Fang: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 3) (22 page)

“
No, that sounds right,” Nora replied. “Still going with fifty?”

“
Yeah, still fifty,” Selene confirmed.

“
Alright. Let's come back and win this, team,” Danny said.

Selene fixed him with a hard smile, the one that she always used when she felt extremely competitive.

“Duck and cover,” Zach warned.

“
Not another point,” Selene said.

“
Uh, that's a pretty tall order,” Javy commented.

Danny apparently loved the bravado. “Ohhoho, throwing down the gauntlet like that, are you? Fine, we'll ruin that thought right here and now.”

“You can certainly try,” she responded.

Selene took control of the ball and headed down the court. This time Zach headed toward the paint area. He wasn't the tallest, but then again neither was Gavin. If he could just get under the basket he would have a good chance to go for another layup. If they could get up by two scores again they probably had the game in hand.

Selene didn't pass it to him. Instead, she threw it to Javy on the outer edge of the three point line. He nimbly dodged around Xavier and got off a clean shot.

Swish.

Javy leaped up and pumped his fist. “Three points and nothing but net!”

“
Shouldn't you guys be doing better?” Miko asked. “I mean, you have three basketball players on your team.”

“
And my dead weight,” Gavin added.

“
Hey, we have two dead weights on this team,” Miko shrugged.

“
Speak for yourself,” Zach said. “I've made shots.”

“
You've missed even more,” Danny commented.

“
And yet we're still winning.”

Danny gritted his teeth. “Alright, that ends now. We're coming back!”

He grabbed ahold of the ball and relayed it to Gavin. Zach had to admit they had a good plan as he watched it unfold. They made quick passes, trying to keep their team off balance. Meanwhile, they would exploit any opportunity that presented itself.

Nora suddenly made a break for the basket, and Zach was the closest one to her. He stepped in front and put his hands up in an attempt to block.

She stopped and made a stutter step, trying to throw off his balance. Zach kept his footing and stayed with her. Nora spun again and made a quick shot toward the basket. Zach managed to get his fingertips on the ball, though it did little to change its trajectory. It rattled around the rim for a second before it dropped in.

“
Hah. What was that?” Danny asked.

“
Still winning.”

“
Still the most tired excuse ever,” Danny replied.

Zach smiled to himself as he ran back down the court. Ever since they had been kids the banter between those two had always been amusing to listen to.

Javy had the ball now. He passed it over to Miko, who took a shot from inside the three point arc. It bounced wild, and Xavier grabbed the rebound. Zach tried to cut him off, but he was just too fast. He sprinted down the court, then flipped a pass to Gavin when Selene tried to block his path. Gavin made a good jumper in the paint.

Zach took the rebound and started up the court. He was scanning the others, looking for an opening when Nora came barreling in. She took the ball away from him and threw up a jumper. It fell through.

“Coming back, and only down by a point,” Danny said. “It's going to be close.”

Zach grabbed the ball again. This time he was much more conscious of his surroundings. He wasn't going to be surprised again, if only for the fact that Selene would probably skin him alive if he gave up the game so easily.

Javy was streaking down the sideline. Zach hit him in stride with a gorgeous pass that impressed even himself. Javy stopped on a dime just outside of the three point line and threw up a shot.

“
Next shot from us wins,” Selene said as she watched it go in.

“
We're not dead yet,” Xavier said. He lobbed a pass over to Nora.

Miko tried to cover her, but Nora was simply too fast. She dodged by her and headed for the basket. At the last second Javy tried to cut her off, but that just created another opening. She flipped the ball back to Danny, who nabbed it out of the air and immediately made a shot. It wasn't pretty, but it went in.

“Just one more basket,” Selene said. “That's all we need. Just one more.”

Miko gathered up the ball and dribbled it down the court. Zach tried this best to get open, but by now he was starting to tire from the constant running. Gavin looked like he was tiring too, but he was able to keep pace.

Xavier had tight coverage on Javy. That left Selene against Danny, with Nora playing off of Miko a short distance.

