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Marcus closed the screen and clutched the RPG-7. It was currently unloaded for safety and he pulled out a single stage HEAT warhead from his pack and inserted it into the tube snug and twisted it locked. Marcus peeked over the windowsill at the sound of diesel engines coming closer and signalled for Rex, who was armed with the second RPG-7, to remove the safety pin on his warhead.

Through a combination of intelligence and luck, the convoy took a known route towards the ship for resupply. The presence of the TAS’s Tigr vehicles, armed with the remote weapon system, armed with a Kord 12.7mm heavy machine gun, gave an even field all around and forced the SRT to keep to known and ‘safer’ routes. This allowed for Ylenka and her scouting soirees to find and learn these routes and get an idea of their patterns. One of which was to send the JLTV and up-armored Humvee to scout the route ahead of time and drive away or kill everything in sight.

Humans have always been creatures of habit, and if Marcus knew something about hunting, then knowing his quarry’s daily preferences and patterns is half of the hunt. The second is catching them while they’re in the middle of their patterned actions and taking your shot.

Now, with their quarry moving into their preferred route, all they needed to do was wait. Marcus had called an all hands on deck with the Honest scribe, Anna and Rex, and even Gabs and Fleex with the three other freshly recruited goblins joining in for the fight.

Looking over to the other room, the goblins crouched under the window and behind a brick wall, and waiting for his signal.

Four were armed with AKMs, with the last one equipped with a ballistic shield. It was a punishment position, reserved for the worst shot in the goblin squad. The fighters looked back at him and clutched at their weapons in a white knuckled grip while doing their best not to show their nervous ticks. One was constantly wiping his sweaty palms on his ragged shirt while another kept touching a trinket on his wrist.

Marcus was not the type of leader to shut it down. These actions were their own way of coping. As long as it doesn’t interfere with the job at hand, then they are free to do so.

Marcus had everyone split into teams, with Ylenka leading the rest of the Honest scribe on the other side of the street, with Marcus leading his five goblins with Anna and Rex. Both positions overlooked a stretch of road filled with cars pushed into the curb to widen the passage and were flanked with tall brick and concrete buildings providing excellent cover for anyone within.

As of the moment, they were in a penthouse suite on the fourth floor of an abandoned hotel. Decorative red brick walls lined the exterior of the building, giving a combination of old 18th century aesthetic combined with modern furniture. The room was provided with wide windows showing a wide vista of the city’s downtown district and the road below. The ship loomed in the distance, dominating the skyline with its massive steel hull, which landers flew through and fro.

Marcus crouched by position near the balcony, out of sight of anyone on the street level. The rumbling of a trio of diesel engines sounded below and he looked ahead on the building opposite him. There, Ylenka positioned her team to provide small arms support and make sure that any foot soldiers running around wouldn’t be able to bother Marcus and his team who carried the ambush’s explosives. His heart raced as the vehicles crept closer under them and he looked ahead, towards the darkened window on the other side of the street, waiting for their spotter on the other side of the road to give them the signal.

The engine noise was almost too loud against the dead silence of the dead city. A light then flashed through the window, and Marcus stood up to full height and leaned over the balcony railing. Rex followed, and the two had a few seconds max to make the shot before being spotted by whoever was manning the JLTV’s remote weapons system. Looking through the sights and centering it to the lead vehicle, he could see the JLTV at the head of the column followed by an unarmored five ton cargo truck with a covered bed and a humvee closing the convoy. Firing straight down and at a target three stories below, their hit probability was practically a hundred percent.

The convoy was too close together, three armored vehicles scattered along a five car span. Marcus would have preferred to hit the humvee at the rear, but they needed to halt the convoy to buy time for the TAS to get their own vehicles on the fight and have a chance of eliminating all of them.

“Fire on mark. Three, two, one. Mark!” Marcus called and pulled the trigger. Two rockets launched almost simultaneously. From their previous engagement with the QRF convoy, they have found out that a single RPG round would not penetrate through the vehicle’s installed energy shields. Which is why they brought two.

