The convoy pushed on through to Kandala Pass.
Akers addressed the team in his truck.
"Command wants us pushing through Kandala instead of the forest. Means tighter terrain, but fewer patrols and less chance of us running into whatever's crawling around those trees. This pass gets us closer to the capital without lighting up every alarm in the province. Everyone copy?"
Akers adjusted the strap on his pack, taking note of the whistles of the wind and the uneven terrain.
"Copy." Zhao replied.
She held her hands under her chin, grimly scanning the floor, it wasn't quite evident just for what, or why.
However she was quite focused on it, mumbling back to the LT, hearing the starts and ends of every sentence.
"Copy sir!" Private First Class John Holt held up a pretty poor salute, but he was grinning all the way.
The rest of the squad sat in silence.
Hale spoke over the radio, operating the second vehicle in the convoy. "Something is blocking the road up ahead. Kick, whats the situation?"
Corporal Kick was the operator of the first vehicle.
"It's not clear from here. Someone should get down and check it out."
Kick took out his P226, anticipating the worst.
Private First Class Gabriel Gaston and multiple JSOC operatives got out to check it out.
Gaston took his FAMAS in hand and led the squad investigating the roadblock. He sweated underneath his gear, but assured himself that his comrades were right behind him.
"If you have a situation make sure to let us know. We're sitting ducks out here." Akers calmly ordered into the radio to the three men sent out to investigate the road block.
"This looks…. Promising, for the wrong kind of people." Pierce reared his head out, peering at the roadblock and the men investigating it.
"All clear to proceed!" The JSOC soldiers and Gaston moved the roadblock out of the way, got back into the vehicle, and the convoy pressed on forward.
"Gimme a piece of that would ya! I wanna analyse just what they're using." Zhao peeked out to the LT and JSOC ops, holding a hand out, semi-joking, semi-serious.
Would they give her any thought?
As the convoy pressed on forward, the Operator turned around and handed her one of the metal fragments stuffed into the roadblock.
"Improvised but smart. You could find something we missed."
Zhao inspected it carefully, playing around with the metallic bits.
"It isn't that smart, just some scrap metal and engineering. Although...for some desert crawlers, this is way out of their league."
"Well, the ZLF are getting better every day. But so are we. They weren't going to crawl around blindly forever." Hale kept on driving, his tone almost dismissive.
"Out of their league? How come?" Dolgen peered over to Zhao curiously, examining the scrap metal.
"I highly doubt they're educated enough to use technology like this. I mean, the work on this roadblock is impeccable."
Zhao passed the piece over to Dolgen now.
"What are you thinking?" Dolgen turned to Zhao. Hale was now looking in the rear-view mirror at Zhao.
"Someone else is helping these people… whether it be in small, or big ways."
---
They continued on their journey through the pass. The further they drove, the roads began to become narrower, and the ridges were often at times seemed to be rising even higher and higher.
Soon, the clouds began to fog the sky and a light mist began to materialize at the ground, making the air dense and hazy to breathe.
Kick stepped on the brake upon reaching another intersection. Black sillhouttes formed, hovering above the ground.
He nudged the Captain. "Sir, we have several unknown contacts up ahead."
Rourke slightly stood up from his seat and took a brief moment to look at the sillhouttes. They seemingly hung over the road like ghosts.
"Hm... Private, go check it out."
He motioned his gun at one of the JSOC operators, and pointed towards the direction forward.
The Private raised his service rifle towards the direction where the sillhouttes moved. He stepped forward cautiously, off the road onto the trail. He realized who this was.
ZLF Rebels.
He turned to inform the team, beginning to retreat, but he was instantly shot in the back of the head.
More rebels emerged from the intersection and ridges above.
Before the Private, were numerous dead, charred, desecrated bodies, hung by a rope along the tall road signs that were rooted to the ground. As he stumbled in fear, a landmine ascended into the sky before him, blowing the Private into oblivion as he was shot in the head.
The insurgents came out of hiding in the ridges, firing from the tall boulders that concealed their position.
