Fang: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 3) (11 page)

“
You don't sound too happy,” Miko commented.

Nora shook her head. “I just think that our positions should be reversed. Black Wolf should be searching the south tunnels, and we should be in the northern ones.”

“Maybe this is the right place for the new guys to be,” Selene shrugged. “I mean, like it or not they're going to run into tough situations that they need to be able to handle. This might be the best way to train them for those instances. And besides, there might not be a ton of danger. We haven't run into something like this in any other area, so maybe it's just contained to this spot.”

“
Unless we just woke it up,” Miko said.

“
Way to be encouraging,” Selene retorted.

“
Whatever the case, we need to do our job,” Karen said. “We might have raw recruits, but they're good quality ones. They know how to fight, and they'll learn the tricks they need soon enough. We just need to put them in a position to succeed.”

“
Are we ready for another recon expedition?” Miko asked.

Karen nodded. “As soon as we decide where we're going, we'll be good to go. We just need to grab our equipment.”

“Full company?” Nora asked.

“
Full company,” Karen confirmed.

The noise they were making seemed loud, but it was oddly comforting, in a way. The dead silence of the tunnels had added to the sense of unease. It had felt like something was waiting in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment, and the lack of noise only accentuated that feeling. The atmosphere was still there, but it was far less intimidating. Something was waiting in the shadows, but they were daring it to come out and fight. Even if it was just a show of bravado it felt good.

Nothing had bothered them as they made their way back down the main tunnel, passing the first side tunnel where the first attacks had occurred. Barghest Company made considerable strides during previous expeditions, advancing about two miles through the tunnels under the Eagle Creek district. Even if they didn't know what they were fighting, they were still making progress. Several fierce firefights had driven their enemies back up the tunnels, freeing large swathes of the subway. Barghest was free to move unmolested until they reached the forward outpost.

Still, there was cause for concern. The areas they were fighting in were right under the Hydra held district. The alliance had an enemy under their feet that they had known nothing about. What else could be lurking underground, undiscovered by those blissfully unaware on the surface?

They needed to find that out, and fast. The last thing they could afford right now was for some unseen foe to suddenly come pouring out from the abyss. The Indianapolis garrison, Ragnarok, and now whatever was lurking down here; they were making quite a number of enemies.

“What?” Karen asked, and Nora suddenly realized that she had been laughing out loud.

“
I was just thinking about what kind of mess we've gotten ourselves into,” Nora said. “If only we could go back to the days of trading blows with Ragnarok.”

Karen laughed as well. “You know, that doesn't sound so bad right now.”

Nora's radio buzzed. “Black Lead, Wolf 2, come in,” Miko's voice said over the radio. She was with a forward squad, scouting ahead.

“
Go ahead, Lone Wolf,” Karen said.

“
We found another side passage,” Miko responded. “It's... different.”

“
What's that supposed to mean?” Nora asked her.

“
You'll see what I mean when you reach us. It's not part of the subway, I can tell you that much. It looks like a tunnel had been dug into one side of the main line.”

“
Dug? What do you mean dug?” Karen asked.

“
You'll see,” Miko said. “We're going to wait here until you guys reach us.”

“
Right. Black Lead out,” Karen said. She looked over at Nora. “And the hits keep coming.”

Nora nodded back. This was certainly an unexpected development. She thought that they would only have to deal with the subway, and while it was large, it was also fairly easy to tell where it went. But new tunnels, those could pose a serious problem. They had no idea where they went, or how large they were. Or, for that matter, what was lurking inside them.

Miko's scout team was waiting for them about five hundred yards up the tunnel. As soon as she reached the spot Nora knew what she had been talking about. There was a gap in the wall, about six to seven feet tall and a little wider than a person. It certainly didn't look like it had been dug using machinery. In fact, given the rough state of the tunnel, it looked like it had been carved out by pickaxe. It was pitch dark, as well.

“
So, what do we do?” Miko asked.

“
That looks like it could have something fairly nasty inside it,” Karen commented. “We'll take a platoon in.”

“
Who leads?” Miko asked. “The tunnel is only big enough for one person at a time.”

“
And you're not it,” Nora said. “We're not losing the company commander to an ambush. Pick someone else.”

Karen glanced over at Miko. “Can you lead your team in first? And Nora, follow behind her with Yellow Platoon.”

“Got it,” Miko said.

“
Put some flamethrowers at the entrance to the tunnel after we go in. We'll signal you when we come out. Code will be
shadow
if it's all clear. If not, then the code will be
broiler
. If we say that, torch anything that comes out, no matter what.”

“
Well, that's grim,” Miko commented. “Let's go.”

