Mercenaries

Bonus Episode: Roses Are Red

The Raddison Blu Resort,
Fiji,
0000hrs local time

The luxurious resort looked rather peaceful in the night, as it always did. It stood strong like a castle, pearlescent white walls and beautiful modern architecture dominated the large complex, giving it a well earned four and a half stars. It was fully self-contained, complete with a pool, bar and there was an 18 hole golf course just outside the main doors. Like an apartment building, stacks and stacks of luxurious rooms were available for anybody to book, only for the right price however. The Raddison Blu truly was something to dream of. 
But not tonight.

The friendly staff was gone, the place was deserted, paper, suitcases and other personal belongings were strewn across the halls, rooms and essentially the entire complex. The resort was empty, giving it an eery and suspicious aura about it, almost as if everybody inside had left in a real big hurry. A man dressed in a tuxedo patrolled up and down the halls, whistling a tune to himself. He had a versatile P90 resting in his hands and he wasn't alone. Although it was hard to spot, classily dressed, armed guards occupied the resort. Professionals.

"60 seconds!"
Tira's tinny voice filtered into the headset and Marvel gave the thumbs up. The Iroquois helicopter descended quickly, but it's struts didn't touch land. The Eiserne, fully kitted out in all black attire slipped on balaclavas and night vision goggles in preparation for their mission. Brett cocked his M-4, Gunnar covered the portside of the helicopter with his M60 while Fox covered starboard with his black AK-47, meanwhile Vixen, Marvel and even Cobretti waited for the timing to jump. Identities concealed under their mysterious balaclavas, the team fast-roped down the deployed lines, sliding like firemen down a pole towards the ground. Marvel's feet touched the earth and she fell into formation, waiting only a few seconds for the rest of the team to assemble the section harbour. When the triangle of death was formed, Brett gave the thumbs up and Tira took the helicopter away, never to be seen again in the shadow of the night.
Brett placed one finger on his arm and patted his head. Marvel received the message instantly.


Section 2IC, come to me.


Marvel moved on over and nestled in close.


"Intel suggests the resort is swarming with guards. They only have small arms, so they're not much of a threat, but do not under estimate them. They're tenacious and have captured our VIP. They're currently holding them in the golden lounge in the North Eastern end of the complex. How do you want to do this?" Brett laid it all down. Marvel considered her options, using her night-vision's zoom function to obtain a sight-picture of the guards patrolling the roof and the perimeter. Within moments, she had her answer. 


"Cobretti will cut the power, giving us a tactical advantage over the enemy. We'll move in and execute maneuver Phoenix Sling before I extract the VIP. RoE will be a non-lethal approach, unless fired upon." Marvel stated with satisfaction. Brett fist-bumped his daughter and motioned for the team to be up and moving.

The Eiserne sprinted across the golf course, which was enveloped in pitch-black darkness, heading directly for the front doors of the complex. They moved in an extended file, but the file had been staggered into two rows.

One row advanced while the other row covered and they each took turns in playing either role as the team closed in on their target. Their leapfrog tactic looked textbook as they finally arrived at the front entrance, hidden from view by a large decorative hedge. 


"Front entrance is 20 meters ahead, two guards and two snipers on the roof." Marvel whispered, she motioned at Cobretti.

"Come on man, you're up." 
Cobretti produced the iPad from his small backpack and began hitting buttons in rapid succession.