Rourke immediately braced down in the backseat of the jeep, immediately grasping his transceiver, "BACK UP!"
Kick immediately began backing up as the gunfire continued to rain onto the convoy, violently crashing into the front of the grill of the truck as the jeep's windshield shattered into numerous shards.
"WE GOTTA MOVE! GO!" Akers returned fire as his jeep backed up.
Another JSOC soldier who was in the backseat of Rourke's vehicle was shot through the window, piercing straight through his neck.
He desperately tried to put pressure and hold the wound but bled out soon after, his body slumping over.
John reacted quickly to the situation, ducking down behind his vehicles door, coincidentally he happened to be next to Zhao and behind a dead passenger. The unlikely pair got down, before John peeked up:
"I don't see anyone, the Ridgeline is completely clea-"
A flurry of bullets cut his sentence and life short, Holt immediately slumped over in his seat, having at least 6 bullets loaded into his chest and head.
Zhao was still, quite frankly, and utterly in shock, huddling over the dead Holt, trying to put pressure on his wounds, and stay out of sight of the murderous men above to no avail.
Bullets still rained in her direction, but she ducked down on the floor of the vehicle and wept a little.
Finally, Zhao got back up and fired back upon the ridgeline, desperately trying to distract the insurgents above.
"Get us the fuck outta here!!! Or move the cars for cover for the backline!" Pierce got out of his car, using the door for cover, rolling over to another which had parked on its side, providing covering fire for anyone exiting the convoy.
"Baseplate, Lieutenant Akers reporting in, do you copy?! We're under attack at the Kandala Pass by an unknown amount of ZLF rebels! We need immediete QRF in our position. Multiple men down!"
Akers gripped his radio transciever tightly, taking cover from the incoming rebels.
Hale slightly peaked from his position and ended up getting shot in the shoulder, quickly retreating into cover again. "Agh...FUCK! They got me! Im hit -- Taking cover!"
Dolgen and Sergeant Marcus Burns were engaging from a spot of cover, but ntoiced Hale. Dolgen nodded to Burns and retreated from their position of cover to then assist Hale.
"I got you buddy! I got you!" He dragged him to a safer position.
"We need medical over here! They're rippin' us apart!"
Burns shot his G36C at the insurgents while slowly backing up alongside Dolgen as he pulled Hale away.
In their confidence, the ZLF began to close in towards the task force, giving Burns the opportunity to shoot down some of the insurgents.
Finally, Merrick got back to Akers.
"Lieutenant, this is Baseplate. We don't have any immediate forces on the ground but there's a militia platoon enroute to your position. ETA 8 minutes."
After 8 minutes of fighting, the team was about to be wiped out. 2 more JSOC's fell during this initial fight with the rebels.
In the knick of time, two technicals arrived with MG's on the back, unloading on the rebels and effectively killing them all, using their confidence against them.
The snipers were subsquently dealt with by more Militia before they all regrouped next to the team. Mullah Al-Bashir himself stepped out, walking over to Rourke.
"Captain Rourke. Half a klick to the first miltia camp. Take your men. Rest for the night. Fight again tomorrow. Me and my men will assist you."
Mullah began to survey the area. He then turned to his Lieutenant, "Ahmed, brother - Take the men and recon the camp. Ensure safe travel for our allies."
"Right away, Captain. COME ON BROTHERS!" Ahmed got on his dirt bike and led the way for 2 technicals.
"Nice of you and your men to join us, Mullah." Rourke shook hands with the militia leader.
It was firm, a sign of respect.
Afterwards, he turned his attention towards the bodies that were laid out on the ground.
5 men were killed in action, 1 incapacitated.
The journey had just begun, but they already lost several men.
Akers stood over the body of John Holt in sadness, knowing the trooper was always eager to fight and learn. Holt also became very observant in his time. Akers pulled out the "AG With Love" photograph.
Holt will never get closure.
