Black Wolf

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  “Organize a meeting spot with them. We'll grab them there,” Zach said.

  A half hour later, they were back in their base's briefing room with the Redd Foxx team in tow. The composition of the team intrigued him. Two of the team, Will and Gwen, were assault classes, armed with submachine guns and equipped for speed. Then there was Jonas, the team's sniper, and finally the leader of Redd Foxx herself, Anna. She was a medic, but she differed from Javy's build. While he was built for healing to the exclusion of all else, she was more oriented toward providing buffs for her team. It would be an effective skirmishing force, but if they were caught in a serious firefight it was probably not going to end well.

  “Thanks for agreeing to cooperate with us,” Anna said. “We've been having a rough time getting anyone to work with us other than Sacred Sword. Even Ronin is being a bit of a problem.”

  “How so?” Zach asked.

  “Well, they want to have overall control of our operations, which I'm not prepared to give them. I'm more than happy to coordinate, but just lying down to someone else isn't our style, you know?”

  “Isn't that totally against what we're trying to do?” Miko commented. “I mean, we're trying to get away from being dominated by Ragnarok. So why are they doing the exact same thing?”

  “Marauder's captain posed the same question, and that didn't go over so well,” Anna said. “I understand where Levi's coming from. He wants to resist Ragnarok as best he can, and he thinks that it can only be done if we're unified. Which I think as well, but I also think we need to work together, not work for someone.”

  “I agree with that,” Zach said. “I do think we need a defined command structure and an overall commander, but all of our groups should have a say in how we operate.”

  “That will come into play later,” Anna said.

  “I really think it should come into play now,” Selene said. “We're never going to be able to conquer a city if we don't have a cohesive army. If we can start forming that now, then we'll be much better prepared, and it will happen much sooner.”

  “That's going to be rather difficult,” Will spoke up. “All of the companies have different interests, and they're not going to want to bow to anyone else.”

  “Well, we're willing to work together. That's a start,” Selene said. “You said Sacred Sword was also working with you. If we can form a core around Black Wolf, Sacred Sword and Redd Foxx, then we have a pretty good basis to start integrating the other companies.”

  “I got the sense that most of the objections were because Levi didn't have a fully coherent plan,” Anna said. “I think this will work fine. So if we're going to start that, we should probably start now. Who's going to be in charge of the mission?”

  “I think you should be, since this is a scouting mission,” Zach said. “And I also think we should optimize our teams to perform certain roles. That means mixing our companies.”

  Anna nodded. “That sounds like a good idea. What are you thinking of? A forward recon team and a support team?”

  “I think we should actually have three teams. I'll take the forward team and pair with Gwen and Will. You should have the support team with Miko and Jonas. I think that there also should be a third team with Selene and Xavier. They can provide either fire support or assault support as needed. That should allow us to be versatile.”

  “Are you sure that you shouldn't be the one in charge?” Anna asked.

  “You've done the most scouting missions, so you should be the ones in charge. I'll also defer to your judgment, since you're more experienced in this type of thing,” Zach told Will and Gwen.

  “Next question is, where are we going to be scouting?” Xavier asked.

  “We've been concentrating our forces mostly to the north and west of Old Chicago,” Anna told them. “Jonas, you were with Gray's scout team when you made that expedition toward Madison. Do you think there's anything interesting up that way?”

  “Eh, not that I saw,” Jonas shrugged. His avatar was short, and slightly stocky, with a buzz cut. Body types had an effect on the physical attributes of a player, such as strength and agility. The height Jonas had chosen meant he would never reach the maximum strength level, but he was smaller, and that meant he would be harder to hit. It was a perfect choice for a sniper.

  “We have Gray, Derrick, Jana and Cory's teams scouting up north anyhow,” Gwen said. “I think we should try to go south, or east.”

  Anna frowned. “There's not much to the east until you get to Detroit, and that's pretty far away.”

  “Then south toward St. Louis?”

