13. Bishop: Plan B

A scream tore through the night while we tried to rest. Not being able to sleep through the tortured screams the storms terror brought I left Flux, Strider and Hazard to lie in their bunks while I walked out into the bar to distract myself. Clumsily stumbling by panicked rookies grasping their weapons or huddled on the ground I met with Noah hunched over a map greeting him with a yawn. Bringing a stool up he began informing me on the second part of our job as the scream died down.

Mentioning that the previous day was more of a test to see if we could handle ourselves against the mercenaries he brought to light an actual objective to deal with them. Through the reports of pioneers or outlaws being in the wrong place at the wrong time it was discovered that the mercenaries were being resupplied through air drops during the dead of night near by their encampments.

With enough chutes spotted over time Noah developed a pattern and if he was right the next drop should arrive at a fortified checkpoint to a small bridge over the impassable river. After a quick discussion as to what the enemy strength would be and a general plan I quickly accepted the job upon his offer for its completion though out of curiosity I had to ask why he was offering such a payout.

Simply replying with ‘for the good of us all’ he shut the conversation down and left. While there was truth in his words they were not sincere in the slightest. It seemed the man had other motivations for wanting the bridge checkpoint cleared but had no interest in sharing them. Taking a mental note but otherwise avoiding to pry I left Noah to his business to collect the equipment for the operation and waited for my comrades to arrive at the table one by one. Strider being the last to shuffle up to a seat with tired eyes.

“What’s this about Bishop, Noah have more for us?”

“Does he indeed. He’s given us a real job to put a mercenary squad out of commission by destroying their supplies as they parachute down.” Hazard looked up from poking his shredded meal disappointed.

“Destroy? They’d be getting some A grade equipment, and rations come to think of it. Why not take it for ourselves?”

“By the time the supply drop hits the ground we’ll have ten exceptionally equipped mercenaries right on top of us. Destroying it is the only way to ensure they don’t get it and we can get away.” Strider looked unimpressed with the plan as it stood.

“Right. So we shoot the supplies out of the sky. Then what. We wait to try light the thing on fire and hope to hold while it burns under an assault?” With a grin I reached into the backpack of equipment Noah provided.

“Relax man, we’ll destroy it with these.”

Tossing over an RPG rigged with electronics Strider caught it fumbling the IED out of shock as Flux launched back behind another table an onlooking pioneer had turned over the second he saw the device in mid air. Hazard simply sat there frozen as his eyes tracked the IED through the air displaying the chewed remnants of mutant pig in his wide open mouth only for his eyes to lock back onto his meal once Strider held the IED close to his chest trembling.

“That ruined piece of meat could’ve been the last thing I ever enjoyed…”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”I couldn’t reply right away to Strider through my bellowing laughter. Taking a moment to collect myself he gingerly placed the explosive on the table and as Flux rejoined us scowling I composed myself.

“Should have seen your face… don’t worry these things are just about as stable as C4. They aren’t going off unless I press this.”

Pulling out the rigged phone triumphantly saw all three of them as well as the pioneer take cover behind the table again while Strider drew a pistol. With him sick and tired of my antics I put the detonator and IED away before preparing for the long hike just past the scar to where the checkpoint was located as Flux bought a new shotgun.

Walking along the river no engagements were spotted this time though the creatures of the zone seemed to be highly aggravated. More than usual. Trying to remain covert seemed to be increasingly difficult until it proved impossible as a bear burst from the trees towards us.

Roaring furiously barreling forward It’s fur hardened into armor ablating as it collided with the trees it charged through. The obsidian mass of a creature covered a terrifying amount of ground in only a moment. A mechanical trap snapped apart as the bear triggered it crushing the trap rather than its leg as intended. Hazard, Strider and Flux fired wildly blasting off chunks of hardened matted fur and flesh that did little to slow it. Reaching into my pack ripping out an IED and priming it I threw the device as far as my arm would allow.

