"Check fire, Civilians in the area." A voice called out over the comms, and Grimes pushed up to get a better sight to look for snipers.
"Shadow-1, there's a truck leaving the stables, moving west." Ghost called outback over the comms.
"Copy." Graves called back, confirming the sighting. There was continued chatter over the comms between Graves and his men in the sky, tracking the vehicle's journey.
"Shadow-1, we've got targets at the greenhouse to our northwest. Roping now." Grimes called back over the comms to everyone.
"0-7, no visual on the target. What's the call?" Graves answered back a moment later.
"That army convoy is gaining ground." Alejandro spoke; you could hear the urgency in his voice.
"We go in guns blazin', hope he quirts, lock him up from there." Soap called out over the comms. Grimes sighed, knowing full well he was being serious.
"Graves, you're cleared hot to engage external. We'll clear the building when secure." Ghost gave him the green light to begin the attack.
"0-7, copy that. Keep your heads down." Graves spoke to confirm his intentions. Deep thuds rippled through the air as 25mm hit the ground. The dirt under Grimes's feet vibrated as the rounds continued to thud deep.
"Sniper northwest." Grimes called out over the comms, "Don't move." She told the men as she lay flat on her stomach and shuffled so she was as hidden by the wall as she could but still had sight of the sniper. This was not a sniper rifle she had; it was nowhere near it. But it had to do. She had to make this shot. Correcting her position slightly and controlling her breathing. She began to release her final breath, and as she reached halfway, she pulled the trigger to realise a single shot. The rifle recoiled into her shoulder, but her position never altered as she released the rest of her breath.
"Sniper down," Ghost called out as Grimes moved back onto her knee.
"Still the best shot ah know." Soap chuckled back, which put a slight smirk on Grimes's face. She remembered back to when she had just joined the task force. The men didn't believe what her papers said, how she shot a pea from 500 meters away with a single round through the iron sight. Grimes had no problem showing them precisely what her skill could do. Soap found it amusing and constantly gave her new things to fire at. It caused a small smile on her lips; if only they could return then.
"0-7, all visible targets are down. Over." Graves called out as the rounds stopped dropping from the skies.
"Shadow-1, copy that. We'll be clearing the stables building first, roping now." Ghost informed above as Soap pointed the IR laser at the stables. "Shadow-1, We're moving now. If the target squirts, lets us know."
"Shadow-1 copies," Grave answered as Grimes looked at Ghost, who nodded, and they began their assault on the building in front.
"Soap, Grimes, freeze down the right side." Ghost called out as Grime stood on Soap's right shoulder.
"Aye," Soap replied as they stacked up, covering the side of the building while Ghost prepared to breach the door.
"Breaching," Ghost muttered as he pushed open the door. He and Alejandro made their way into the building as shouting began. Soap and Grimes went forward and took cover in the bushes in case anyone came rushing out of the building. They could hear Alejandro shouting in Spanish at the people inside and another man's voice that wasn't known to Grimes. The sound of bullets ricocheted through the building.
"Here they come," Soap spoke to Grimes as they trained their weapons on the door in front of them. They were waiting for anyone to appear with a weapon. Three ran out, only one with a weapon in hand. While Soap took down the cartel member, Grimes trained her weapon near the civilians but not directly at them. It was just a precaution, as you never know. The sound of rounds from above and hitting the ground on the other side of the building made it clear that there was more on the other side.
"Multiple enemy vehicles approaching from the south," A voice over the comms informed everyone as they finished picking off the armed combatants. "Enemy personal moving on the stables."
"Ghost, copy that. I need you out of the building. Move north right now." Graves ordered over the comms.
"Copy. Moving!" Ghost called as he and Alejandro rushed out of the building, following Soap and Grimes over to cover, far enough away from the building. "Graves, we're clear."
"Drop that fuckin' building now!" Ghost yelled out aggressively down the comms. Only a moment later, large explosions hit the stables, blowing them apart. The blast from the explosion hit the team as they turned around.
"Fuck me," Grimes muttered as she covered her face before lifting her rifle and continuing to fire. On some miracle, some of the cartel survived the blast, but they would not survive a meeting with her barrel. Ghost radioed up, saying all targets were down and they were moving west to the greenhouse. Grimes and Soap continued to lay down fire as they all moved to cover closer to the greenhouse. For safety, Soap marked the building with the IR laser again, and Graves told them there were armed personnel inside and around.
"Contact!" Ghost called as the men in the greenhouse began firing at them.
"Check fire! Hassan could be inside!" Grimes called out as well as over the mic to Graves above. GRimes aimed a shot and took out one of the cartel quickly. Graves confirmed that Hassan was not in the greenhouse and informed them he would level it. Once it was demolished, they quickly moved up and through the remains of the building. A few of the men were still barely alive as one reached for his weapon. Grimes lifted her rifle and took him out, not wanting to risk anything.
"Jesus fucking christ, Where the fuck is the bastard," GRimes grumbled as they continued with still no sight of Hassan.
"He has to be in that compound," Alejandro spoke as it was the only place he could be hidden. Ghost asked how far out the army convoy was from them, and they were much closer than they had hoped. They knew they needed to move or would be in a lot of trouble. Alejandro began to get in touch with Rodolfo to organise exfil once they had hit the last compound. Just as Graves was about to clear the compound from above, a bullet whistled past Grimes's head, barely missing her.
"Mother fucker," She muttered as her head shrunk into her shoulder with fright. She spun to her left and called out for the team to return fire at the ground of men running at them, gun blazing.
"RPG!" Alejandro yelled as Grimes looked to see from where, but all she could see was the RPG flying directly at her.
"Fuck!" She yelled as she pushed her feet onto the ground and put her right hand on the floor to propel herself as fast as she could away from the spot.
"Grimes!" Soap yelled out as the RPG hit the spot she was in and caused an explosion. "Jesus Christ, Grimes, talk to me!" Soap yelled over the comms trying to see if he could see her. But there was nothing, no reply.
"Grimes, how copy?" Ghost yelled out as he called for support above to take them out. "Grimes, fucking answer me!"
YOU ARE READING
We Who Serve
Hayran KurguTask Force 141 finds itself stuck in a sticky situation during a mission to take down a drug lord. They are saved by an unlikely person who, as far as Ghost was aware, was seven years dead. During those seven years, a lot has changed in her life. No...