  “That's way too far away,” Will said. “I think that Indianapolis would be a better choice. That's far enough away from Old Chicago, but close enough that we can stay in on the action. It might be a tough nut to crack, but I think it will be worth it.”

  “OK, we'll take four ATVs south. Everyone from Black Wolf drives, and Redd Foxx rides along. We'll organize into out teams later once we get to where we need to go,” Zach said.

  They sped down the dilapidated highway, cracked, overgrown with grass in spots, and worn through years of neglect, but still plenty drivable. Occasionally they had to dodge the rusted hulk of a vehicle, or a small group of enemies. Zach had noticed that all of the Redd Foxx members were good shots. They hadn't even needed to stop to fight; firing from the back of the moving ATVs, Redd Foxx had made short work of half a dozen brigands that had tried to block the roadway. Jonas had managed to score head shots on two of them from the back of Selene's ATV.

  But then a town loomed in front of them in the distance, just a mile after they had passed over a bridge with a river below. Lafayette, the rusted sign in front of them said. The scout team pulled off to one side and parked. Zach took his binoculars out and started to scan the surrounding area. Most of it was overgrown, with a vast forest surrounding the remains of the highway. There was a building that looked like a small gas station a few hundred yards from the main town. There were a pair of guards patrolling around the building. His HUD identified them as hostile.

  “If we can get our snipers on top of that building, they'll be able to scout most of the town with their scopes,” he suggested. “We need to take care of the guards without drawing too much attention. Can we snipe both of them at once?”

  “I wouldn't suggest that. The noise might carry,” Anna said.

  “Our team can handle it,” Gwen said.

  “My team and Selene's team will provide cover fire for you guys,” Anna said. “If you end up in trouble, head for the ATVs and let's get out of here.”

  “Got it,” Zach said. “What's your plan?”

  “Just go into stealth mode, follow behind us and try not to get us caught,” Will said. “We'll take care of the rest.”

  Zach shrugged and fell in behind them. They curved into the forest and faded into the shadows of the trees. It was immediately apparent that both of them had specialized in stealth. The only way that Zach could tell their location was the name displays showing up on his HUD. Other than that they were almost completely invisible. It was startling to him. The only member of Black Wolf that could come remotely close to matching them was Miko, and she had several sniper specific abilities to help her.

  Will and Gwen crept forward toward the edge of the forest. He wondered how they were going to take care of the guards. Their submachine guns weren't silenced, and they didn't have anything like a bow or crossbow. Will answered his question by drawing a hatchet off of his belt. Apparently he was going to sneak up behind one of them and them him at close range. Gwen would take another; she had drawn a knife off her belt.

  Gwen held up her hand from behind the tree she was using as cover. An enemy guard was coming their way. She picked up a rock and threw it into the tree next to her. Immediately the guard took notice and started to advance into the forest. Gwen sprung into action as soon as he passed her tree. Quick as lightning, she grabbed the guard and buried the knife in his neck with one quick motion.

 
Zach wondered where Will had gone. He saw him moving on his radar, but he was on the other side of the building from them. The second guard suddenly fell from behind the building, a hatchet buried in the front of his skull.

  “Clear,” Will said over the radio. “Get the snipers up here.”

  Zach and Gwen joined him inside the remains of the gas station. There was a hole in the roof. It was high up, but it was reachable since it was directly above the sales counter. Will was leaning up against the counter, checking his hatchet.

  “Nice job, both of you,” Zach commented. “That was an extremely good piece of stealth work.”

  “Thanks,” Will said.

  “Stealth is Redd Foxx's specialty,” Gwen said. “We might not have the staying power of Ronin, Marauder or Sacred Sword, but give us the opportunity to stealth and we're second to none.”

  “Yeah, Black Wolf really doesn't have a specialty.”

  “Other than having more money than God?” Will said.

  “I wouldn't call that a specialization,” Zach said.

