what the last of our plans require?" He questioned, another fucking question, Jesse's blood boiled, the pain in his abdomen returning. Still; Jesse, reluctantly of course, answered the man.

"Take their castles and kill the rest of their pieces?" Smith gave another smile.

"You're half right Private, half right, we want to take their castles but taking all of their pieces isn't required. No, we want to end the game, but how do you end a game where the other side can continue to fight until all of their pieces are taken?" Another fucking question, Jesse took his helmet off and scratched his head, digging his fingers into his skull as he tried to keep his cool.

"You stop playing." That was the only answer Jesse could think of, and again, the Colonel displayed a grin as if Jesse had satisfied him with an amazing answer.

"CORRECT," Smith yelled, and how will we stop playing you ask? Well I'll answer," Finally thought Jenkins something he'll answer his fucking self, "We wipe the map." Smith's smile disappeared and he looked Jenkins directly in the eye, a piercing glare, and all the annoyance Jesse had accumulated had instantly disappeared.

"Wipe the map? You're going to destroy New York!?" Jesse raised his voice, the thought of destroying the city seemed like treason to him, all the homes and property that had survived so far was going to be destroyed, this was shocking to him.

"Why the hell would you do that!?" Jesse yelled again, this time Smith put a finger to his lips, a gesture telling Jesse to shut the fuck up. Col. Smith cleared his voice.

"We don't actually want to resort to that, but you see we have lost our King, and we are losing the game. Congress has already decided that the city has taken so much damage that it would be cheaper just to drown it than try to fix it again. This is why it is so important to turn this game around now and that, Jenkins, is why I have led you to this tent and told you all of this." It finally made a bit of sense to Jesse now, but that didn't explain everything, like why tell all of that to him, a normal soldier not even high enough in rank to lead a squad. That was something he had to ask.

"Why tell me all of this sir? A normal foot soldier?" Smith stood up and put a hand on Jesse's shoulder, making the moment awkward as the silence in the room continued for a few moments.

"Because you look like someone people can trust, and you have proved that already today by helping your friends out at sea. Besides that, I'm going to need to tell everyone else too, but I'm busy with setting up our final assault against the Russians, I needed someone who looked trustworthy to tell the rest of the soldiers." With that sentence Jesse felt played, instead of honored.

"So this is public information?" Jesse felt disappointed for a second, before remembering once again that he was only just a foot soldier.

"Not all of it. I want you to get the word out to everyone here but I don't want them to know what will happen to the city if we fail our next assault, I just want you to tell them how important it is that we succede." That was a little comforting, Jesse decided not to ask why he was still given that info.

"Then what about the assault?" This would be Jesse's last question, he was already deadly tired, and didn't feel like talking.

"Didn't you see all that armor around the base? That's our final ultimatum, we will take this armored division and plow straight through what is left of our Russian opposition, initial reports say that they have about the same amount of armor as us but it's scattered, so we have a chance. Then at sea we already have our own Navy coming back for a counter assault. After the Russians lost their Super Carrier they lost organization, their Admiral caught but none other than your friends which you saved. If we can secure the sea, and at least beat the Russians back to the beach, we can still win this battle, and New York stays." Colonel Smith rattled off the short explaination, and that was fine with Jesse, who only nodded when he recieved the information, his fatigue becoming extremely noticable.

"Go ahead and get some sleep Sergeant, the assault happens during day, the Navy wont be prepared to assault for another six hours. The assault will commence in seven, good night." Jesse nodded again, but then blinked and looked odd at Col. Smith, who was trying to conceal a grin.

"Sergeant sir?" Jesse asked, his spirits rising.

"Yes, Jenkins, your actions today have more than declared you able for that rank, and the leadership of your own personal squad. It will take a few days to get you officially promoted but I figure you can bask in glory now just in case you don't make it." That last line depressed Jesse a little, he didn't want to think about death, but he was still too tired to think about it, so he turned around and started towards the flap out. When he reached the exit his mind came up with another burning question, and cursing himself for it, Jesse asked anyway.

"Why has Congress already given up on us? We've only been fighting for a day, there have been hundreds of battles on battlefields smaller than this one where the fights took more than a day. Why so soon?" Sgt. Jenkins waited for an answer, but Col. Smith didn't reply instantly, instead he looked down and let out a sigh, probably debating whether or not he should release any more info. At about the moment Jesse had given up, Smith called after him.

"Because if we stay here there will be no chance for survival Sergeant, if we try and battle this one out, and we lose there is no running." His answer left Jesse confused, he cocked his head to the side a little, making the Colonel scratch his head.

"If we stay here any longer we can't retreat, because in a few days time the land behind us wont be ours any more. The Russians have attacked the entire east coast, not just New York, and that is the true battle, and it's one we're losing." Jesse's eyes got a little wider, "Jenkins, in a few days time, there won't even be an east coast."