Capture Or Kill

Chapter 26: Opening Salvo

A/N: Once again, this is your warning that the next 7 chapters (including this one) are detailed. They include blood, character deaths, combat, and other topics some might find difficult to read. If you are not comfortable with any of that, I suggest stopping here; the next seven chapters are the final assault. Enjoy!


Soap's POV

We had woken up at the crack of dawn. I insisted on cleaning Y/N's arm again and wrapping a fresh badge around it. He found me for awhile until Simon told him to sit still and let me work. Price has told us the base was about a 4-hour walk, but we would have to wait until sundown since we couldn't risk getting spotted in broad daylight. The base itself was on the edge of the mountainside, with frozen ground surrounding it. There was a single road and bridge where trucks would come in to unload their supplies. In addition, there was a helipad and many walkways like the ones in Las Almas that connected the other parts of the base together. The command and observation floors are where we guessed Chimera would be directing his forces from. The plan was as follows: The AC-130 would destroy any helicopters that he could use to escape, along with watching the bridge. Team 1, made up of Gaz, Price, Farah, and Alex, would push into the bottom floors, where we knew Chimera was storing something. Team 2 was Y/N, Ghost, and I, who would push to the command deck to prevent an escape via the bridge. Team 3, made up of the marines, would hold off any additional attackers on the middle floors. Hopefully by the end, Chimera would be dead or in custody.

"Think he's got a tank or something?" I asked Price.

"It's not likely the trucks struggle enough getting up here, so he probably just has heavily armed personnel."

"Fighting Graves in his tank last time wasn't exactly great." I replied climbing up a rock just behind the captain.

"I actually kind of liked him." Y/N laughed from behind me.

"You worked with him?" Gaz asked, following just behind.

"A few times." Y/N replied.

"Has he ever hit on you?" Gaz teased.

"Nah, he had a boyfriend of his own." Y/N replied shifting his rifle to the other arm.

"Well, he's dead now, so it doesn't really matter." Ghost grumbled from behind Gaz.

The hike up was tiring but we would have awhile to rest before the attack would begin.
Y/N seemed to be doing just fine today, keeping pace and rarely wincing when he used his bad arm. Ghost seemed to notice too and relaxed a bit seeing the captain be able to do more compared to yesterday. Price led the group on until we eventually reached the top of the hill, and there it was. The structure looked old and had many lights and windows scattered around. The steel walkways wrapped around the building like snakes, with various staircases connecting the floors. To the right, a truck was slowly moving across the bridge from the side of the mountain we were hidden on.

"That's a lot of guards." Y/N said while looking through his binoculars.

"The path underneath the base is how we are getting in." Price replied, pointing to a narrow pathway that ran under the bridge and ended under the base.

"Guards?" Ghost asked for the binoculars from Y/N.

"Only two, since it's easy to defend." Price replied.

"So what's the plan?" Farah asked.

"Once the sun begins to go down, we move fast, using the shadows to stay hidden. Once we reach the final turn, we will be in their line of sight, so we push fast, taking them out and breaking into the bottom entrance." Price explained to everyone.

"Great. So we run, try not to slip off the edge, and then hopefully don't get shot." Alex mumbled.

"After that, all we have to do is complete our objectives!" Y/N added.

"Just stay focused. My team is heading for the bottom floor. Y/N, you take Ghost and Soap up to the top. The rest of you hold the middle floors and make sure Chimera doesn't get past you."

"Yup yup." The marines replied.

"Alright, for now, we sit tight and keep watch. We will begin the attack in four hours, but don't get too comfortable." Price ordered.

The group spread out a bit while Y/N and Price continued to talk while watching the base. The AC-130 would be here soon and would destroy the helicopter that was parked on the pad. I kept an eye on the guards at the very bottom through my sniper. They didn't seem at all worried, mostly just relaxing and not taking their post seriously. Lucky for us, bad news for Chimera. There were easier ways to get in, but we decided to take the most difficult route since Chimera wouldn't expect it. The other was incredibly narrow, and we would have to hug the cliffside the entire way while trying not to alert the guards who were at the end. The last few meters were in their sight, and they could easily pick us off if they saw us. We would have to go one at a time, so whoever went first would have to take out both guards. Price had volunteered himself for that role, followed by Y/N and then everyone else.

"Hey Soap." Gaz asked from behind.

"Gaz, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just seeing how you are." He replied.

"Good mate, just keeping an eye out."

"Well, I just came to let you know that Price got word that the AC-130 is closing in and we are beginning the mission."

He was nervous; I could tell by his voice. I got up from my position and nodded. I tried to give him some words of encouragement, which seemed to help a bit, but everyone seemed to hold their breath. Price gave the order, and we began to head for the pathway. As the path became narrower, we lined up, but in the order we had planned, with Price and Y/N in the lead. The drop was incredibly unsettling, with the only thing visible being the bank of clouds that covered the ridiculous height. Y/N was just in front of me, slowly scooting along the walkway, trying not to look down. He had an issue with heights, so this was difficult for him, but he held together, making his way just behind Price.