  “That's a pretty good specialization, actually. We have to spend a lot of time scrounging for credits so we can pay for our stronghold. We don't always have the best gear because of that,” Gwen said. “I think that's why working with you guys is good. We would never have been able to afford those ATVs.”

  “And my company would have been shot to pieces by now,” Zach said. He turned as the other teams made their way into the gas station. “I think your team should be on the roof,” he told Anna.

  “Right. Jonas and Miko will survey the area, and I'll relay information to both teams,” Anna said. “Your team takes the lead and follows our directions. Selene and Xavier should follow behind you at a fair distance. If you run into trouble they'll provide close range support to you. We'll provide overwatch and hold this building as a rally point if things go wrong.”

  “Right. Someone help me give them boosts.”

  Zach and Xavier stood on the counter and helped Anna's team to get on the roof.

  “Alright, can you guys hear me?” Anna asked through her radio connection.

  “Loud and clear.”

  “Alright then. There's no wall around the town. There's guard towers at the four corners of the town, and one in the center, but you should be able to sneak in one of the gaps. Miko and Jonas can see around thirty guards...” She trailed off for a moment. “Make that fifty that they can see. It looks like the towers have heavy machine gun mounts.”

  “Joy,” Zach said. He was the only one with a weapon heavy enough to destroy the towers, and it was a grenade launcher to boot, so he would need to get in close.

  “I'm going to let you two take the lead,” Zach said. “I'll provide fire support if we need it, but I don't have much faith in my stealth abilities.”

  “Fine with us,” Will said with a grin. He motioned for him to follow.

  “You're certainly swallowing your pride,” Selene commented as they headed toward the town.

  “I'd rather do that than take a bullet in the head,” Zach said.

  “Fair enough point.” She and Xavier slowed to allow Zach's team to get further ahead.

  Will lead them through a ditch overgrown with tall grass. He and Gwen moved fluidly, making their way through the tall grass with nary a disturbance. Zach tried not to think about how clumsy he looked in comparison. Hopefully his stealth skills were passable enough to keep them hidden. More likely, he was going to be spotted and riddled with a few hundred bullets.

  They reached the outer edge of town without incident. Will glanced around the corner, then turned back and shook his head. Something wasn't to his liking. Gwen motioned to a low wall off to their left. It looked like there was a back alley on the other side. Will nodded his approval, then waved Zach to follow. The three of the climbed over the wall and stalked into the alley. It was filled with junk. Zach tried his best not to kick any. Gwen and Will had no trouble navigating through the mess.

  Gwen held up her hand as she reached the end of the alley. She made a motion, and suddenly there was a body in her arms. Will helped her drag the enemy corpse back into the alley. Zach could see the stab wound on the side of the neck.

  “I think we can cross through the street without getting caught. I don't see any more guards,” Gwen said quietly.

  Selene and Xavier had caught up with them. “We'll cover you,” Selene said.

  Zach's team ran for the alley across the street. It was clearer than the other alleyway, but there was someone odd about it. The earth looked like it had been disturbed in places.

  Zach grabbed Gwen by the arm just before she stepped in the alley. “Hold on. It's booby-trapped.”

  “You sure?” Will asked.

  “It looks like they've planted land mines. The earth is disturbed in places.” Zach drew his knife. “Stay on the outer end of the alley. This is going to take a while.”

  Anna came on the radio. “What's the holdup?”

  “The alley is mined, and it's going to be too easy to be spotted if we go another way. I'm going to try to sweep this as best I can.”

  “Do you have a mine sweeper?”

  “Unfortunately no. I'm going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”

  Zach started to carefully prod around the edge of a mound with his knife. If he could find where the mine was, then he could dig it up and then remove the detonator. The issue was a matter of time. A single mine would only take a few minutes to remove, but he would need to sweep the entire alley, since they were difficult for non engineer classes to see. That could take upward of an hour, and that was if they didn't run into problems.