The pair of rockets rocked the leading JLTV as their HEAT warheads exploded against its shields, shattering it. The lead JLTV stopped, blocking the rest of the convoy. They have hit the lead of the column where the long line of abandoned cars was at the narrowest. Dust billowed up from the explosions and covered the armored vehicle. The cloud obscured Marcus’s view of the extent of the damage as he pulled back into cover.

Guns erupted all around. Ylenka and her team leaned out of the positions and shot at the vehicles with the intent of chipping at their shields and denying the shield generators time to recharge. The cacophony was joined by the distinct pops of smoke dispensers installed on the vehicles. Soon, the street was covered with white smoke, covering the convoy.

Marcus had already backed off the balcony and was already inside the penthouse as .50cal rounds ripped through the floor of the balcony. The heavy bullets punched through inches of poured concrete like it was nothing. Through the holes, Marcus could see the streets below. While pulling another warhead from his pack, Marcus looked over to Anna, who was looking through blinds of Mylar sheets and holes punched through to accommodate Marcus’ thermal scope. Marcus had lent it to her for the duration of the ambush since it would be instrumental within the operation because of its ability to see through the smoke.

Anna was looking intently through the scope while holding a radio to her face. “Dismounts, dismounts.” She screamed through the radio. “They’re opening the back hatch. Drop your grenades now!”

A dozen grenades flew out of the ambush positions, four men tasked with tossing three each out of the windows. The grenades landed in the street below and detonated, unleashing a storm of deadly shrapnel that ricocheted off concrete and armor, some finding and disintegrating against a player’s personal shield, while others found the flesh of players with broken protection.

“Confirmed three kills. Five left still mobile, they have entered the building with the ice cream shop.” Anna reported.

Clicking the warhead into the launcher, Marcus peeked over the lip of the balcony. The streets were still covered with thick smoke and hiding the vehicles within the cloud. The remote weapon system installed atop the leading JLTV hadn’t been impeded by the smoke and was continuing to lie down, suppressing fire. Small arms, save for bigger calibers loaded with armor piercing ammunition, do not have a chance to penetrate the armor of the JLTV.

Rounds smashed against the building opposite Marcus’ position. There, Ylenka had positioned her own fighters, and all were driven away into harder cover, lest they catch a single round of .50 caliber and get killed instantly. The rounds continued chewing up the concrete, and Marcus saw shields flare in the darkness of the building.

Rounds impacted around him, some hitting their mark and splattering against his shields. Marcus took cover and risked a peek around a decorative column to receive a face full of pulverized concrete. The round barely missed him, hitting his cover, but Marcus saw the fire coming from the dismounted QRF. They had established a base of fire on the other side of the street and were engaging their building, exchanging fire with his team of goblins.

“2nd team. Be advised, the dismounts have established a base of fire in the restaurant building.” Marcus said through the radio.

Marcus looked over at Razer, who was coordinating the attack with the rest of the TAS. The clan was supposed to sortie their own armored vehicles to help with the ambush, in case it goes well. Their KORD 12.7 machine gun would be able to punch through the JLTV’s armor and take them out with a sustained burst of fire.

“Where’s the trucks?” Marcus asked Razer.

“I’m sorry, Hartdegen, really sorry. They reported that they’re a hundred meters out of the clan base when they hit a cluster of mines. The detonation disabled one of the vehicles, but the SRT wasn't able to destroy it before they were driven away. The top didn’t think it's wise to send the other Tigr unsupported.”

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“Well fuck me then.” Marcus grumbled. Still, he couldn’t blame the TAS too much, the arrival of their armored vehicles meant that they were a prime target for the SRT. So it wasn’t unexpected for them to set up their own ambushes. What was surprising was how quickly they managed to catch the TAS in an ambush.

“All units, be advised. Tigrs have been hit and will not be able to join in the operation. We’ll initiate Plan B. We’ll take out whatever we can and bug out.” He said through the comms. It was just his luck for something catastrophic to happen in the vital stages of the plan. Still, they have six warheads split evenly between him and Rex, with two already loaded in their launchers. They should be able to get enough damage if they manage to land a solid hit with the softer vehicles. But the combination of the smoke covered by the street, the JLTV being able to see through thermal imaging, and the dismounts being able to hunker into one of the buildings made taking a clear shot with the RPGs a challenge.