Nora rounded up the rest of Yellow Platoon and briefed them as Miko's team started their journey into the depths of the tunnel. She made sure that they had a pair of search lights with them, in case they got the opportunity to use them. She herself checked her carbine. Nora had the sneaking suspicion that they were going to run into trouble somewhere down the line.

“Do you think this is stable?” Allen asked her as Yellow Platoon headed into the tunnel.

“
I'd imagine so,” Nora said. She was third in line, though she would do little good in a firefight with two others clogging up the tunnel.

“
OK, at least there's that,” he said. “It's going to be rough if we get caught in a fight, though. There's really not enough room.”

“
I know, but that's not my decision,” Nora replied. “And you never know. It might open up in front of us, so we'll probably need the extra troops.”

Someone buzzed her over the radio. “Wolf 2.”

“Nora, we've found where it leads. Do you have floodlights with you?” Miko asked.

“
Yeah, we're coming,” she replied. “What did you find?”

“
There's a drop off,” Miko replied. “It descends a bit, but it's hard to tell with our gun lights. We're staying put until you get here.”

“
Roger,” Nora replied. She glanced at her HUD. The blips symbolizing Miko's team were just ahead.

“
Coming in behind you,” Nora said when she saw the lights.

“
Stay behind us, and watch your step,” Miko alerted her. “There's a drop here, and I have no idea how far down it goes.”

“
Right,” Nora said. She relayed the information to the rest of her platoon.

“
Bring the floodlights up,” Allen called back down the line.

Two of the operators stepped forward, bringing the large lights with them. They would illuminate large areas like they were outside during the day.

“OK, switch them on,” Nora commanded once they had gotten into position.

They did so, and everyone got their first good glimpse at the room the were in. No, that wasn't the correct description, Nora thought to herself. It was more like a vault or a chamber, about fifty feet in diameter. The outside walls were ringed with rough stone floors and platforms, surrounding a huge hole.

“Train your light down,” Nora told one of the operators. She did so.

“
What the...” she heard Allen say as the depths of the chamber were revealed.

“
That might be a problem,” Miko added in.

Nora was forced to agree. The chamber descended downward, ringed by more platforms, ladders, ramps and staircases. She estimated that it was at least fifty to sixty feet to the bottom, possibly more. There were no signs of life.

But what was most concerning was the number of passages leading out of the central chamber. There were so many that Nora couldn't begin to count them. Dozens, scores, even. And they had no idea where they went. Many of them descended lower than the subway tunnels, at the very least.

Calling this a problem was putting it lightly. They had a full-blown city underneath their feet. But was it a necropolis, or a fortress? And if it was a fortress, what was lurking inside of it?

There were too many questions for her to handle by herself. Nora got on the radio.

“
Black Lead, Black Lead, come in. This is Wolf 2.”

“
Copy, Wolf 2,” Karen responded.

“
We've found where the tunnel leads, and I'm stumped,” Nora told her. “You need to come down the tunnel and see what we've found.”

“
Is it bad?”

Nora looked back down into the chamber below. She wanted to call it an abyss, for some reason. “I honestly don't know.”

Something was very wrong here.

CHAPTER 11

In High Places

“Fire in the hole!”

Everyone ducked and braced themselves. A second later a series of explosions went off. Even from behind the cover of crates, walls and other solid objects, the shockwave from the blast was intense. Zach felt his uniform ripple as it washed over him.

“Did we get them all?” he asked.

“
Confirmed, Wolf Lead,” Xavier told him over the radio. “They're all scrap metal.”

“
Good,” Zach said. “Go to second stage of the plan. Bravo Wolf Platoon falls back to their designated positions. Alpha Wolf follows, and we'll leapfrog our way back to the station. Let's go!”

He watched Javy's squad break cover, followed by Ryan and then Xavier. His own troops scanned the area for threats as their comrades fell back.

Black Wolf had done well. The area around the station had become a battle zone, with relentless NPC attacks coming from all quarters. Even the elite infantry from Dragon Battalion was taking a pounding trying to hold the area.

The situation had become worse when a battery of mortars deep within the district started to drop shells on the station. Bravehart had tried to fight them off, sending more mortars through the tunnels in an attempt to provide counter fire. But it was a difficult task; the enemy battery often shifted positions, and they would leave the area before return fire could be brought down upon them.

After consulting with Dragon Battalion's leadership, Danny had come up with a plan. Bravehart hadn't just been returning fire whenever it came; they had also been tracking the direction of where the shells were coming from, and had a log of the data. Using it, Black Wolf had been able to identify the locations that the enemy batteries were firing from. With a little bit of guess work, they had tried to deduce the area where the mortars would be located next. And while Bravehart could hurt the enemy from a distance, the rest of them wanted to make sure that the enemy was dead.