Selene made a quick move and left Danny in the dust. Nora tried to cover for him, but she was too far away. Even with her quickness there was no way to cover the gap. Miko's pass hit Selene right on the hands. She shot...

And her shot bounced off the rim.

“
Choke!” Danny exclaimed, but the ball was still bouncing free, and Zach was already heading straight for it. He got there before anyone else and grabbed ahold of it. He threw up a wild shot.

It went in anyhow.

“Fifty!” Zach shouted in triumph.

“
Nice awareness,” Javy said as he ran over and gave him a high five.

“
Well, at least it wasn't her,” Danny said.

“
Loser,” Selene replied.

“
Choker.”

Zach laughed. “OK, let's not kill each other before tomorrow.”

“Everyone still up for grabbing something at one of the diners?” Xavier asked.

“
Oh yeah,” Danny said.

“
This took a lot out of me, so I'd like to as well,” Miko said.

Everyone else was in agreement.

Zach walked over and grabbed his backpack. “Then let's head there, shall we?”

The group walked off the court and into the calm of the night. It certainly wouldn't be a calm night in the virtual world tomorrow.

CHAPTER 22

Death's Herald

Nightfall. The attack force was as ready as they would ever be. The attack on the Meridian District had occurred earlier in the day and had gone off without a hitch. As expected Dragon and Rogue took heavy casualties during the battle, but they had captured the district after more than three hours of fierce fighting. Phase one of the plan was complete.

Now it was up to Ghost Battalion and Sacred Sword to fulfill their end of the bargain, and that was not going to be an easy task. Judging from the size of the district the garrison was far larger than the attacking force, and they had no idea how well they were armed. There would be no artillery support, since Bravehart had used most of their stocks in the earlier battle. Air support would be limited to certain areas due to the placement of antiaircraft guns, and the airfield was going to be a nightmare to take. There was too much open ground, which would leave the attackers vulnerable to all manner of enemy fire.

Still, they had what they needed to win. Their troops were well armed, experienced and confident. They had been put in tight situations before and had had out on top, and they knew they could do it again. And they also had a new card to play.

“We're moving up,” Anna's voice said through the suit's speakers.

“
Good luck,” Nora replied. Her suit was just small enough to fit inside the subway entrances.

She could have gone in guns blazing, but that wasn't her style. The task force was outnumbered, and if a head-on attack didn't work they wouldn't have anything to fall back on. Besides, subtlety was their speciality.

The subway came out at the northeast end of the Decatur district. Redd Foxx would secure the area and then begin to move south, using their infiltration skills to quietly take the enemy positions in the dead of the night. Meanwhile, Barghest and Black Wolf would head north toward the gate. Once that was taken they would link up with Sacred Sword and spread out to the west and southwest. Their goal was to converge on the airfield in three different directions, hopefully catching whatever was lurking their in a pincer move.

Simple enough on paper, Nora thought, but what would happen when they had to put the plan into action? If any part of the plan was held up they could be in serious trouble. Spectre Company was acting as a rapid deployment reserve, riding on Raven Flight's choppers, but beyond them their reserves were limited. If they ran into another unexpected problem like they had in the Central City district they could be in serious trouble.

But then again, that was where much of the excitement came from. The game would be no fun if the outcome was predetermined, and the struggle was going to be what got their blood pumping. And everyone knew that they were tough enough to weather the storm.

Nora decided to make a last minute check with everyone before they began the assault. She opened up the list of contacts on the visual display.

“Barghest, this is Hoplite. Everyone ready?”

“
Black Lead,” Karen responded.

“
Red Lead.”

“
Yellow Lead,” Allen said, using his new callsign.

“
Lone Wolf.”

Nora smiled. “Ready to spearhead this thing?”

“Ready and willing,” Karen replied.

Liz's voice came over the speakers. “All units, the area around the station is clear, and we haven't been detected. We're headed south to our objectives.”

“Copy that. Good luck,” Nora replied.

“
Thanks.”

“
OK, we're ready then,” Zach's voice said. “Black Wolf, let's move out!”

