War Spirit - Lead Leopard

#3 - Perilous Pursuit

CHAPTER 3

Qarya Sakhra Village, Korengal Valley
July 5th, 2018

"Never forget the mission." He reminded, pointing his finger to Rocky's chest, making sure he understood his words, before patting him on the shoulder. Desert Devil's engine fired back up, having been using its auxiliary power unit (APU) to save fuel. The driver shifted into reverse, returning to blockade the road. The land cruiser technical that had hidden itself when Desert Devil first appeared had not yet been neutralized. It hastily reversed out of the driveway once more, catching the men off-guard. With two men in the cab and one man operating its 12.7mm Dshk heavy machine gun, it made a daring escape on the road where it stood out in the open, firing on the group. Miller took a quick glance into the occupants of the vehicle's cab, immediately identifying the target, Qasim Wardak, the man they were after.

"Target spotted! Do not shoot to kill!" Miller ordered.

Rocky saw red, standing with his fists clenched so hard he thought they would bleed. He didn't care what his orders were; he had to see vengeance for his leader and close friend. Qasim had taken his Sergeant's life, now he shall take Qasim's. In his mind, this seemed as a fair trade. He bolted towards the land cruiser all alone, leaving the rest of the team behind. The gunner missed as he attempted to fire at Rocky due to the bumpy terrain of the road, as it drove down towards a bend. The men fired back, successfully neutralizing the gunner. His corpse ragdolled off the vehicle and rolled on the ground, laying motionless.

"Jekai! Get back here!" Miller bellowed. The enemy Taliban force had not been extinguished yet, a handful still remained in the houses and emerged once again, providing covering fire for the land cruiser as it made its escape. It took a sharp left turn, riding down a path that took them to the middle road of Qarya Sakhra. Desert Devil swiftly returned to the men's position and began firing its 25mm cannon once more, providing firing support as the squads tried their best to keep up with Rocky, who was fuelled by a bloodlusted rage. He remained in hot pursuit of the land cruiser, taking a shortcut by powersliding down the steep slope of the hill, squeezing himself underneath the support beams of a house, to meet the escaping vehicle on the road below. The team were pinned down by the enemy force, unable to keep up with Rocky. The ASLAV was left with little choice but to retreat, as RPG anti-tank rounds flew towards it. Although the ASLAV was an armored vehicle, it was not indestructible to RPG rounds, that greatly threatened its structural integrity. As a result, Rocky was left on his own to chase after Qasim. He now stood on the same road as the fleeing vehicle, who was roughly forty metres far and driving off. He fired a few precise rounds from his assault rifle, popping the front left tire, causing it to lose control and crash into the side of a house. Rocky continued firing at the cruiser ferociously as he covered the distance. Qasim, who was in the passenger seat pulled out a sub-machinegun Uzi and fired at Rocky through the rear window, making him jump for cover.

"Cunt!" He cursed. The land cruiser reversed out of the side of the house before taking off. The US squad's MRAP cut the technical off at the end of the road, unleashing its 50.cal Browning machine gun, operated by an inexperienced young private. As a result, Qasim was able to incapacitate the American soldier before a single bullet was able to hit him. The driver of the MRAP slammed his gearbox in reverse, ramming into Qasim's vehicle's front bumper as they tried to escape again. A Taliban combatant emerged from the rooftop of a house twenty meters to Rocky's right and fired an RPG round hitting the MRAP on its front right wheel, destroying its axel and immobilizing it. Rocky aimed at the rooftop dweller who hadn't seen him, firing and pinning him down for good. He proceeded to chase Qasim alone as they sped off, driving down the steep hill towards the floor of the valley. Rocky aimed his gun and fired at the wheels again, this time popping the rear right tyre. The technical fishtailed and flipped over, rolling down the steeply inclined hill, landing upright at the foot of the valley. The driver attempted to restart the now ravaged vehicle, but it failed. This gave time for Rocky to catch up, covering the hundred meter distance. Rocky took cover behind a rock on the incline of the hill as Qasim fired another volley of bullets in his direction. Meanwhile he was chasing Qasim, the team had begun to catch up, moving swiftly through the streets and neutralizing threats as they popped up. Warrant Officer Miller could now see Rocky taking cover behind the rock as he and Qasim exhanged bullets to one another.