“NOPE.” Squeezing the call button on the phone the IED detonated with a shellshock inducing explosion sending rock like bloodied chunks over the cover we were taking. Looking over the fallen log displayed a small crater filled with the rear half of the bear still smoking while bleeding pieces fell from the sky. Catching my breath gently laughing in shock instilled by the pure display of force by the now deceased mutant bear Hazard looked over towards me.

“I’m not complaining but don’t we need those later?”

“Yeah but I’ve got four more. These little bastards pack a punch should only need one of them to get the job done.”

Marching onwards after reloading our weapons glad to still be alive we made more of an effort to avoid attention. Staying lower to the ground and using long over grown grass to remain mostly concealed we approached the edge of the forest where the outpost could barely be seen. The walled compound had two small buildings flanking the dirty road behind the gate. Setting up in concealment we waited for nightfall to watch for the parachute bringing the supplies. Strider watched the checkpoint counting ten men through his scope while the rest of us scanned the clear night sky for the payload.

With the help of a full moon illuminating our target a chute was spotted. Setting up for our advance the mercenaries could be seen preparing out the front of their checkpoint behind sandbags. Calling out the parachute Flux and Hazard prepared to fire on it to bring it crashing down next to the forest we hid in. One hundred meters from the ground they fired. Buckshot ripped the parachute apart as planned and as the cache of supplies fell Strider fired pinning the mercenaries.

Reloading with slugs Flux and Hazard fired from other positions to help suppress the enemy while I moved forward to where the crate was falling. Charging through the undergrowth and into the open rounds blew past like fire crackers in a wild burst. Diving into the ground waiting for the fire to pass to begin sprinting again the crate hit the ground bursting open destroying a portion of the supplies.

Ducking yet again beneath the flying debris the gunfight intensified as the mercenaries established a base of fire. Crawling forward Flux dove beside me into the moist ground. Crawling forward behind the the wreckage priming 2 of the IED’s Flux quickly stashed what he could into his backpack with complete disregard to his safety. Ripping him down a bullet grazed the grass next to me aimed at my exposed leg. The cut blades of grass drifted gracefully to the ground regardless of the chaos around them as the fire now began kicking up dirt around the sides of the cache.

Utterly suppressed we retreated a few meters back from the cover afforded by the crushed cache until it became insufficient taking a shot in the backpack luckily absorbed by something that wasn’t an IED. On the ground again Flux began to push himself into the dirt trying to avoid the fire as best he could. The situation getting desperate and fire so heavy it seemed like the best option was to simply to dig and hope we’d be able to make a hole for ourselves.

Gunshots started tearing down the cover offered by the cache beginning to form sightlines onto our position as Strider and Hazard desperately attempted to regain the weight of fire shooting wildly. The only way out was to try something stupid. Very stupid. With the alternative of certain death though if we did nothing I decided it was the only chance we had.

Shielding Flux with my body as he tried to move I pressed the call button on the phone. The explosion could be felt at our heels as it deafened us. Debris flying through the air as the fireball formed. Screaming at Flux to get up not being able to hear myself he blinked completely dazed. Ripping him to his feet as the dirt showered around us we sprinted back to the safety of the trees while the smoke and fire provided us desperately needed cover. Running forward with hearing returning I noticed the distinct lack of gunfire in the air. Maybe they’d already given up with the loss of their equipment. Taking a knee around the area we blew up the bear to catch our breath Strider opened up in disbelief.

“That went to shit faster than we expected. How’d you know you were safe from those IED’s?” Sheepishly facing him with a half smile I quietly murmured back.

“Might’ve just hoped we were far enough…” Flux glared towards me looking ready to release a furious rant but stopped himself realizing that we would’ve died without taking the chance. Simply sighing instead Hazard took point and began marching back to the pioneer camp.

“We should keep moving, just in case they really are pursuing. Keep an eye out for bear traps I saw one triggered by the bear we killed in the area.” Making sure to stare at me at the end of his statement and returning his remark by flipping him off we continued on our way.