Akers brushed the thought aside, and walked away from Holt's body. He needed to remain focused:
"Alright men…Lets get a move on…"
"Cmon... I understand you're shaken up." Piercee helped a shook Zhao out of a bit of wreckage after the gunfight, she immediately dropped her weapon, to which he picked up and strapped it back over her, following Dolgens voice that suddenly erupted from the nearby trees.
"HEY, SOMEONE CHECK THIS OUT!" Dolgen, though unseen to most of the group, had made his way to the ridge where the ZLF snipers were once Hale got in better hands medically. He wasn't calling out frantically as if he was in danger, but waited.
Sergeant Amos Walker slithered in from the bushes, his camouflage being damn near perfect, bushy ghillie suit to boot and all. Approaching Dolgen and his concerns.
"Dude, look." Dolgen pointed to the corpse of the insurgent. Not only did the man have a western-made sniper foreign to ZLF, but better gear than your average rebel. A modular plate carrier, improved armor, and a black jacket. "These guys...When you ever seen 'em dressed up like that?"
"Multiple times sergeant. This the first time you seen one of their insurgents? - " Amos pointed toward the body, highlighting the plate carrier. " - they're like the head honchos - the special forces of the ZLF."
"Since when did they have those?" Dolgen questioned, kicking the body a bit to inspect it.
"I didn't know ZLF was smart enough to form special forces...let alone improve their gear. Maybe I underestimated. Zhao did find that their roadblocks were improving as well..."
"Yes. They seem to have wisened up since we've come here. Don't think too hard about it though, just animals evolving.. that's all." Amos dismissed it quickly, he gave a quick glare to Zhao, whom was being helped by Pierce.
"Roger that, man." Dolgen gave one last look at the body before dismissing himself, walking to the group and listening to Rourke, who was mid-conversation with Corporal Kick.
"-We can't just leave these bodies here."
Kick had genuine concern.
"Forget it.." Rourke kneeled down on one knee to pick up each of his men's dog tags, hanging them by his fist.
Each of their names gleamed before the Captain from the glaring sun. "We can't bring these men home, no one's coming for them."
"There's not much we can do for the bodies." Rourke hung the dogtags to the other men who were watching, alongside Kick. "But we'll take them into battle with us."
While Kick and Rourke dragged the bodies of their men towards the truck, Mercer lifted the hood of the jeep to check on it's condition. A thick dark smoke immediately went into his face, causing him to stagger backwards.
"It would be a death wish to ride in this again. We need somethin' else to take us around."
Rourke nodded to Mercer before turning to Akers.
"Lieutenant Akers, take half of the men to the camp with Mullah and the technicals." He looked at his fallen soldiers once more and back at Akers. "We need to load these men unto the truck first."
"Roger, on it." Once the truck was loaded, Akers took half the group - Including Zhao, Pierce, Santino, Gaston, and 1 other JSOC - And made his way to the camp.
--
A haze of smog filled the air around Lieutenant Akers and his team as they arrived at the "camp". At first glance, it was clear that it was once a village, despite all the houses left being nothing more than a skeleton of scorched wood and ash.
Gaston was once of the first to come out, and as he set foot on the ground, a foul smell settled.
In front of him was a hole, which had been dug to house a pile of charred bodies, presumably burnt just recently.
The thick odor of smoke and rotting bodies penetrated even through Santino's balaclava, causing him to grimace beneath all his gear. The disfigured corpses made him even more nauseous, as he wondered who they were before they were thrown into inferno.
"Jesus, what the hell happened here..." Of course, Akers was no stranger to this kind of violence, having been in Zaire for atleast two decades now.
But clearly, ZLF was upping the ante, and becoming more vicious.
"We've been trying to clean this place up. It can be a temporary staging point for you and your men. Entire area is clear of ZLF." Despite the obvious enemy territory, Mullah's Lieutenant, Ahmed, sounded sure that there was no ZLF at all. "You can stay here the night. Its safe."
---
Cassio walked around the grounds of the camp, his grip tightening around his G36C as he scoured the area. Ash began covering his visor as he entered one of the burnt down houses.
He came up to a shelf, which had fallen from one of the remaining walls. A cracked picture frame was below it. He knelt down to hold it in his hands. It was a brightly colored and messy portrait of a family, stained by the grime and coal created by the fire.
