Operation: Pointed Spear

Overwatch

Monika's POV
I looked across the table at Mason, Freyja, Aaron, Eliza and Ryad before I asked "How'd your mission in America go?" Freyja looked at me and replied "pretty simple, we just swept a house and killed masks. They didn't even put up much of a fight" I sighed longingly as Mike spoke "ours have been absolute piss takes, we got pinned into a house for 2 days because of a fuckin blizzard" Mason replied "sounds horrible" I listened as Alik spoke "it fuckin was, I just wanted some more smokes and I ran out by the end of day 1" Mason spoke "as a medical professional, I cannot recommend you smoke" Alik looked at him and replied "I'm trying to quit, It's not working" as Ryad asked "why not?" As Alik snipped "because our missions are too damn stressful." Jack spoke "easy now, no need to be a dick" Alik looked at him and rolled his eyes before pulling his plate carrier over his head and fastening it, he pulled up his helmet on before grabbing his rifle and walking out as Mason asked "what's up with him?" Gaining Mike's response of "he's been through a lot lately"
     I nodded as Freyja sighed "hopefully he stops with the hair trigger temper" I defended "like we said he's been through a lot, cut him some slack. A lot of people would've snapped after what he's been through" Ryad spoke "no ones saying to the contrary, it's just hard to be compassionate when he's being that.... abrasive" I sighed as I finished pulling on my gear and I headed out to our truck. I climbed into the back of the up armored truck and sat across from Alik as I asked "you okay? You seem pretty pissed off" he replied simply "I'm tired of everyone telling me how to live my life, 'you gotta stop smoking', 'you gotta take down Feral', you gotta do this and that and everything fucking else. I'm just one man.... I'm just one guy caught up in something I don't understand and for the first time I can't think my way out of this" I rested my hand on his forearm and replied "you'll make the right decisions, that's the best anyone can ask" I watched him sigh rubbing his face and listened as he spoke "how do you know? How am I supposed to know what's the right decision? God damn it!"
I leaned back and asked "do you want to end this?" He looked at me and replied "of course I do, I have to make that bastard pay for what he did to my team" as I asked again "how far are you willing to go to get to him?" He looked down and replied honestly "I don't know, I want to get my hands on him but I can't be the cause of anymore deaths." I answered "then just make the decision you think are right, you have the gun, you pull the trigger. No one else has any say on when you shoot" he nodded and spoke "thank you, atleast someone has advice that helps other than stop smoking" I chuckled as the rest of our team climbed in and Lera spoke "we're leaving in 1 minute, Mason has some final checks he wants to do before we move" I nodded and pulled up my balaclava before shifting my 553 as Jack asked "you look less tense Alik, anything happen?" He replied "enlightenment" causing Mike to throw a glance at me as I heard Mason on the radio "Ozone to Thatcher" as Mike thumbed his mic "Go for thatcher"
Mason spoke "we're moving out, stay close to us. I trust you guys to have our backs" thatcher replied "well be waiting for your fuck up" Ozone just laughed as the truck lurched and we started moving to the target. I watch Achilles thumb his way through a book looking for something but the contents seemed to elude him until we arrived at the target. He frustratedly tossed his book on the chair next to him as he shifted his MCX and looked out the bulletproof window in the back of the truck, I asked "think we'll get any action this mission?" He looked over and replied "hopefully not, if we're getting action it went badly" Pulse spoke "speak for yourself, I'm always excited to get into the fray" he replied "that's why you're going to be the first one to get injured" as Finka sighed "please do not get injured, I don't want to play doctor today" as Thatcher laughed "with this team? Good luck" we stopped talking as Nøkk came over the radio "we're moving internal, hold for updates" Pulse spoke "well it's showtime" as we all listened to the comms intensely.
It was just usual chatter before we heard screaming and a heavy machine gun firing as Ozone yelled over the screams "QRF get the fuck in here!" But he was late, half our team was already out of the truck running towards the building. Achilles was our point as we formed up on him before he entered pushing quickly to Ozone's position before he crouched and started talking to Ozone, once he got an idea of what was going on he came back to us and spoke "I need someone with me, we're flanking and clearing out this nest" thatcher pointed at Pulse "go" they took off running as we fired trying to suppress the machine gun, Finka was burning through her nanobot charges as Apex made full use of the now easily controlled recoil and tore through his boxes of M249 ammo. I heard Achilles on comms "we're rappelling to the rear of the MG, watch your fire we will be infront of you" as We all replied our understanding before the floor detonated and the two came flying through the windows. I watched shell shocked as Pulse's M1014 barked quickly while Achilles MCX chattered with staccato fire dropping the masks as the MG neat dropped through the now gaping hole in the floor, I heard Pulse "We're clear"
      I started shimmying my way along the edge of the hole before I slipped and started to fall forward just for Achilles to grab my arm tearing me across the hole and to the side I was trying to get to, I nodded saying "Danke" before the rest of the team made their way across while Achilles and Pulse pulled security. I heard Ozone hand out orders "Pulse, Achilles, lead us up. Apex I want you behind them, give them fire support. The rest of you keep your head up and alert, I don't want anymore ambushes" I watched Pulse slowly creep up the staircase before he crouched and Achilles took a step forward aiming at the door as Pulse spoke into comms "I've got 8... 9 heartbeats on this floor"
Alik's pov
      I stepped up to the door just as it got thrown open and I came face to face with a heavily armored mask, he was wearing Sentinel corps heavy armor causing me to yell "Get the fuck back" as I dove down the staircase as a Minigun started to spin behind me.