Still, with the Tigrs being engaged on the other part of the city, it meant that all the SRT members available are all in the ambush area and have little risk of having another SRT element creep up on them and join in on the ongoing shitshow. As long as they could keep their losses to a minimum, they could just wait for the smoke to dissipate and creep into another firing position to get a clear shot. With that, Marcus reached for the radio. “All units, all units. We wait out the smoke. It’s the only thing keeping them alive, keep them pinned. Keep chipping at their shields. Make sure casualties are at the minimum and do not engage in frontal fights. Shoot and scoot, use the windows of the buildings to your advantage and make sure the dismounts do not catch you unawares. As for us, we will be relocating to the secondary firing position. This spot is already compromised.”

“Copy that.” Ylenka replied.

Marcus gave a shrill whistle, which cut through the gunfire around. Anna and Rex looked at him and gave him a thumb’s up, indicating that they got the orders. Nodding, Marcus crouched towards where his goblins were located. Gabs and Fleex were fine, save for some superficial wounds brought upon by small fragments they caught in the chaos of the firefight, but one was wounded, shot in the arm and was being tended by another goblin.

“Anna! Get in here, we got wounded.” Marcus yelled through the din. Anna came from the other room and handed the thermal scope to Rex. She then ran towards the wounded goblin, reaching for the casualty with a bandage already in hand.

“You guys go ahead, we’ll follow shortly.” She said.

The secondary position was in another building adjacent to their current position. It was inferior to their current base of fire as it provided less cover with its wide open glass windows. It was an office with compressed fiber board dividers, unlike the posh hotel suite they are in now. Still, it had concrete walls and gave the same wide view of the streets below and was just as good as a firing position, only it didn’t provide much hard cover.

Running down the floors, Marcus led the way. He had traded the RPG-7 for the MDR he stashed in the corner and handed the RPG to one of the goblins for him to carry.

On the way down, Marcus made sure to stay away from the windows facing the streets where the convoy was trapped and exited to the back alleys behind the building. He checked if it was clear using his thermal scopes, and it was. They then moved a few buildings down. The shield bearer ran ahead, doing his job as a moving cover.

Entering the building through the back door, they ran up the floors into the secondary position just as Marcus heard the roaring of diesel engines. Marcus threw the MDR and took the launcher. He and Rex ran to the sliding glass doors leading to the office balcony to find the convoy inching slowly forward.

With another pop of smoke from the dispensers, the smokescreen was renewed. Although the window wall provided no protection against bullets, it concealed their thermal signature. Marcus could see nothing through the smoke, but the roaring of engines meant that the convoy was moving.

The remote weapons system atop the JLTV was not firing. Marcus then realized that they were using the sights installed on the gun to see through the smoke and were guiding the vehicle through the haze. He could only guess that they were using the rear lights to guide the vehicles behind it through the smoke as the rest of the convoy slowly moved forward out of the ambush zone. Marcus had to give it to them. They were thinking fast.

Pulling the safety off the warhead, Marcus crouched and waited within view of the street. Rex did the same, and the two patiently watched and listened at the low growl of the engines ahead of them. From their position, they could see the edge of the smoke. The rumbling of engines grew louder and Marcus finally saw the armored front of the JLTV emerge from the haze. It bore scorch marks from the two HEAT warheads, which failed to penetrate its hood.

“We’ll hit the cargo truck when it emerges.” Marcus muttered, and Rex nodded.

Following the JLTV through the smoke, the cargo truck emerged. Rounds still harried the vehicle as its shields flared and shimmered from the bullets impacting it. Marcus then gave the signal and opened the sliding door. Rex did the same, and both men stepped out onto the balcony and aimed their launchers at the unarmored vehicle.

The back blast from the rockets leaving the launcher shattered the glass windows behind them, and two HEAT warheads exploded against the truck in quick succession. The first warhead detonated against the truck’s shields, breaking it while the other impacted against its front hood, sending a jet of melted copper into the engine block and transmission, disabling it. The truck rocked from the explosion, with the windshield disintegrating along with the driver behind it.