Gaston soon caught up to Cassio, peeking over his shoulder to see what was in his hands. "Thats uhh.. a nice portrait."
"It doesn't belong to me." Cassio placed the portrait back on the shelf in a face down position and turned away to exit the house. "Let's go."
---
Pierce dragged Zhao over, practically trying to keep her from stumbling over her own and his feet. She was very softly sobbing, the trauma synching deep into her mind as she desperately tried to move on, but remained frozen, and paralysed in Pierce's grip.
"How much longer till we actually make the campsite sir? She's not very light…"
Akers walked over casually, his rifle slinged.
"Ahmed said this is it. Who in the militia thought this was a nice place? Let me tell ya, bad fucking idea. ZLF is everywhere. So if that Ahmed guy thinks we're clear for miles he's dead wrong."
Akers came off aggressive and full of turmoil, pointing around at all the charred corpses in the village.
"HEY! American! This is our camp and we keep it safe. You complain you take it up with my boss, Mullah!" Ahmed shouted, as he got off his bike.
"We appreciate it, Ahmed. But if there is any issues, we'll sort them out." Pierce came off both firm, yet reassuring. Setting himself and Zhao down on the dirt ground, sitting her almost lifeless body beside himself, practically ignoring Ahmed, for now anyway, and turning to Akers. "-and i agree with you, LT."
Akers held his radio, calling to Gaston and Santino who were sweeping the houses. "Gaston, Santino, status report, over." Akers then turned his attention to Pierce, ignoring Lieutenant Ahmed and the Militia. "Copy that. How is Zhao holding up?"
Gaston replied over the radio, "It isn't bourgeois, but it'll have to do for the night. The grounds are clear, Lieutenant."
"Not any good. She keeps muttering about Holt…" Pierce sat her upright, but still leaning on him.
Her mutters were very evident in the otherwise quiet landscape, her words being.. 'holt..holt…holt..holt..holt….why….not…me…' for a good few minutes wholst they sat there.
Akers stared at the pair in disbelief. "Jesus Christ..." After a moment of thought, Akers gave Pierce his orders. "Just...keep an eye out on her. We can't lose anyone else. Roger?"
Akers rubbed his eyes, turning his attention now to the JSOC soldiers at his command. "Alright, listen up. Get the bodies cleaned up! This is home for tonight, make it look pretty for the captain and the rest of the group! Of course, its not ideal..."
He turned to Ahmed.
"...But it'll do. Lets absolutely make sure there is NO enemy presence!"
---
0900, Militia Camp
---
By this point, Zhao had been processed through enough of her trauma, but not nearly enough for it not to stick, she sat by a tiny campfire, rubbing her gloved hands together, blowing onto them.
For what was mostly a hot and desolate landscape, it felt oddly cold on this night.
She observed her surroundings, probably out of a newfound trauma response, eyeing up Akers pistol, which entered her eyesight after he strolled past.
Akers sat alone from most of the group, looking at his pistol. The initials of Jared Sutton, J.S., were carved into it, a fateful reminder of what occoued that day in 1977.
A traumatic experience in fact, one that shaped Akers into the man he is today, inner turmoil that he kept hidden...For the most part. He noticed Zhao walk by, keeping her gaze on the pistol. "You good now, Sergeant?"
She didn't utter a word for a moment, instead trying to warm up from the intense cold that washed over her, although there visual signs of sweat, maybe cold sweats?
Either way, she held her hands out toward the fire, concealing herself in what Pierce draped over her earlier.. then muttering to Akers. "I suppose….. whats with the initials?"
Akers sighed deeply in contemplation and struggle, as he never typically opened up about it.
Moreso, nobody ever brought it up in the first place.
He handed her the pistol, safety on, so she could take a look, "I dont normally talk about it…its my friend. Was. Jared Sutton. He uh…We enlisted together. He died…Died protecting others. Me."
"I see…" Feng put her hands back around the covering, pulling it tighter around herself. She gave a momentary pause, eyes to the floor, unsure of what to say, what to really even do.
