The loud rumbling of the truck keeps me awake, the constant jolts from the bumps in the road making the trip anything but pleasant. The forest surrounding us is dense, an ever constant reminder of just how isolated we are at the moment. I close my eyes, trying my best to expel the uneasy feeling resting on my shoulders. The mission briefing was straight forward: secure and destroy the suspected Sarin gas production facility. The truck comes to a stop and with a quick glance at everyone, I nod and gesture for them to get out of the truck before hopping out. After checking that the squad is ready, we don night vision goggles and get moving, making our way into the forest towards the direction of the building, a rather old warehouse built in the ‘60s for a nearby decommissioned lumber mill.

“Phoenix Team, be advised, we are seeing ten signatures outside of the building.”

I key my radio. “Phoenix Lead copies.”

I gesture for my squad-mates to follow before moving deeper into the forest. Even with the night vision goggles, we continue to move slowly, carefully choosing our next steps across the uneven terrain. A snapping branch makes us stop suddenly. I shoulder my rifle, looking towards the source of the sound. Time seems to stand still as I strain my ears, listening for additional noise. The wind is not in my favor, blowing upwind, carrying any possible scents away from the group. Not hearing any further noise, we continue to make our way up a slight hill, more alert than ever. We reach the top of the hill without any issue, being greeted by an excellent view of the facility.

“Phoenix Lead, we have eyes on the facility.” I speak into the radio. A few meters to my right, two of my squadmates settle onto the ground, one setting his weapon, a powerful sniper rifle, onto the ground, supported by a bi-pod. The other settles on the ground, pulling out a range finder.

“Roger. Power cut in ten minutes.” Is the response from command. I check my watch, making note of the time.

“Let’s move.” I nod at the six other members of my squad. I look at the sniper. “Keep us updated Kaiden, yea?”

“Of course.” He grunts. “When have I not?”

“You barely remembered to polish your boots in training.” Marie, his spotter, remarks in a joking tone. He responds with grumbling while settling down on his stomach. I lead the others down the slope, nearly slipping a few times and just barely saving myself from tumbling down the hill. We reach the chain-link fence surrounding the property. I gesture to a squadmate, who pulls the bolt cutters from his backpack and cuts into the fence, forming a hole big enough for us to crouch through. I glance at my watch. Thirty seconds. As promised, ten minutes after going down the hill, the brightly lit grounds are bathed in darkness, eliciting surprised shouts from the terrorists. We quietly crawl through the hole, using the darkness to quickly run over to a nearby truck trailer.

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“Get the back up generator running!” A voice shouts from nearby.

“Johnathan, that connard, is already on it.” Someone else grumbles.

I peak around the corner and see two men standing a no more than six meters away, sub-machine guns in their hands. I look back at the squad, informing them of the two enemies with hand gestures. I gesture for Eric, a short, stocky Frenchman, to help. Together, we peak around the corner again, raise our rifles, and gently squeeze the triggers. A muffled crack is the only sound our guns make before the two terrorists collapse to the floor, bleeding from their heads. The two of us quickly make our way over to the two bodies, dragging them into a dark corner, light mostly obscured by a catwalk above us. Creaking metal makes us freeze in place.

“Lead, this is Archer One, there’s a sentry on the catwalk.” Kaiden says as I look up.

“Take the shot Archer One.” I murmur. I watch as the guard lights a smoke, taking a long drag as he stares out towards the other end of the facility. As he lets out a puff of smoke, his head snaps forward, body pitching forward and over the railing, landing on the floor in front of us with an audible thump. I wince, but lunge forward, grabbing the body and dragging it into the darkness.

“Confirmed kill.” Eric mutters into the radio. The two of us move to the double door, marked by a faded “Employees Only”.

“Phoenix, form up on me. Archer, take care of the rest out here.” I order as I crouch next to the door. I nod at Eric, who carefully tries the door knob. He shakes his head, silently letting me know that it’s locked. The rest of the squad splits up and take cover against the wall on either side of the door, watching our surroundings carefully.

“Archer copies.”

I gesture to Eric to pick the lock. He extracts the lock pick from his pack and kneels in front the door, gently probing the keyhole. After a moment or two, the lock clicks quietly and Eric gives a thumbs up.

“Alright, let’s move in. Check your corners.” I murmur, getting confirmations from the rest of my squad. The point man gently pushes the door open with his shotgun at the ready. We file in behind him and begin clearing the warehouse.

* * * *

“Hope this isn’t your favorite shirt.” The medic jokes, cutting open Eric’s t-shirt. The soldier in question rolls his eyes, remaining still as his wound gets patched up.

I chuckle at his disdain. “You should’ve checked your corners.”

“Ah, tais-toi Matt. How was I supposed to know there was some fucker in that corner?” He protests in his thick accent. (Shut up)

“I thought not checking corners was Kaiden’s thing.” Marie jokes as she arrives, her partner scowling as he catches her words.

“Again, that was a one time thing.” The brown-haired man complains.

Jordan, the explosives specialist with my squad, arrives, ending our banter. “Explosive charges are in place Matt. This place won’t be making Sarin for much longer.” He grins. “Thermite is one helluva powder.”

I nod as the trucks we arrived in pull up. “Alright everyone, pack it up. Let’s go home. Jordan, hit it.”

Jordan nods and clicks his detonator as everyone climbs into the back of the trucks. It’s quiet for a moment before a brilliant orange glow fills the windows. A muffled hissing can be heard from the building as the thermite powder consumes the materials stored inside. A loud explosion tears the through the building as flames burst through the windows, the heat from the pyrotechnic powder shattering the glass. The trucks start driving as the wooden structure groans for a moment, the exterior seeming to sag before it collapses. Smoke and fire consume the rubble as another explosion throws debris into the air.

“Overlord, this is Phoenix Lead, the Sarin facility is neutralized.” I inform my superiors.

“Roger that Phoenix Lead. Report back to base.”