So Black Wolf had infiltrated past the enemy front lines, waiting for the mortar battery to set up shop. Once they did so it was all over for them. Hiding in the buildings and alleys around the site, Black Wolf Company had massacred the crews and their guards. Once the area had been cleared they shoved a brick of explosives down each mortar tube and wired them all together. The ensuing explosions blew them all to pieces.

That was only half the battle, though. They needed to fall back to the cover of the station, and they needed to do it while taking as few casualties as possible. While troops were replaceable if they were killed, their equipment was a different matter entirely. Players would respawn back at base, but their equipment would stay on the corpse. And while casualties were a fact of life in a game called World at War, losing too many troops in enemy territory could put a serious dent in their armory stocks.

“
We're in position, Wolf Lead,” Danny's voice said over the radio.

“
Right. Alpha Wolf, let's move!”

Logan's squad broke cover first, followed by Ethan's troops. Gavin's squad came last with Zach in tow. He had made sure to stick with the rearguard, mostly because he was spoiling for a fight. Zach wasn't terribly worried about getting killed himself; Danny was perfectly capable in command, and the rest of the squad leaders could operate without platoon command. One of the hallmarks of the rangers was their individual initiative, after all.

The platoon moved back behind Bravo Wolf's position without incident. It wasn't going to stay that way for long, however. Zach could already hear the sound of motors and see troops moving down the far end of the street. The hammer was coming.

But Black Wolf had a trump card up their sleeve.

“Andy, start calling in coordinates to the Bravehart teams,” Zach ordered one of his snipers.

Bravehart Company had a battery of 120mm mortars dug into a fortified position in the station, from which they could hit almost any point in the district. Their shells would lay down some hurt on any enemy force. And now that Black Wolf had destroyed the enemy's own battery, they had no way to retaliate.

“Bravo Wolf is falling back,” Danny informed him.

Zach watched them go, then turned back to look at the enemy advancing toward them, lead by an armored car armed with an autocannon. They were still too far away for a clean shot, so Zach simply sat and bided his time. He didn't have long to wait.

The first mortar shell came shrieking down right in the center of the enemy column and caused havoc. Several soldiers were thrown into the air by the blast. Others were knocked flat, and Zach imagined that those close to the center of the blast had been completely vaporized.

Another shell came down, then another. The enemy advance broke apart and started to scatter into the surrounding buildings, desperately seeking shelter from the rain of death. The armored car at the head of the column continued to trundle forward, acting oblivious to the shells falling around it. Then it suddenly blew up.

“Man, Bravehart is good,” Ethan commented over the radio link.

“
That's what having math geniuses does for your company, or at least that's what Bryce tells me,” Zach replied.

“
Bravo Wolf is in position,” Danny told him again.

“
Right behind you. Bravehart's putting the hurt on the enemy, so we should be good from the rear.”

“
I'm honestly more worried about a flank attack,” Danny said.

Something on his HUD caught his attention. There was a message in the upper right hand corner.
St. George,
it read.

That was code for an attack on the station. C.J. of Crimson Eagle had come up with the pun. St. George was coming to kill the dragon, and the dragon needed every bit of help it could get to fight him off.

“Danny, are you seeing this?” he asked.

“
Yeah. Great, so we walk right into the middle of a battle.”

“
It also might help us to fall back,” Zach said. “We're two blocks from the station. Let's take our chances and head there as fast as possible. We might be able to come up on the rear of the enemy or something.”

“
Fine by me, We've got plenty of ammo,” Danny responded. Zach could tell he was grinning at the other end.

“
Alright then. Pass that along, and let's move.” He switched channels. “Alpha Wolf, change of plans. We're falling back double time toward the station. Code there is St. George.”

“
What are we doing when we get there?” Gavin asked.

“
We'll figure that out as we go,” Zach told him. “Move out!”

Alpha Wolf Platoon took off at a fast jog, following in the footsteps of their comrades. Behind them the enemy was still reeling from the mortar strike, though the shells had stopped falling. Zach's alert buzzed.

“Wolf Lead, this is Buck Lead. Sorry, but we're going to have to cut our support short. We need to help out here,” Bryce told him.

“
No problem, Buck Lead. We're headed back. Who's in charge of the defense?”

“
It's C.J., right now.”

“
Thanks.” Zach switched channels again. “Eagle Lead, Eagle Lead, this is Wolf Lead. What's your situation?”

“
Wolf Lead, this is Eagle Lead. We're under attack from a push coming from the eastern end of the district. Battalion strength at least.”

“
Sounds wonderful,” Zach said flatly. The enemy sure wasn't kidding around this time.