Yet more waiting to do, Nora thought to herself. Black Wolf would lead the northern attack force out, using their own stealth skills to close in on the enemy without alerting them. Once they reached the gate Barghest would take over and spearhead the assault on the gate.

Anna and Zach had decided on this course of action with Karen's approval. In many ways Barghest had become a formidable company in their own right, but they still lacked the necessary stealth skills to be truly called rangers. That meant that they wouldn't be in the lead, even though they still had a valuable part to play in the battalion.

Nora probably wouldn't have helped matters. The armored exoskeleton was many things, but quiet was not one of them. The motors that operated the joints were quiet, but there was no good way to dampen all the noise that resulted when something that size and weight moved. It was quieter than an armored vehicle, but it was never going to sneak up on you.

Then again, that wasn't the point, and silence wasn't the only means of stealth. The exoskeletons could sneak in their own way, using their all-terrain mobility to emerge from places that other heavy support vehicles couldn't traverse. The main point of stealth was to achieve surprise, and the exoskeletons could do that well.

“
Fang,” Zach's voice said over the radio. That was the signal for them to move.

Red Platoon went first, followed by Blue Platoon. Nora went next, followed by Yellow Platoon. They all emerged into the expanse of the Decatur district.

Nora's first view of the place through the lenses of her visual display were unremarkable. It looked like any of the other districts, with massive amounts of buildings scattered about. It was a city, after all. Everything was green when filtered through her suit's night vision settings.

“
Let's move,” Karen said, and Barghest complied.

Nora continually swept her vision from side to side, scanning the area for any signs of life. She had switched her suit over to infrared vision trying to see if there were any enemies lurking inside the buildings. She saw a few shapes here and there, but they were laying prone, their heat signatures slowly fading away. Black Wolf must have killed them in the initial sweep.

They caught up to Black Wolf in ten minutes. Zach was waiting for them beside an abandoned gas station and signaled them over. Karen, the platoon leaders and Nora headed in his direction.

Once they met up Nora opened up the back hatch, powered down the suit and stepped out. There was no use wasting energy when all they needed to do was talk.

“OK, the gate looks the same as most of the others we've encountered,” Zach said. “Should be simple enough.”

“
Nothing is ever simple when we're involved,” Selene said.

Nora nodded. “I'm going to have to agree with that. They probably have at least one trick up their sleeve.”

“Then how do you want to handle that one trick?” Zach asked.

Karen thought for a moment. “If Black Wolf can give us cover while we advance on the wall that should make our jobs much easier.”

Zach agreed. “Will do.”

Karen turned to Nora. “Could you hang back with them? You can give us fire support, and you also have the best tracking equipment. You can tell us what's going on and can help direct us to where we need to go.”

“Sure thing,” Nora replied. “I'll try to get Sacred Sword on standby, and I'll signal them once we think that the gate is secure.”

“
Good. Once we're don here we'll regroup and force our way through to the southwest. We'll shade toward Redd Foxx so we can give them backup if they need it.”

“
Sounds good,” Zach said. Nora agreed with him. Karen was becoming quite the decisive commander in her own right.

Karen turned to the platoon leaders to give out instructions. Zach got on the radio and contacted his own officers. Nora turned back around and got back inside her exoskeleton.

The system powered back up without incident. Judging from the power bar, she had about two hours of fight time left before she would be forced to return to the charging station. She thought that would be enough time to last through the entire battle, but there was no way to be sure. At least she would probably be able to stick around long enough to influence the outcome, but again, she wasn't sure. Nora was quite worried that she would have to abandon her comrades in the middle of a fight to recharge the suit. Command's orders had been quite strict; she was to minimize the risk to the suit as much as possible. If it cost them troops or other equipment, then so be it. They were replaceable. The suit was not.

Nora purged those thoughts from her mind. They weren't going to matter if she got hit because she wasn't paying attention. She needed to focus.

“Ready?” Danny asked her quietly as she moved into position. He hefted his machine gun and aimed it at the positions on the wall.