Finally giving a small sentence, the first for hours. "He would - maybe… maybe be proud of who you've become."
"Maybe. I dont like to think about it..." Akers took the pistol back, holstering it. "When he died…when that man killed him, I…-…I felt like i became somebody else…" He then turned to walk away, looking at Zhao. "...I'd hate to experience that again."
He walks away.
Rourke stood away from the campfire, where the majority of the men were huddled up. He lit his cigarette before a beep caused him to reach for his transceiver.
"Rourke, this is Merrick, we've received numerous reports from our intelligence department on ZLF mobilization and activity in the region. Several armed convoys with heavy firepower are in the area between you and the capital. I advise you and your team to move discreetly from now on."
Rourke looked back at his men and spoke into his transceiver. "Roger that. Just keep us posted on their positions."
Mullah had kept a watchful eye, allowing Ahmed and his men to continue, returning to Rourke. "What did your commander say?" He folded his arms, aiming for information on the path to the capital.
"The ZLF has deployed armed convoys to this region. It seems theyve realized just who they're dealing with." Rourke replied casually.
"The ZLF, what was that about earlier, my friend? Some had better armor. Better tactics. By chance are they adapting...?" Mullah raised a question to Rourke, taking note of the ZLF snipers they encountered at Kandala Pass.
Those snipers had improved gear, tactics, habits, and did some real damage.
"They wouldn't have lasted 3 decades against the West if they hadn't started adapting." Rourke spoke as if it were general knowledge, but there was truth to his words.
The ZLF had been waging war against the West since the 70s, and had evolved into a national-level insurgent group by the late 80s, holding back western backed militia fighters and the joint US-EU forces.
"The young sergeant...Dolgen...He thinks theres another party helping the ZLF. He kept talking about it." Mullah was indeed correct,
Dolgen kept talking to everyone about his theory, not just Amos, as they all loaded bodies on the trucks before reaching the camp earlier that day.
"It's without a doubt that someone is pulling the strings behind the curtain. What you don't know might hurt you. Mullah, have your men guard the perimeter on rotation for the night. Save a handful of them for reconnaisance at midnight before we move out at dusk."
Rourke put out his cigarette.
"Roger that. Your men have done more than enough for the greater good of Zaire. I hope you succeed in your mission to the capital. We'll help you get on your way."
"Greater good..." Rourke muttered the words silently under his breath and walked away from Mullah to brief his men.
---
Amos slung a sniper on his back when he was out of sight of everyone, then dumping the final one.
He headed over to the outskirts of the campsite, seeing Dolgen.
Meanwhile, Dolgen called Walker over to him.
"Aye, over here dude. I was analyzing the gear of that ZLF guy..." He walked into a secluded area with Walker. He had stripped the ZLF sniper of his gear and weaponary, and had it laid out in a little clearing.
"I'm going to show the others after, and you seemed pretty interested...and Zhao I think is still comatose or whatever so you're my victim!" He laughed. "Listen, this gear...its...theres...its not ZLF at all...No--"
A knife unsheathed loudly behind Walker, cold steel pressing against the back of Dolgen, covering his mouth with his other hand, the sudden betrayal rushed deep into his core, paralysing the man.
Amos spoke coldly to him, almost as though he were speaking to an animal infected with rabies. "Maybe if you didn't go around flapping your gums about what you saw here, you'd still be alive. Maybe you'd get out of Zaire, have a wife, have a family - guess we'll never know, i'm sorry son."
Amos winded his arm back, plunging the knife deeply into Dolgens spine, he did this another 3 times before letting him out of his grip and falling to the floor.
Amos stood over the man, watching him take his last breath. Slowly equipping his sniper rifle, the same he stole from the dead ZLF insurgents.
Bringing it up, chambering a round and firing off a round into his skull, hearing Dolgens last gasp and throwing the sniper rifle into the bushes behind him, exclaiming loudly now:
"THE INSURGENTS ARE STILL HERE!!! GET DOWN!!"