The Bullet's Mark (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Fanfiction)

Chapter 16

Two Years Earlier 
    "Watch your step Joey...there are probably alligators in this swamp." 
    "What?" the youngest of the team practically screeched and practically jumped out of the tree branch he perched on. 
    "Actually," Myles adjusted his round-framed glasses, "these would be crocodiles technically speaking." 
    Bruce made a mocking sound, higher pitched than Myles' voice and then cleared his throat. "Yeah, whatever you fuckin' nerd." 
    "Call me a nerd again and you'll be soaked past your boots," Myles grumbled. 
    "And here we go," there was a sigh from Jon.
    "Tighten up boys," I scolded the group, a tiny smirk on my lips. 
    Though amusing, there was still a job to do and the men fanned out around me had to be focused for it. The main attack on Blackjack was minutes away. It was our group's job to intercept the convoy that our men kicked up. In it, Blackjack would have his squishy ass on a cushion, never expecting an attack. 
    "Boss, why can't we feed the tiny one to the crocs?" Bruce addressed me. 
    "Believe it or not Bruce, the 'tiny one' is essential to our team." 
    Joey perked up from where he balanced on his branch above the swamp. The youngest of us all, Joey was mostly brains and little brawn—a polar opposite from Bruce, our burly and bearded medic. Jon was the most level-headed of us all, even keeping myself in check. Myles...he was exactly what Bruce referred to him as. 
    "They're entering the vehicles now," a warm voice smooth as whiskey came through the comms. 
     "Copy that," I responded, motioning my group to hold as I spotted movement. "Movement below." 
    The shit-flicking attitudes immediately shifted into those of complete seriousness. The men fanned out behind me went silent and prepared for the worst. I tucked up against the thinner tree, seeing the figures of Blackjack's militia sweeping the swampy area below. 
    "We're going to have to do this carefully," I kept my voice low. "On my signal."
    They never questioned. They just acted. I listened to the enemy's low swishes through the water as they used the brush and debris of the swamp to search the area. My gloved hand gripped the mossy, slippery tree branch below me as I shifted onto my haunches. 
    A group of ten militia were talking back and forth in Spanish as they wove through. I waited for the first five to pass, watching them split to the right more. To the wave of my hand, the five of us dropped from our trees and onto a target. 
    My knife was already sliding across my enemy's throat before I fully took him down. My other gloved hand covered his mouth and then guided my blade across his uniform to clean it. I sheathed my knife and drew my rifle from my back mount in seconds. 
    The soldiers around me were in sync as they moved forward with me. We flanked the rest of the group, using our suppressed weapons to take them down. 
    "These ones are too close to the road," I mentioned, stowing my weapon and then gripping the collar of one. 
    "Looks like they get to swim instead Brucie," Joey joked and shoved a body into the stagnant swamp water. 
    The bigger man rolled his eyes but copied. I drew my weapon once more, waiting for the boys to finish up their hiding tasks. Jon came to kneel beside me, his blue eyes focused on the sloping land before us. 
    "Think they'll be on time?" 
    "Erek is always on time," I mentioned. 
    At that moment, the radio buzzed in. "We're headed up the hill now. The house is clear. Blackjack should be in one of those vehicles." 
    "Copy all," I responded to Erek. "We need to flank the road boys." 
    The five of us gradually broke into a star-shaped position to the road. I took up the position at the middle of the forked spot. My fingers grasped a black denotator. Josh had set up C4 on all but two of the rigs and Geoff had been tasked with messing up the computer of Blackjack's private SUV. At the signal, the C4 would be blown and the computer would be hacked by Myles' own computer, connected via codes sent by Geoff. 
    "We're bringing up the rear," Erek reported. "Watch your fire. They're within firing range of you now." 
    As the second-in-command spoke, I could hear the rumble of three vehicles. I spotted the black boxes moving along the ridge road in the short distance. I gripped the denotator a little tighter, adrenaline rushing a hint of excitement into my veins. 
    For months my team and I had been trying to get to Blackjack and, finally, the wait was over. He'd be dead in less than three minutes. Our work will have paid off. 
    "Denotating," I gave the signal into the comms for all to hear. 
    My thumb squeezed the magic button and I squinted my eyes, fully prepared for the blast. When nothing happened, I clicked it once more. Again...nothing. 
    "Myles, disable that truck right now!" I snapped out. 
    "Trying! It's not registering," Myles huffed into the comms. 
    "Fuck it," I drew my weapon. "Everyone go loud!" 
    "Don't risk it!" Erek made my movements pause. "There must be a rig in the system. If you go hot, none of us will make it out alive." 
    I hesitated to my second's words. He had a valid point. Blackjack needed to die, but he wouldn't if we all died before getting to him. The smartest move was to let him pass. 
    "We'll cut him off at the bottom of the hill. Call in air support Joey." 
    As soon as the vehicles sped past, I broke through the brush. The boys were doing the same, shaking off their irritation as the second half of our group joined us. Erek was leading them, his tattooed left arm flexed as he held his rifle, his dark hair slicked back, and his flawless features decorated with black paint. 
    "Let's move!" I ordered and led the ten of us down the road a ways before finding a slick slide downward. "We have to do this carefully, but it'll put us ahead." 
    "I'll go first," Erek stepped in front of me with a hint of protectiveness in his voice; he caught my eye and allowed his lips to quirk. 
    "The rest of you follow," I ignored the heat piling in the pit of my stomach; going last was something I liked to do to make sure my team was accounted for. 
    My half of the team went first, Joey letting out a squeal of amusement as he slid down the muddy slope. Tyler, one of Erek's closest, paused to let Lee scramble down. He shot me a short look, moving away before he thought I could see the smirk forming on his lips. 