  The blade hit something that felt like hard plastic. Zach gingerly worked his knife around until he found the bottom of the mine. Slowly, carefully, he started to remove the earth around the mine. It took him about a minute to remove enough so that he could see the firing mechanism. He unscrewed it, rendering the mine inert.

  Zach moved to the next mound. He proceeded the same way and had the mine removed in around five minutes. The next mine went just as smoothly.

  “There's a patrol coming around to your part of the street,” Anna said. “They'll be on you in around five minutes. I can't tell you exactly when. They'll be going though a blind spot just before they turn onto your street.”

  “That's going to be really close,” Zach said. He wasn't sure that he could get them far enough into the alley in time. Zach started to prod for the next mine. He found it, then looked for the bottom. He found that as well, but that was when the trouble started.

  “Oh, that's not good,” Zach said as he felt around with his knife.

  “What?” Gwen asked.

  “There's another mine underneath the first one,” he said. “I'm betting it's rigged to explode if I move the one on top.”

  This was going to be a problem. It was going to take much longer to remove this mine, since once wrong move would set the second trap off. And that was time they didn't have. Plus, Zach wasn't entirely sure that he could do it with the equipment he had at hand.

  “Fall back. We're going to have to find another way,” Zach said.

  “You sure?” Will asked.

  “We're going to be here forever if we try to go this way. Anna, we're moving back the way we came in.”

  “Got it. Be advised that I can't see the patrol now.”

  “Understood. You two, get back to the alley we came from as best you can,” he ordered.

  Will and Gwen started to move out into the street. Zach sheathed his knife and grabbed his carbine off the ground. This definitely wasn't going to be easy.

  Anna cut in on his radio. “Wait, the patrol's coming into your part of the street-”

  Zach suddenly heard shots ring out. A split second later he heard that rapid fire of submachine guns. He leaned around the corner, carbine at the ready. A burst of gunfire forced him back into cover.

  “How many of them are there?” he asked through the radio.

 
“There were five of them,” Gwen said. “We made it to the other side. Safe. Are you ready to move?”

  “Yeah,” Zach said.

  “Count of three, we'll cover you,” Selene said. “One. Two. THREE!”

  Zach leaped out of cover and aimed his weapon down the street. He would sidestep his way across the street as fast as he could, firing as he went to keep the enemies head down. But then he saw it. Zach barely managed to get back into cover before a torrent of bullets filled their air where he had been a scant second before.

  “There's a machine gunner that's taking cover in a side alley,” Zach said. “He's got a perfect angle on me as soon as I step out. Can any of you see him?”

  “I can't,” Selene said.

  “He's in a blind spot for us as well,” Anna said. “Be advised that you're going to have a lot of company in around two minutes.”

  “I guess I'll have to use this, then.” Will said.

  “A grenade?” Zach heard Selene ask.

  “A smoke grenade,” Will specified.

  “You have a smoke grenade?” Anna asked. “I'm surprised that you could afford one.”

  “Yeah, well, Zach's going to owe me big time for this. I'm, throwing now. Count to ten, then make a run for our position.”

  “Grenade's thrown,” he heard Selene said.

  One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

  Zach heard the sound of gunfire pick up from the direction of the enemy. It sounded like nothing he would want to run out into, but he had no choice. Apparently the NPC AI was programed to counter smoke grenades by firing blindly, hoping for a hit.

  Six. Seven. Eight.

  “I see what they're trying to do,” Anna said through the radio. “Jonas, take out the shooters you can see. We're going to have to abandon this position in a few minutes anyhow.”

  Nine.

  “One down,” Jonas' voice crackled over the radio,

  Ten.

  Zach leaped out of cover and charged out into the smoke filled street. There was no point in doing anything but running. Bullets cracked mere inches away from his head as he ran. The volume of fire coming from the other end was staggering, and it looked like most of it was coming from one gun. Just what kind of machine gun did the enemy in this town have? Zach had never run into anything with this rate of fire.