“
All ready,” Nora said. “By the way, you might want to stand back. The ejection port is right next to you, and I can't say that a stream of lead to the face is going to feel pleasant.”

He backed off. “OK, good point.”

“All units,” Zach's voice said over the radio. “Ready? FIRE!”

The night lit up with flashes and tracers. Nora aimed with her right arm and pulled the trigger. The minigun roared to life, sending a hail of bullets toward her targeted area. Nora swept the gun back and forth along the wall, firing tight bursts to conserve ammunition. She thought she got several hits, but there was no way to tell in the confusion. Black Wolf was throwing everything they had at the enemy; small arms, machine guns, launched grenades, sniper shots and even recoilless rifle rounds.

The effect of the barrage was apparent. The enemy on the walls wasn't even able to respond. Any time one would try to retaliate they would immediately be cut down in a deluge of fire. Meanwhile, Barghest Company was quickly approaching the bottom of the stairs.

“
Cease fire!” Zach ordered. Black Wolf's veteran troops almost instantly went silent.

“
Wolf Lead, I'm going to keep selecting targets of opportunity as per Black Lead's orders,” Nora said.

“
Copy that,” Zach responded. “Snipers, you have permission to engage as well. Make sure that there are no friendly fire casualties.”

That wasn't going to be a hard order to follow. Everyone's HUD displayed markers that told whether someone was a friend or a foe. Friendly fire accidents could still happen, but anyone worth their weight knew not to engage when that was a possibility. The snipers had the accuracy to reach out and hit the enemy accurately, so they were exempt.

Nora didn't have that luxury. She was noticeably less precise even with the suit's targeting and stabilizing systems, so she would have to be far more careful. Her role would be to take out tough targets that the others couldn't manage.

“
Headed up,” Selene said over the radio.

Nora made a visual scan of the area above them. She saw movement, and then her HUD identified hostiles.

“Red Lead, you have an enemy squad moving above you,” Nora warned. “I'm opening fire.”

She lifted her arm and squeezed off a burst. Two of the enemy fell. The rest dove for cover. There were still at least six to eight of them left, but Nora's distraction had bought Red Platoon valuable time. They stormed the rest of the way up the stairs and blazed away at the enemy they encountered.

Now that they had a foothold on the wall Nora turned her attention elsewhere. More enemy troops were moving on the wall, attempting to shore up the hole in their defenses. Nora laid down another barrage of fire, killing some and forcing the rest to take cover.

Something flashed in front of her.

“Watch it!” she warned, and a split-second later a rocket exploded where she had been a second before.

She guessed the trajectory of the rocket and aimed right where it came from. Nora pummeled the area with minigun and autocannon fire just to make sure the enemy heavy was dead.

The extra work with the suit had served her well. She now knew how it augmented her reflexes, and that knowledge allowed her to move much more quickly. It had just saved her a nasty death, or at least severe damage.

“
You OK?” Danny asked.

“
Yeah. I'm more worried about you,” Nora replied.

“
I'm fine. Managed to dodge out of the way. No casualties here.”

Zach's voice came over the radio again. “Everyone, keep an eye out for enemy heavies on the walls.”

“Make sure that you focus on taking the wall as well,” Nora said. “Nothing else happens if we don't.”

She found another target and opened fire. The exoskeleton was performing well under the circumstances, though this could hardly be called the average fight. The enemy was cooped up in a narrow space, making them easy targets for any burst. Once she got into the city it would be much harder to manage.

Barghest Company, meanwhile, did an excellent job of taking the wall. They were much more aggressive than in their fight in the Zionville district, and it allowed them to take the wall quicker this time. Any resistance was swept aside by relentless firepower. Specialist teams armed with breaching charges and flamethrowers cracked open bunkers and dealt with the troops inside.

There was no mistaking it. Barghest was truly coming into its own, and Nora was enjoying being a part of it. This battle might be just the thing they needed to establish themselves as a formidable company on the level of Black Wolf and Redd Foxx, and if she could help then she was glad to do whatever was needed.