    In my gut was a sudden explosion of unease. I stood straighter, glaring after the soldier in confusion. The only time I felt like this was usually right before something went horribly wrong. I'd only been right about it a million times in the past. 
    "Everything okay Boss?" Josh paused to look at me. 
    They are your team. Let it go and finish the mission. You can't let them down. 
    "Just fine Josh. Get moving." 
    The soldier slid down the hill in silence and I followed him. The mud was caking onto my uniform as picked up speed toward the bottom of the slide down. Upon reaching the bottom, Bruce easily grabbed my hand to lift me off my rump. I nodded a quick thanks and then faced the group. 
    "As long as we keep a quick pace, we'll get him." 
    "Unless..." 
    I spun around to face Tyler. "Unless what?" 
    "We may not make it," Erek stepped between the two of us. "Why push?" 
    "Why push?" I snarled. "Push because we've worked our asses off for this moment for months. That bastard needs to die today!" 
    "He's not the only one," Josh commented lowly. 
    "Wha—"
    Before I could question him, Tyler's gun went off. The bullet went straight into Joey's lower abdomen and the youngest man toppled into Myles. Myles let out a shout of horror when Josh raised his rifle, causing Myles to fire at him.
    The group of ten dove for any cover they could find and an internal shoot-out began. Lee and Geoff shot Myles at the same time; his glasses went flying through the air. I raised my rifle, shooting the two without a second thought. Tyler, still smirking, shot Jon. 
    In a matter of seconds, Bruce and I were the only two standing against Tyler and Erek. Bruce wiped at the sweat on his face, looking across the way to me in utter shock. I was silent as I peeked around the edge of the tree I stood behind. 
    "You have five seconds to explain yourself," I shouted to Erek. 
    There was only silence to respond. I turned to watch Bruce poke his rifle around his own tree. He fired at one of the two remaining soldiers and received the same in response. He retreated, gazing at me in horror.
    What's happening Boss? Why have they done this? All his thoughts matched my own.
    A light thud on the ground caused me to look at the grenade thrown to draw us out. Bruce didn't skip a beat, running out into the open to land on the grenade. I winced, turning in time to miss the violent motion his body made as he sacrificed himself for me. 
    By the time I turned back around, Erek was there. A blade found my upper abdomen, right underneath my armpit. It was a killing blow and enough to make me collapse backward, my head snapping against the ground. 
    Erek dove down, crouching over me and clutching my collar. His face was spotted in my vision as he smirked at my pain. 
    "W-Why?" I managed, gazing up at Erek as he continued to pin me; I felt a certain insecurity arise looking at him...he was someone I'd trusted with more than just my life and comradeship...I loved him. 
    "Money and success comes at a better price than ending that bastard's life down there," he glanced to where Blackjack was escaping in his vehicles. 
    "He's getting away," Tyler came up, looking stone-cold and focused. 
    "You know that he's already dead. He told us Blackjack was his to handle," Erek snapped impatiently. 
    Before I could blurt out all the questions—the curiosity of who had offered Erek such a prize and who he was working with besides our group—the soldier above me twisted the blade deeper into my upper body. I screeched as he twisted, his own fingers covered in the blood of the major wound now gushing blood. 
    "Blackjack was part of the deal," Tyler was still talking in the background of my pounding eardrums. "You made a deal with me!"
    Erek sighed, stood up, and faced the younger soldier in annoyance as he pulled the trigger on his pistol. Tyler collapsed with his head wound, bleeding out of his forehead. 
    "I'm going to kill you," I gasped out, screaming as Erek moved just out of reach. 
    "You're going to die here, Sam. Just like the others," he sneered, kicking away Tyler's combat knife before I could reach for it. "I hope it's slow and painful." 
    "I-I trusted you," the words were cracked. 
    "Never completely trust anyone Samantha," Erek crouched down, gripping my ponytail in spite. His once-warm hazel eyes were now cold and hardened into thirst for power. "You did this to yourself." 
    Erek was once a man I'd swooned over. One of strength and of gorgeous eyes. He had always seemed loyal and protective. That's why it was easy for him to become my secondhand. It had been easy for me to trust him and all he stood for...to allow him to hold my heart.
    My trust and belief had gotten my own men killed...
    "Who are you working for?" 
    Erek huffed as he watched me weakly reach for my own knife, that side of myself pooled in blood. "You're really still fighting aren't you?" 
    He stood, moving away before I could weakly strike him with the knife. I dropped the object, moaning aloud in agony. Erek cocked his head, studying my suffering. 
    "You were a decent commander Sam...I'll give you that. It's unfortunate you let them all die." 
    With that final comment, Erek turned and headed out of the smaller clearing. He acted like he knew exactly where he was going too...like it'd been a plan all along. 
    It hit me then that this hadn't been anything recently planned. Erek had been betraying us for just as long as we'd been hunting down Blackjack, if not longer. The "fault" in the equipment earlier hadn't been a fluke yet all part of his plan. 
    My blood was still heavily flowing as I crawled along the ground to a flatter spot. All the bodies of my fallen comrades—my men—were in plain sight. Blood was pooling around all of their bodies, their eyes lifeless and gleaming my direction with tears of disappointment and anger. I felt my body shockwave into a flurry of spitting, crying...sobbing. The effort hurt as I reached for Joey's radio; the emergency button used for quick escapes slid underneath my fingers and I knew help would arrive in minutes. 
    I rolled onto my back to face the overcast sky. My head was throbbing, vision pulsing with every beat of my heart. My wound was sending blood out to my left, soaking into the ground and into Joey's uniform too. I let out another moan, closing my eyes for a short moment. 
    The wound didn't hurt as horribly as the betrayal and the loss of my comrades...my family. What probably caused the most pain was the simple fact that it was all my fault.
    That absolutely destroyed me.