Rainbow Six: November Sun

18: "UNKNOWN ORDINANCE"

Suppressed gunshots cracked the air simultaneously, and the two terrorists went down in a heap next to their hostage. Mr. Molchalin barely had time to yelp in fright before Sledge's hammer shattered the office door, and Rainbow operators stormed the room.

Valkyrie kept her weapon pointed at the bodies. "Clear."

"Six Actual, this is Sledge. Room breached. Two tangos down. Examining bomb."

"Copy," came Harry. "DSU is sweeping the building. No signs of further resistance. You're clear to extract."

Mr. Molchalin started squirming, overcome by anxiety as the numbness of shock wore off.

Doc knelt next to the man and put a steady hand on his shoulders. "You're safe, now sir. Do you understand me?"

The man's lips quivered as he tried to stifle sobbing, and he nodded briskly.

"Breathe. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Are you injured?"

"M-my arm." Molchalin gritted his teeth. "Think they broke it."

"Okay. You'll be fine." Doc assessed the businessman quickly. Not seeing any blood or lacerations, he flashed a nod to Sledge. "Let's get him out of here."

He held up his STIM pistol. "Mr. Molchalin, we need to leave, quickly. I'm going to give you a shot. It's a stimulant that will help with the pain."

"Just do it," snapped Lion from the doorway.

Doc ignored his colleague and kept his calm eyes on Mr. Molchalin. "Do you understand?"

Molchalin nodded. Doc administered the shot quickly before putting his arm around the man and helping him up. Rook came to his aid, and the two escorted the liberated hostage out into the hallway.

Valkyrie slumped to her knees next to the dead hostile with the bomb strapped to his chest. She set her weapon down carefully and removed her gloves. "I got this, guys. Get the hostage outta here."

"You sure?" asked Lion.

"Yeah." The woman set her gloves down on the floor and took a deep breath as she examined the bomb. "Ash, what's Team 1's status?"

"In the middle of a sweep and clear with the DSU at the embassy," the woman responded in a hushed voice. "You guys doin' okay?"

Valkyrie wiped sweat from her brow. "We will be. Can you spare Twitch for a bomb defusal?"

"Affirmative. She's on her way."

"What are we looking at?" asked Harry.

"It's an IED, Harry, but it's impressive. Rigged with some finesse." Valkyrie grinned. "Too bad Bandit isn't here."

"Wires?" Twitch asked, her shaky voice indicating she was mid-run. "Timer?"

"No wires exposed. No visible timer. Gonna have to find the panel to remove it, but— oh, what the fuck."

"What?" asked Twitch.

"The device wraps around this mother fucker's torso," replied Valkyrie. She bit her lip as she peered over the dead man, assessing the bomb's layout. "There's shit on his back, too. No wonder he's slumped all weird. Lion, can you come back? Gonna need a third set of hands once Twitch gets here."

"On my way."

Valkyrie put her palms out and lowered herself to the floor, trying to get a better angle on the device between the man's back and the floor.

"Valkyrie," came Harry again, "DSU wants eyes on your bomb. I told them they can send one man. They're sending Liam, the one who picked you all up at the airport."

"Okay. As long as he understands he's not fucking touching anything."

"Be advised, he's a bomb defusal expert."

"I don't care."

Lion jogged back inside, his steps heavy on the tile. He saw Valkyrie and grinned beneath his mask. "You really think now is the time for push-ups, Castellano?"

She shot him a glare. "Help me."

The man obeyed and was at her side quickly. "What do you need?"

"Device is rigged to his front and back. We need to roll him onto his side so we can work on both sides. Be very, very careful, Flament."

"Could this thing go off at any second?"

"Yeah," Valkyrie murmured. "I mean, it looks sturdy, but there's no way to tell yet. Ready?"

Lion nodded. He slipped his mask off, followed by his gloves, and let them fall to the floor before stepping over the lifeless body. "Ready."

The duo rolled the man slowly, carefully, onto his side.

Valkyrie pushed, trying to hold the body upright. The muscles in her arms tensed with exertion, and her blue eyes widened when the man's back was fully exposed. "The hell. It's like a full-sized vest. Back panel is screwed tight. Twitch, where are you?"

"Here," came a voice from the hall amidst jogging footsteps. Twitch soon entered, slowing her pace as she went through the door.

A loud clattering noise from the body made everyone jump. Lion cursed, trying his best to maintain a stable hold on the dead man; Valkyrie's gaze flickered to the floor.

"Jesus," she breathed. "It's his phone. Fell out of his pocket."

Twitch moved quickly to her companions, stepping over the body of the dead woman before sinking to her knees next to the woman's comrade. She stripped off her gloves and mask before hurriedly scooping up the dead man's phone. Her eyes widened. "The fuck is this?"

"Nuh uh." Valkyrie was shaking her head. "Not what I want to hear right now, Pichon."

"There's a timer." Twitch held up the man's phone, revealing an active countdown on the screen. "Ten minutes remaining."

Lion frowned, still stooped over the body and holding it still with both hands. "What? The timer is on the phone? Is it connected to this shithead's bomb?"

"We'll find out soon enough." Velcro rasped loudly as Twitch undid a satchel hanging from her tactical vest, and she placed it gingerly on the floor. "Time to break out the tools."

Valkyrie exhaled deeply. "Harry, recommending evac of all friendlies on-site. Valkyrie, Lion, and Twitch are preparing for defusal of unknown ordinance. Please stand by."

"Received. Stay safe. Keep me informed. Six Actual, out."