Juggernauts

CHAPTER 21: A Dragon in the Ghetto

"PANZER 2-2, this is PANZER actual, what is your position?" Tom called out over the radio as he and Shawn jumped from the roof they were on to a lower one.

"About 100 meters South of the drop point sir!" Alex replied. "We require immediate assistance, they have a 50 cal!"

"Get the lead out kid, they need out help!" Tom yelled as he and Shawn continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop.

They saw a machine gun nest with a heavy caliber gun firing down a street at what he could only assume was his team. "Hold you position, we are almost on top of them!" He commanded to his unit.

"Don't worry Tom, we aren't going anywhere." Ella commented.

Tom and Shawn finally made it back to the ground as they peeked around a corner to see a large group of German soldiers firing relentlessly at their unit. Tom looked to Shawn, "Hey kid, got any thermite charges on you?"

Shawn nodded and produced a small canister with a red stripe painted around the top and bottom from his pouch.

Tom pulled out a flammable gas grenade and pulled the pin. "When I throw this, count to 3 and throw yours as close to this as you can."

"Yes sir." Shawn nodded again.

Tom threw the grenade into the bunker through a small window in the side, no one inside seemed to notice.

After counting to 3, Shawn pulled the pin on his grenade and threw it into the window as well. That time, several soldiers ran over to the window and began yelling and pointing to Tom and Shawn.

A second had passed before the entire bunker was engulfed in flames and screams. A door flew open as several soldiers tried to escape the concrete oven they were trapped in. 

Tom and Shawn charged the flaming bunker as they shot anyone trying to escape. As they entered the bunker, they could see a badly burnt German crawling toward the machine gun  and fire it a few times before Tom and Shawn both gunned him down. 

The bunker was completely destroyed other than a few metal barrels in the corners. Tom and Shawn nodded to each other as a heat warning came up on Shawn's HUD. They exited the bunker as Tom radioed the team.

"All clear guys." He called out.

His team came out from behind a badly damaged overturned Humvee truck.

"The Iron Dragon lives." Johnson laughed as the team regrouped in the middle of the road.

"You bet your ass I do." Tom laughed back to him.

"We found the marines when we got separated, it looks like they need out help." Shawn pointed out.

The team followed Shawn and Tom back to where they saw the bodies of the marines.

"Sir, I think the survivors may have gone inside. I don't see as many as we did earlier." Shawn pointed out.

Tom gestured to a small stone building with his head as the team pointed their guns at the door.

Tom approached the door and drew his pistol as he reached for the handle. "PANZER coming in! Hold your fire!"

Thrusting his shoulder into the door, Tom flung it open and found four marines with their guns pointed back at him and two others preforming medical aid to one of the table.

"Friendly, friendly!" Tom called out to them. "We are here on the orders of Major Gordon Hampton to get you guys out of here."

The rest of his team followed him in with their guns raised. "PANZER, stand down." Tom commanded.

His team did as he instructed as well as the marines.

"Who's in charge here marine?" Tom asked

The wounded soldier on the table weakly raised his arm as Tom walked over to him and holstered his gun.

"Give me a sit-rep." Tom commanded

The dying soldier handed Tom a file folder and a flash drive. "Takoda sir. We have a location. It's encrypted, you'll have to send it to command to have them find out what it says."

"Thompson, get on it." Tom instructed

"Yes sir." Shawn grabbed the file and drive before sending a transmission to command.

Tom looked to the medic. "He gonna make it?"

"He's lost a lot of blood Captain. It's not looking good." The medic replied.

"Ella, help him."

Ella came to the table as Tom walked over to the rest of the group.

"How long have you guys been here?" Tom asked

"About a week sir. There was 15 of us. German snipers and MG fire has been picking us off." A marine answered. 

"Hows your ammo looking?" Alex interjected.

"Maybe a hundred rounds each. Maybe less."

Tom took off his helmet and set it on a table near him. "Alright, PANZER will provide support for tonight. We'll call for a med-evac for the morning to get you guys out of here. After that, PANZER will take over your mission once you guys are clear."

Tom looked over his shoulder to Shawn. "Got that newbie?"

"On it boss." Shawn said as he radioed the command center.