Rainbow Six: Bloodlines

"TRUE DARK" - Chapter 10

     "What a fucking mess," Vigil muttered, swapping magazines. "We need to get the hell out of here."

     "Roger that." Zofia leaned from the shadows of the living room and aimed her rifle past the shattered glass of one of the front windows. The two enemy vehicles burned out in the street. Bodies were strewn about the yard and sidewalk. She could hear cries of alarm from civilians still in their homes. "Pereira? We need a fast exit."

     "Copy. We're in the air, en route."

     Zofia backed away from the window. "Ela?" she called quietly over her shoulder. She looked around and realized it was just her and Hwa at the forward position of the house.

     "Think she left," Vigil whispered.

     Ela's voice crackled over the radio. "Grace is fine. I'm heading north to pursue the targets."

     "Negative," hissed Zofia. "Regroup. We just woke up this entire side of the island. Police will be here any minute. Ela, do you read me?"

     No answer.

     Vigil shifted uncomfortably. "Ela?" he tried. "You there? You copy?"

     "Entering the house - backdoor," came Dokkaebi. "Blue-on-blue. Don't shoot."

     Both Zofia and Vigil snapped their gazes to the backdoor as it opened. Grace stepped in, cradling her large rifle on her shoulder.

     "She's gone," Dokkaebi informed. "She took off after Ryad and Elena."

     Zofia's eyes found the spot of impact where the enemy bullet had hit Dokkaebi in the chest. "You okay, Grace?"

     The woman nodded. "I'll be fine. We need to shit or get off the pot. Do we go after Ela? I know she's a badass, but I don't know if she can take those two on her own."

     The realization that her sister was in serious danger opened a pit in Zofia's stomach. "We need to go. Amelia and Pereira can find us. Better to leave now before we draw anymore attention."

     She had just finished uttering the words when helicopter rotors whipped the air in the distance. Caveira's voice greeted them over the radio.

     "Gold Team? Do you copy?"

     "Copy, Pereira. We're in some heat. We need evac. Authorities will be here any minute." Zofia wiped sweat from her brow. "Targets escaped, heading north through the countryside. Ela is in pursuit."

      The helicopter neared as sirens could be heard in the distance.

     "Roger. We're cutting it close. Listen up - remove anything that can be linked back to us - whether it be our identities, our unit, Elena and Ryad's ties to GEO. If it's there on-scene, it needs to go."

     Zofia, Vigil and Dokkaebi all looked at each other.

     "Weapons, personal effects, tools, gadgets," Caveira clarified. "A damned 'I Heart Hereford' bumper sticker, if it's there. Anything that authorities could use to tie us to Rainbow."

     The operators cast wary glances around the house as civilians outside finally braved leaving their residences to assess the scene of carnage on the street. Alarmed voices carried through the night as families convened in front yards and the street. Parents were shooing their children back into their homes. Men and women hastily exchanged accounts of what they had seen and heard.

     "Copy," answered Zofia. "Only one item. Will take a minute to grab - we'll need to take it aboard the helicopter."

     "Fine. Hurry. Looks like the natives are getting restless. We'll touch down as close to the backyard as we can."