December 26 2010, Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. 10:00 am.
The crack of the rifle being shot pierced the hot noon sky. A metallic PING followed, target hit.
Max Rhicter and Jay Ledger are based in Al Udeid Air Base, a military staging post in Qatar.
And they were toying around with all of MARSOC's available weapons at their disposal.
Special operators always have an urging to shoot, especially Marine Strike Force Recon Snipers, a lofty title for any fat-ass posing marine in the navy.
A Steyr mannlicher stood in a corner of the firing range, a field in the desert made to accomodate any officer's urging to shoot every now and then.
A Winchester and a bushmaster lay down next to Max, he was lying in a prone position, an accepted position in the sniper's book of doctrine.
Deployed to Qatar to safeguard and secure the camp's perimeter with his rifle. Apart from that, he was changing shifts with his best friend, Jason.
Promoted to Gunnery Seargeant last year, at the good old age of 33, he enlisted early at 19 years old. The same story with Jay. They trained and fought during operation desert storm, the gulf war and during the invasion of Afghanistan.
Bursts, staccatoes and burps of hot lead exiting muzzles and barrels filled Commander Bhurke's ears. He was their commanding officer since desert storm. A Turk. He had a strong build and that army cut that was so popular among all in the armed forces.
Max fired a revolver from the hip, it impressed Jay, he never saw Max be so proficient with a handgun, especially a high recoil type at that.
" Show off !" Bhurke shouted amidst the noise of gunfire.
" Sir, just goes to show, you can't play with the big boys! haha" Max replied, reloading the whole time.
" Oh, but you don't play with big toys! " Jay countered, holding an M249 SAW, and he fired it automatically, wasting a whole box of ammo.
Let the supply depot worry about this many bullets and brass wasted, they're allowed to use as many as they can anyway, and they were bored.
Testosterone + Guns + A lot of ammo+ A quiet firing range = A very noisy firing range.
An Arabic man in a suit entered the makeshift firing range, it had no gate anyway, just bulletproof walls and a lot of barbed wire.
He called Commander Bhurke over, he was evidently of seniority, because Colonel Ardaus Bhurke was a senior officer, 20 years in the armed forces. A west point graduate.
A little chat with the man, and Bhurke called the two jarheads over.
" Code four, you two are coming with me." A neutral tone. CIA maybe?
Code 4? Drop everything and follow as per instruction? Max pondered, and responded with the motions of a parade cadet, ramrod at attention, ready to kill if necessary.
"Moving sir" Both said in whimper. Their playtime was over, a new directive is being given, and it was not stated in front of their CO, maybe a direct order from the President himself? Nobody knows.
As the three servicemen began to stride away from the firing range and paced towards the exit, the snipers saw a humvee, probably this sand nigger's mode of transportation.
As they steadily approached the humvee, it came into full view, a convoy. A whole friggin convoy to escort them, or probably a pick-up crew. Odd, they were inside one of the most secure bases in the middle east, and they're being escorted by a heavily clad mobile task force.
" Overkill " Max whispered to Jason. Surely they're not being called on by the regional MARSOC commander for violating any of the rules of engagement? They've never been in combat since desert storm, they've only been in combat since last september, doing covert ops in Peshawar, Pakistan. But whenever they did covert ops, they were sure to stay square.
" No, to protect you is the point actually." He heard them talking. " I am Mark Arma, and I am with The Department of Homeland Security."
This man was obviously of another division of covert operators. He can hear a Jarhead from a mile away.
" Another black ops mission sir?" Jay asked in a quiet voice.
" Not exactly, a new threat appears on U.S. soil." He paused, then continued," You are the first men recommended by MARSOC to handle the job. We are now heading to the US embassy to be debriefed."
"What is our present organic unit then, sir?" Max followed.
" CIA, Langley, Virginia."
The three men paced down the convoy, and stopped at an out-of-place limousine, all three mounted up on the enlengthened Mercedes-Benz.
Cool air greeted the soldiers, and Jay took a glance at Arma, he looked like the Arab Sheikhs that control the vast refineries of the U.A.E. with a slight whitening of skin tone. " Prick" He thought.
The convoy rumbled to life, awakening from it's slumber. Moving out of the Air Base's main gate, they approached the suburbs of Doha, the capital of Qatar.
As they approached a walled compound inside the city, a lone Arab guard stops the convoy. Arma steps out to produce a set of papers. The guard motions them in and Arma enters the last humvee of the convoy.
The gate leads down to a underground passage, and they passed through several concrete roadblocks manned by U.S. troops, under the illuminescence of floodlights.
They must have traveled a kilometer inside the mysterious underground complex.
The group stopped beside a well-lit and clear-doored entrance mobbed by men in suits, some in Army, Navy and Air force uniforms. The order was given to dismount, and Max and Jay entered the inner complex in this mega underground base.
Arma followed to escort the two marksmen. They went through a dozen hallways when they finally reached a meeting hall full of giant system units flanking an amphitheater style inner hall.
It was like a scene from star wars. White paneled LEDs lit the hall, and overhead, a projector showed a real time map. Wires choked the Goliath CPUs and entered a hole in the wall. The decorations were mainly Art Novuea-inspired.
A fat General in army uniform motioned the men over to a meeting table. That's when Max noticed, they were the only guys wearing combat boots and fatigues.
" GUNNY SARGE RHICTER!" Hooted the general.
Max stood in attention, Jay reacted in same fashion. Both saluted.
" Ya'll know Mr. Arma?"
" YESSIR "
Arma bowed in respect for the officer. He wasn't too far up in the chain of command after all.
" You two are selected especially for this mission, due to your achievements and decorations during the recent conflicts, and recommendations from your commanding officers." he introduced himself, " I am General Michael Rosseau, UN covert ops".
" But sir, isn't the UN a LIFE SAVING organization? Not a LIFE TAKING one?" Asked Max to the general.
" Exactly why the UNCO was created, we will resort to any action necessary to keep the majority of the population of the world safe, even going to INHUMANE ways just to keep the average Joe safe." Arma butted in, tired of listening to the general's lame voice.
"You two are brought here specifically to be debriefed." Rosseau continued, " But in this case, we'll transfer you to a priority living quarters reserved only for V.I.Ps, You will be accompanied by Arma, and as of now, you will be joining a multinational task force bent on destroying global threats"