      The team scrambled back trying to think of how to take it out before Thatcher radioed "Watcher, we've got a problem. The masks have a heavily armored juggernaut hunting us down, our rounds aren't going to penetrate that armor" Harry replied "hold, I've got to find the report" as I looked at IQ and asked "what were we going to do? Just keep wasting ammo?" She shrugged and replied "I could go for shooting a couple more rounds" I laughed as Ozone asked "Do we have anymore explosives?" I listened as Nøkk and Finka spoke "I've got 2 frags" as Ozone replied "when he get down here throw them at him, maybe explosives will have an effect?" I listened to the floorboards cream under the juggernauts weight before he reached our floor and Finka and Nøkk started throwing frags. We watched the four plumes of dust and listened to the shrapnel ricochet only to hear footsteps getting closer as Harry spoke again "The report from Raven states that the armor has a defect where if you hit the helmet enough it gets torn off by the force of the rounds" I sighed.
      I heard Thatcher "well let's get it done" as I watched Nøkk and Ozone pop around the corner firing bursts into the helmet only for Nøkk to speak "the helmet isn't coming off" as I reached to my shoulder strap and felt my last resort grenade. I radioed "can any of you get rounds into the minigun? Disable it for a bit?" I heard Pulse "I can try" as he leaned around the corner and fired speaking "I got 2 of the barrels down, it's just the last one" I radioed "thatcher, can you black out the hallway?" As IQ asked "what are you doing?" While I pulled the grenade from my strap "something I'll probably regret" as I saw the emp go flying around the corner and the hallway dropped to pitch black as I charged down it tackling the mask into the hole in the floor Pulse and I created before I pulled the pin on my grenade shoving it into the collar of his body armor, the mask dropped his Minigun frantically trying to pull the grenade from his armor as I pushed myself away just as IQ yelled into comms "Alik!" And the grenade detonated igniting all of the extra rounds in the backpack of the mask causing a huge explosion as rounds flew in every direction and I lifted my arms in an X infront of my face in an instinctive attempt to protect myself.
     When the rounds stopped shooting around the place I slowly lowered my arms and patted myself finding it hard to believe I wasn't hit as I saw IQ shining a flashlight down the hole looking for me as she yelled "Alik?! ALIK?!" As I coughed "here!" And her flashlight found me, she called "are you okay?!" As I nodded speaking "just minor shrapnel, help me up" I watched Ozone and Jackal lay on their stomachs extending their hands down that I grabbed and tried helping as they pulled me back up to the floor and I rolled over sighing in relief as IQ crouched next to me "now I definitely think you're suicidal" I laughed as Finka crouched next to me "where's the shrapnel?" I replied as the adrenaline wore off "my legs" gritting my teeth in pain as Thatcher spoke "IQ, you and Jackal protect Finka while she works on Achilles. The rest of us let's finished clearing" as I tried sitting up just for IQ to push me down "stay still"
       I heard Jackal "does he do stuff like this often?" As IQ and Finka replied yes in their native languages and Jackal asked "how aren't you dead mi amigo?" I shrugged as gunshots echoed above me causing me to try to sit up as IQ pushed me down again, I sighed "IQ, I'll be fine sitting up" as I tried and she pushed me back down "nein, you will stay still and let Finka finish before you try moving, understood?" I heard Jackal "Mi Amigo, you should listen. She won't take no for an answer" as I replied "I know" just as finka pulled the bandage tight causing me to groan and try to lift my head to see what she was doing as IQ asked "what did I just say?" And I replied by asking "what? I can't look at my own legs?" I was forced to grit my teeth as Finka pulled the bandage tight one more time speaking "there, all better" as I sat up and listened to the gunfight above us. I spoke with a pained voice "go, I'll be okay here" as I gripped my MCX aiming at the stairs as I heard footsteps coming down it just to see thatcher across the hole "Head down to the truck, were just grabbing the wounded mask for interrogation. The buildings good" I lowered my MCX as did the rest of the group while IQ gripped my shoulder straps pulling me to my feet before she helped me support my weight moving down the stairs to the bottom floor before we headed outside and she helped me into the truck before climbing in and slamming the door shut before sitting next to me and saying "you had me worried for a second" I joked "no little frag is gonna take me out" she sighed and patted my shoulder "please, no more stuns" as I nodded speaking "I'll try not to, I can't make any promises but" she replied "I'll take what I can get with you"