Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) (26 page)

“Danny’s suicide squad is alive and well,” Javy quipped.

Everyone on the radio link laughed despite the overwhelming tension in the air. After all, what else could they do? This was a game, and sometimes you lost. If it had to end this way, Danny was going to enjoy going down in a blaze of glory.

He was about to resume firing when his wrist alert went off. At first he thought it was David, requesting an update on his current situation, but then he looked at the name next to the visual alert in the corner of his HUD.

Selene.

“Wait, what?” he said out loud in surprise. He switched channels. “Bravo Wolf.”

“Still alive Danny?” Selene’s voice crackled over the radio link.

“Where’d you come from?” he asked incredulously, not quite believing what he was hearing.

“Ragnarok hit our end of the line to pin us, but Thorn Company showed up to take our spot on the line. We loaded up in transport helos as soon as we heard the news from David.”

Danny fired off a burst into the trees feeling elation surge through his, “Perfect timing. Guess it’s your turn the play the cavalry, huh?”

“Hey, I don’t like owing you favors, so now we’re even,” she replied. “We’re landing about a half mile east of your current position. I have Alpha Wolf and Spectre with me.”

Fifty troops. That would be enough to permanently turn the tide of battle in their favor.

“Get to us as soon as possible,” he urged. “We’ve only got about a dozen of us left here.”

“Understood. We’ll get to you. Don’t die.”

“As if,” Danny said with a grin. He switched channels back to his platoon. “Listen up everyone! We have reinforcements incoming from the east. Hold until relieved.”

They weren’t out of woods yet. Bravo Wolf had a hard fight ahead of them, but Danny could see the light looming at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

He brought his assault rifle up to his shoulder and faced the incoming horde.

“Come and get it,” he muttered to himself, just before he opened fire.

If the enemy wanted this spot, they’d have to take it over their cold, dead corpses.

“
T
he combined defense
of the western flank was completely successful,” David summarized. “Thanks goes out to Bravo Wolf Platoon for destroying the enemy pontoon bridge and then holding the northern bank against overwhelming odds, and to Alpha Wolf and Spectre for their timely intervention.”

Zach sat back in his chair, watching the council unfold in front of him. In truth, he had little to say at the moment, being merely content to bask in the glow of the victory for once.

Thanks to Danny and Selene’s hard work the front had stabilized on both ends. Ragnarok’s forces on the southern side of the river had been completely wiped out, and they wouldn’t be trying that way anytime soon. Sacred Sword would soon be joined by a task force from White Tiger, freed up from their campaign in Davenport. Their commanders apparently realized the seriousness of the Ragnarok threat, enough to withdraw some of their best troops to defend their rear areas.

The rest of Magic Battalion was in the process of moving to Milwaukee, and within a week they would free up the rest of Ghost Battalion for other operations. All and all, things seemed to be looking up.

But their situation hadn’t changed any. Both sides remained gripped in a tight deadlock, and Zach knew it wouldn’t be broken easily. There would be no lightning victories, no dramatic comebacks or surprises. No, this was about to settle into a brutal, bloody slugging match where gains were measured by yards, not by miles.

They’d rise to the challenge, though, and would fight Ragnarok anywhere and everywhere. After all, what were they here for, if not to test themselves against the top players in the game?

“Thinking about something?’ Nora asked beside him.

“I am,” Zach confirmed, but it wasn’t just about the game. No, he had something else on his mind.

“
G
ood to see
you this morning,” President Starvos greeted him in his office.

“Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice,” Zach told him, shaking his hand.

“Not at all. I was told that there was something you wanted to discuss with me?”

He beckoned toward a seat, but Zach remained standing for a moment.

“I’ve made a decision about your offer.”

“Oh?”

Zach took a deep breath.

“I'm in.”