Operation Hades

Ambush on Main Street

Acheron stared in anticipation out of the shutters. The moment of truth was coming. It had been about a month since the last time he'd been in live combat. He didn't want to admit it, but the darkest crevices of his mind were dying for a pleasing refresher. All of the targets casually marching ahead, but every single one of them sporting white balaclavas and outfits. Not a single man out of the ordinary, not even one wielding a sword.

"See the whole lot of 'em," Zephyr whispered through the comms, "Looks a lot larger than I thought it would. Logistically."

Acheron looked back, letting the blinds go. Anika and Kerrigan were already stacked at the door, ready to clear into the next building. Kerrigan didn't make a sound or budge an inch, but Anika was juggling with nervous bugs. Thanks to the years of conditioning and experience, those were little more than a fond memory of his. With his highly advanced senses, he could definitely hear the chopper closing in. With ease, he removed the suppressor from his weapon, stashing it in the slot on his belt. With two swift motions, he threw the safety off and set the fire rate at three-round-burst.

Little by little, the enemies outside took notice of the eerie sound, talking about it amongst themselves and wearily looking around. Some voices were raised in what Acheron recognized as Russian, commanding their comrades to pick up the pace. Acheron approached the door with his teammates, and braced his weapons for a final time.

Up in the air, Lyle took a last deep breath to steel his nerves. With his off hand, he tightened the tan cap on top of his head. Now that he was all squared away, he struck the metal blast door with a loud thud, before kneeling to the GAU. He spun up the electronic, six-barreled door gun, before they crossed over the last barrier of buildings to cover them from the horde. One stray bullet or one well placed anti-vehicular rocket would be it. He wouldn't dare let them strike first.

For a moment, he focused on the high-pitched whirring of the weapon. Lyle saw the first hint of the overpass, and jumped right into reality. "Coming in hot, get movin'!" The gun exploded into a deafening roar, cutting through the mass of flat-footed enemies like grass at a rate of 16 rounds per second. They began to scatter and drop at an exponential rate as the chopper circled across the street and started to pave right above roof level on the opposite side of the road. Some of them had regained their bearing, and the custom rounds of the AVD were bouncing or lodging themselves into the armor of the aircraft. In response, Lyle put a constant stream of fire on the line of cars they were all ducking to.

Effectively making swiss cheese out of the vehicles, the enemy retaliation dwindled. He was successfully corralling them into the team's line of buildings.  Kerrigan cut in, "Good work, good work. I'm reading at least 45 in-caps' on my end."

"No big deal, sir!" Lyle scanned the street, but none of the enemies out in the open were moving. The chopper's warning lights went off, with a feverent alarm beeping to warn them of incoming chop. "Shit," He saw a plume of smoke shoot out from a shop window, "Flares, Flares!!" The pilot got the idea, and several blinding beige lights shot up and behind the helicopter. Lyle felt his heart sink as the missile went off course, exploding into a structure not too far off.

"Too fucking close!" Lyle screamed, waving out the door, "Thin 'em out, we'll circle around for another strafing run."

Acheron knew the break between GAU bombardments would be their time to shine. He planted his boot on the door, blasting the thing wide open with the force of a kick. The cold air rushed into the room. He was quick to advance across the alleyway, and kicking the wooden side door to the next shop; a diner. The door splintered, exploding from its hinges. A dozen recuperating foes instantly turned their heads to him. Acheron didn't even give them the opportunity of a break. The first man was standing just a few feet from him. He shifted forward, and jammed the muzzle of his rifle into his opponent's face. The Echo operative crashed over a solid counter, momentarily distracting his compatriots. Snapping from target to target, he easily took out a handful of them with bursts before sliding to nearby cover. His HUD kept his ammo count marked in the botton corner.