The truck rolled a few feet forwards and swerved to its left before hitting a derelict car and stopping it in its tracks. Its hulk blocked the road, only providing enough space for foot soldiers to come through but not vehicles. Flames licked the truck’s undercarriage as the explosion ruptured the fuel tank. Diesel spilled into the street, fumes spilled and ignited, causing the vehicle to go up in flames.

The humvee, rolling behind the truck, tried to push against the burning hulk to get out of the ambush site, and was only successful in lodging it stuck even more. With the back end of the truck still well within the smokescreen, the humvee was blind.

Marcus grinned and retreated back into the office building as rounds impacted behind and around them. His shields flared from the impacts coming from the dismounts, firing from their position as he reloaded his RPG. “Let’s move. This position is burned too.” Marcus said to Rex.

Rex only nodded. He was bleeding from multiple spots, but all looked to be superficial wounds taken from fragments flying from multiple near misses. Marcus wondered for a second if he looked just the same.

Reloading the RPG, they bid their time. The Humvee below was still blind inside the thick smoke, unable to move forward, only back. Marcus heard the vehicle smash and crumple against other wrecked cars on the side of the road.

“Team 1. We are trying to take out the dismounts in the restaurant building but they have dug in hard.” Ylenka reported through the radio.

“Roger that. Just keep them there. We’ll handle the Humvee and get to you soon.” Marcus replied.

They have time. Marcus then led the way back into the alley behind the buildings and all ran towards the end of the block, peeking around the corner building. Through the dissipating smoke, Marcus could see the still lit rear lights of the humvee along with its boxy form. Thirty meters away, it was still trying to get out but backed off into another wrecked vehicle as it tried to back away and only managed to position itself facing the buildings, presenting its side to Marcus and Rex’s position.

The firefight is still going on around them. Ylenka was keeping the five still surviving dismounts busy.

They didn’t have a clear shot. A wrecked car was between them and the Humvee and they couldn’t just thread the warhead around the car as it risked the rocket’s stabilizing fins getting caught up and changing trajectory. They could try to move up, but it risked the Humvee moving inside the RPG warhead’s five meter arming distance.

“Fuck it. There’s no way around it. We’ll have to expose ourselves in the middle of the street to get a clean shot.” Marcus said to Rex.

“On three?” Rex asked.

“On three.” Marcus repeated. He then turned to the goblins and pointed at the restaurant building. “Cover us, and shoot there. Single shots and make sure to be inside the building.” He said.

Everyone nodded, even the shield bearer, who was diligently carrying the shield. Marcus saw it in the goblin’s eyes that he wanted to get out there and be useful, but their situation gave no chance of that and so Marcus only ignored him.

Marcus then counted down and at the mark, the two ran to the middle of the street, armed with nothing but RPGs. Anyone watching the street would have an easy time taking the two of them out and Marcus remembered the video of that one insurgent doing the same thing and getting wasted by two bursts from a distant M249 Saw Machine gun.

A trio of AK rifles suppressed the restaurant building and thankfully, no machine gun burst came to rip them to shreds. The two then ran up to the middle of the street, stopping at the double line, took a knee, and aimed.

Through the sights, Marcus saw the driver of the vehicle look in their direction inside the fading smoke and recognized a look of resignation in the driver’s face before Marcus pulled the trigger. Launching, the rockets flew straight, and both warheads impacted the side of the Humvee. One broke the shield, and the other found its mark hitting the side door, sending a molted jet of copper inside the cabin and burning everyone inside alive.

There was no spectacular secondary explosion. And if there was, Marcus was too busy running back to cover to care. Rex and Marcus reached safety, followed by the goblins peeling off their position. The goblins reloaded on the move, making sure to keep their empty mags on their person instead of throwing it to the side. Despite the situation, Marcus had to make sure they kept to their training and was gratified that his efforts did not turn out in vain.

Reloading their last warheads, Marcus asked team 2 through the radio. “How is your situation there? Over.”

“Still keeping them inside, wouldn’t mind some assistance.”

“Roger that.” Marcus replied, then turned to Rex. “You know the best way to clear a room?”

“Five-man team, and pie the corners?”

Marcus grinned. “Nah. Open the door and throw a grenade in it.” He replied.