Quote: from Gatac on 10:09 am on Feb. 17, 2005
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Roger on securing the weapon. They promised us some bubbly; would be nice if they'd paid up to that. Could definately use a drink.
We'll deliver our passenger.
Request status update on other agent teams.[/color]
Home relays the whereabouts of the rest of the team. It seems everyone is stuck at some crossroads about halfway between Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk. An Intel satellite is due to make a fly-over of the area in 15 minutes.
"Hold up a sec, let's see where our new friend is going before we deal with the guards," Moten says, and gets ready to leap out of the car and hurry into the driver's compartment if the guy gets any closer.
Moten watches the Officer like a hawk, waiting for the guy's next move to dictate his own.
His soldiers are frantically pointing towards the westbound train, himself nodding with a troubled look on his face. He calms the men down, issuing some sort of order before pulling out a phone from his overcoat pocket as the Grunts run back towards the train. The officer begins a conversation as he heads for the limo, his pace increasing with each step.
"Okay, change of plans," Moten says, and tosses Brian his silenced MP5. "If he gets in, cover him with this and we'll try to take him alive if we can. Otherwise, make sure the doors are closed before you shoot him."
Red Army Officer (hereafter cited RAO) has a heated exchange with whoever is on the other end of the conversation as he makes his way over to the limousine. One of Andropov's guards stops him as he gets within a few paces of the car. Without missing a beat, RAO points to his epaulets and passes by the guard.
Knocking on rear-passenger-side window, RAO seems embroiled in a debate on the phone. Nearly all of his attention appears to be focused toward the caller and unfolding events outside.
"Looks like they're on to us. Let's get moving, hayaku. And, we rock-paper-scissors to see who has to spend our next spot of downtime learning Russian from tapes."
Ayumi and Carla run parallel to the traintracks using the treeline for concealment as they move toward their destination.
The situation reaches critical mass as a rifle burst of an AK rings out nearby. Passengers begins to scream as they flee away from the gunman. More shots are heard as a squad of Red Army soldiers begins opening fire on a group of civilians.
Soldiers closest to Ayumi and Carla's position leave their posts as the gunfire becomes more steady and deliberate. This affords them a fairly open avenue of entry. Moving up, the two ladies see the makings of a scene from Dr. Zhivago.
A lone limousine sits about 25m from their treeline position. Two guards mind the car on either side of the passenger compartment. Standing on the far side is a rather distraught Red Army officer talking on his phone while attempting to get the limo occupants' attention. In the background, SMP and Army personnel are in the midst of a near-riot.
Moten pushes the driver over to passenger seat and slides behind the wheel, the keys are in the ignition.
First thing that's gone right all day.
Brian waits for RAO to be distracted, which comes almost immediately as the crossroads erupts in gunfire and mass confusion.
*wham*
RAO takes a shot to the knees as Brian abruptly opens the limo door across them. It's not enough to knock the man down, but it does thrown him completely off-guard. He stands a bit dazed at everything that is happening, taking a wicked jab to the mid-section for his troubles. From the sounds of the impact, Brian thinks he cracked a few ribs.
RAO moans in great pain as Brian pulls him into the limo and slams the door shut.
Artis pulls the rig into an abandoned factory parking lot, the tell-tale signs of a crapped-out former Communist industry all over the place. Sitting near a perimeter fence(about 100m away) is a van.
"Alright, let's do this. Artis, I want you to stay here. I think you're better with snap shots, you have more firepower, and you can handle the rig better in a combat situation. Cover me from here, I can plug the bastards if they try anything up close."
Peter smiles, then - in a series of surprisingly quick moves - flips the revolver's cylinder to the side, empties the bullets and throws his arm forward; a speedloader slides out, Peter slams the cylinder back with a flick of the wrist, and the gun appears to be ready again. Whereever he learned that, it's quite possibly the fastest reload on a revolver practiced anywhere east of the Rio Grande.
"My grandfather actually had an old Smith & Wesson revolver from before the war. He taught me a few tricks. This...is one of them."
...the crossroads erupts in gunfire and mass confusion.
*wham*
RAO takes a shot to the knees as Brian abruptly opens the limo door across them. It's not enough to knock the man down, but it does thrown him completely off-guard. He stands a bit dazed at everything that is happening, taking a wicked jab to the mid-section for his troubles. From the sounds of the impact, Brian thinks he cracked a few ribs.
RAO moans in great pain as Brian pulls him into the limo and slams the door shut.
"DRIVE!"
Carla raises an eybrow at the weird occurance with the limo.
Artis puts the rig in gear, getting the rig in between the sniper and Peter. They continue towards the transfer van, the shooter having either given up or waiting for the best shot possible.
Peter opens the passenger-side door, ushering Anatoli into the vehicle.
A split-second later, the van detonates in front of the rig, the concussion rocking the rig violently as the force blows back the open door. Flames race across either side of the vehicle as Peter pulls the door closed. The inferno blazes for a few minutes as the Team Artis takes refuge inside the hulking rig.
Other than the windows being horribly char-broiled and the front end (no doubt) desperately needing a new paintjob, the saboteur's efforts were mostly in vain.
Peter notices his coat-sleeve a bit worse for wear along with his pants and boot being singed. Looking in sunvisor mirror, Peter's right eyebrow is gone.
Dieter