"Keep moving up; we are getting closer to their line of sight." Price whispered.

"Copy that."  Y/N whispered back as he held on to the rock wall behind him.

We all continued to carefully make our way across the mountainside until Price signaled for us to stop moving. We came to a halt as Price pulled out his silenced pistol. It was going to be a nearly impossible shot, but if anyone could do it, the captain would be the one. Before he peaked around the corner, he looked back at all of us. We all had the same expression, minus Simon, who had his mask on; we were anxious but ready. Price nodded and peaked around the corner, carefully aiming his gun. I couldn't see what was happening, but I gently took Y/N's hand in mine. He squeezed back, closing his eyes, as the other captain's gun fired. The old man began to walk around the corner as the rest of us slowly began to love again. Thankfully, the path got wider, and soon we were on the metal platform on the other side. No one had fallen off or made any loud noises, but this was the easy part. The guards had collapsed, and Y/N was now unlocking the door with their keycards.

"On 3." He said as everyone prepared to push inside.

"1."

This was it.

"2."

Chimera was inside with nowhere to go.

"3."

This was the final fight with him, and I wouldn't let Y/N get hurt.

The card was swiped and the door unlocked as Y/N quickly moved inside. Luckily for us, there were no other soldiers inside the hallway in either direction. We formed into our groups as Y/N and Price shared an unreadable look.

"Good luck, son." He whispered.

"You too, dad."

With that Price lead the others down the hall, disappearing around a corner, leaving the three of us alone. Y/N let out a deep breath and motioned for us to head in the opposite direction, towards the stairs.

"He will be okay, Y/N."

"I hope so, Johnny, but let's focus on our task for now." Y/N replied, keeping his rifle trained on the floor above.

"Chimera will most likely be on the third floor, so we need to push through the second floor and make our way up." He explained.

Ghost and I both nodded as we reached the top of the stairs. A radio could be heard as we pressed ourselves against the wall. A small patrol of three men passed us, walking through an open door and shutting it behind them.

"Kid, are you there?" Price called out over the radio.

"Yeah, we just reached the second floor. Out."  He replied.

"Chimera has missiles; they are being stored on the bottom floor, but are on lifts that have doors above."

"Shit."  Y/N hissed as his grip tightened on his rifle.

"We are going to try to disable them, but if we can't, we'll have to take down the whole base. The aircraft should be here soon, so once you hear the explosions start, get ready to have company." Price explained.

"Copy that good luck!" Y/N replied as we began to make our way into the first room.

It was empty aside from some old maps and loose ammo scattered on the table. The building was much larger than we had expected, with multiple rooms and enough space to house all the enemy soldiers. We had just quietly taken out another patrol that had run into us hiding the bodies in a room when, outside, a loud explosion could be heard. The alarms began to go off as shouting got louder and louder, coming from all directions. It was barely visible, but we could see a flaming wreckage fall past one of the large windows in the hallway. The aircraft had succeeded in destroying the helicopter outside, and now Chimera was trapped.

"Here we go."

Y/N kicked open the door, knocking over a man as the others spun around to face us. The gunfire was over quickly, and the bodies were now covering the floor. Ghost was still clenching his rifle while Y/N was catching his breath. It was just like Las Almas; once again, we were pushing up to catch the bad guy.

"I know Johnny." Y/N said from behind me.

"I'm scared."

"We are okay; Simon's and mine are okay. Stay focused." He replied, giving my arm a squeeze, before turning and heading down the other end of the hallway.

"We'll get him Soap." Ghost reassured me.

We had turned the corner just as a patrol came running around another hallway further down. Both groups froze before Ghost fired first, and I clenched my teeth while squeezing the trigger. I had to fight. I had to stay focused. The fight became a blurring mess as I dove, fired back, and kept an eye on Y/N and Ghost. There was the smell of gunpowder and blood in the air, along with the sound of people getting hit. Ghost was ducking in a doorway, trying to take out the biggest enemy, while Y/N was struggling a bit with his gun's recoil. I was worried about the wound, but luckily it hadn't reopened yet. If it did, I would have to quickly take care of it. I was aiming for one of the few remaining soldiers when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him. A hostile who had fallen over was leaning back up, pistol in hand; the gun went off, and Y/N stumbled back, falling into the window and sliding down onto the floor. I screamed over at him as Ghost unloaded the remainder of his magazine onto the soldiers. I fired wildly until my gun didn't fire anymore.
Y/N was still slumped over against the windows.

"No!" I yelled, sliding over to him.

"Fuck!" Ghost yelled while jogging over once the last man collapsed.

"Please don't leave us!" I cried.

Please don't leave us; we have so much we still need to do. We can't do this without you; we love you.