He brought up his map and looked it over as he ran. They were coming from the north toward the station. If his estimates were correct, they could hit the enemy on their right flank, or even sweep around to their rear. He contacted C.J. and suggested both options.

“The rear attack is too dangerous,” C.J. told him. “Too much chance that you'll get surrounded and annihilated, especially with those numbers. Hit them from a flank, and make sure that you have a way to retreat back to the station. We don't want you to get cut off.”

“
Roger,” Zach said.

“
We've also calling for reinforcements. The rest of Marauder is headed here on the rail line. So are Viper and Lion Companies. We'll crush the attack here and now.”

“
Good,” Zach replied. Hephaestus Company had managed to get the rail line working, which allowed Hydra to shift troops between stations relatively quickly. It allowed them to provide a rapid response to any attack in the Zionville district.

Danny suddenly joined in on their conversation. “Sorry about eavesdropping, but I have an idea. Can we launch a counterattack once we've thrown their assault back? This might be as good of time as any to exploit the confusion.”

“We don't have enough troops,” C.J. said.

“
We have us. Redd Foxx is back at base, but they can get here quickly. Barghest is in the tunnels, and we can recall them. Spectre is here, the rest of Dragon is here, and I think that Storm Hawk and Archangel are around as well. That gives us over six hundred troops.

“
Without armor or air support,” C.J. pointed out.

“
We're going to have to take some risks,” Danny said. “I think our infantry can carry the day. Besides, we took a settlement before with just infantry.”

“
We'd need to get it past command,” Bryce cautioned.

Zach thought for a moment while he ran. “I'd rather apologize later than miss an opportunity like this. Get on the horn with everyone else and get as many troops as you can over here. I'll take responsibility for the fallout if things go south.”

“Brave man,” Bryce commented.

“
OK, get in position and hit them hard. None of this happens if we don't throw back the attack,” C.J. said.

“
Danny, you heard the man,” Zach said. “Get on their flank and massacre them. We have plenty of supplies inside the station, so don't be stingy. We can restock later.”

“
Copy that, Wolf Lead,” Danny said. “Remember the department store to the northeast of the station? That seems like a pretty good place to hole up.”

“
Head for there,” Zach said, “and we'll follow.”

The building that Danny was referring to was five stories tall and towered over many of the surrounding buildings. They had looked at using the spot for a stronghold, but it was too far away from the main station and was likely to get cut off in the event of an attack. That made it less than desirable as a fortified position, but it suited their needs perfectly. Snipers and machine gunners on the higher levels would wreck havoc on enemy infantry below.

The sound of gunfire grew steadily louder as the neared the station. Zach had found that if he listened close enough, he could tell what was firing. He did so now. Assault rifles, cracking on semi-automatic and full auto. The buzz of machine guns. The slower, heavier
thunk thunk
of an autocannon firing, And sometimes, the sharp crack of a sniper rifle.

“
Gavin, Logan, have your squads stick to the bottom floors,” Zach ordered. “Ethan, take your squad to the third floor. Danny, post your squads on the fourth and fifth floors. Don't fire until everyone is in position. Then let 'em have it.”

Zach wished that his company had a heavy machine gun or two, but such bulky weapons didn't suit the usual needs of the ranger company. Not that they were hurting at all for firepower; they still had grenade launchers, light machine guns, and recoilless rifles, along with their snipers. But having heavy machine guns would allow them to reach out and really lay some hurt on the enemy from a distance.

You fought with the weapons you had on hand, Zach thought to himself as his platoon approached the department store, and not the ones you wanted to have. And Black Wolf still had fangs. They could hurt the enemy badly.

Zach left his platoon to their own devices and made his way up to the roof. They were experienced, and didn't need any babysitting. Once he reached the top he met Danny, who had apparently had the same idea.

“
Looks rough down there,” Danny commented, looking over the enemy battle line with his binoculars.

Zach joined him and pulled out his own pair. A quick survey confirmed C.J.'s estimates; the enemy was indeed attacking with a battalion, and they were backed up with armored support. They were using armored cars armored with autocannons. Against an assault gun like the Hydra Alliance's Bulls they were at a decided disadvantage, but they were still a powerful tool against infantry. And anyhow, their weakness didn't matter, when Hydra had no armor support coming. They would need to rely on their recoilless rifles to carry the day.

“My guys are in position,” Danny said. “Looks like they haven't noticed us yet.”

Zach made a quick check of his own platoon and received confirmation that they were all set as well. He opened up a channel to C.J., Bryce and all of Black Wolf.

“We're ready. Open fire!”

He heard the sound of machine guns start up below. Bullets came streaming out of the lower levels of the building and scythed into the exposed enemy lines. They fell like corn in front of a reaper, and the line reeled. An enemy armored car blew up from a direct hit.