That instant, Sebastian, Kerry, and Andre each jumped up high enough to clear the eight-story building they stood next to as they prepared to land on top of the apartment building twice its height next to it, quickly aiming below. Each quickly opened fire with successive thunderous bangs of their rifles in several predetermined directions to attract attention, unable to feel the less-than-ideally constructed roof start to slowly give way.

One of the Kappa frames below had found enough of a window between visual cut-outs to manually aim its grenade launcher towards the top of the building, letting his one fired shot sail through the window of the third-from-the-top floor, setting off an explosion that effectively created a sink hole just below Sebastian’s Ap50, causing it to fall without giving him a chance to react.

Kerry and Andre by instinct hit the jump boost to get aerial before realizing Sebastian was below them somewhere inside the building. “Sebastian!!” Kerry shouted in panic, starting her descent abruptly. "Shit, now what do we do?!”

“Keep with the plan!” the two heard him answer over the channel, letting them breathe out a sigh of relief, keeping focus on their descent to their respective landing points.

“What about you?!” she continued speaking to him, back pedaling as she started opening fire on the few LTACs that turned onto her street with shields up.

“I will get out of here somehow! Squad B! Your turn!” they heard him continue resolutely, unaware he was masking the fears rapidly building up as he never emerged from the apartment building.

“You heard him, boys!” Andre shouted with a nervous smirk, backing off his cover fire that had been aimed around a tank and a pair of LTACs in the distance up the same street, navigating a point obstructed by several crumbled walls. He quickly sidestepped into an alley to his immediate left, allowing two Av25 units from Squad B time to fire their anti-armor rounds at the oncoming, exposed bogies.

“That’s more than six of them down!” Kerry called out as she watched her side of town’s well-placed shots split through shields the same way Sam’s shots had earlier. “Squad A, get ready for your end! Heading there now!”

“Right with you!” Andre joined in as the two once again blasted off from the ground back into the building tops.

.

Sam had been silent this whole time, carefully navigating her way back to the front of the Av25 squad she had been waiting behind, never getting word back from Sebastian. “Keep moving as planned!” she commanded, taking rest for the moment between two friendlies who had posted up on either side of the building she stood behind, taking the time to identify a route to where Sebastian had been downed. Spotting a path she deemed acceptable, she marked the map with an icon labeled “A-P DOWN”. “Evac is here in less than five minutes! Hold your ground! I’ll get Sebastian out!”

“You’re going back out there?! We can’t cover you from here!” the squad leader next to her said in confusion. “We can’t even get visuals on that building!”

“I’ll worry about that! Just stick to the plan like they said!” Tuning out the next series of ground rattling explosions, she rearmed her weapons systems, turning to make a direct jump to the plaza next to the marked apartment building. I have to at least keep that area clear for landing for the evac op! No telling who might have noticed he’s still there! “Sebastian, hold tight! I’ll secure the area for you!”

…

She kept her altitude low as she could, skimming the tops of buildings before landing in the intersection just before her marked zone, making sure she could assess the units present before entering. But it wasn’t the tank presence that had her stomach in knots. Why hasn’t he responded?! “Sebastian, respond!” What the hell happened up there?! No way I am too late already! No fucking way! She darted around the corner, not even waiting for target lock as she pulled the trigger the instant it hovered near the tank. Quickly switching to her shield, pulling it in front of her, she continued her steady pace forward alongside the apartment building in question. It was eerily quiet once the clamor from the destroyed tank began to settle. She surveyed the area quickly, noting the concrete, glass, and metal strewn about the plaza, mixed in with tank and LTAC carcasses from earlier. Several more tremors could be felt in succession once more, yet she remained focused on assessing the situation while trying not to lose focus on her visuals. Wait! Ground troops! She now pondered the chances men on foot entered the building already as not a soul could be seen running around. “Situation status!” she shouted over the area channel, feeling another series of rumbles and the ensuing, unsettling explosions.

“Bastards are on the run!” Andre quickly answered. “The last three groups we tagged are distancing themselves and headed back for the airfield!”

“We are posting up for cover!” Kerry joined in. “Evac almost here! A and B Squad, gather back up on point and prepare for reception!”

.

.

On the approaching carrier convoy that would have been visible if not for the ever present, low hanging cloud coverage, Danielle was no longer in the communications room but was instead in an access hall, busy trying to pull up the zipper to her pilot suit. As she continued through a doorway that led to the docking bay, she found two Ap50 units laying on their backs in carry mode, both doors open and power systems up and running.

…The hell???

She finished the last adjustments on her suit as she jogged up to one of them, climbing up the access ladder to see Gabriel was inside, already seated and affixing his helmet. Her brow quickly wrinkled into a disappointed frown as she fussed: “Sly, this isn’t for you to worry about- what the fuck are you even thinking!”

He continued with his shoulder harnesses, never pausing to return a glance. “It’s going to take both of us. You said it yourself, the Cloaks are on the move.”

“But that was your job to stay behind and warn them, idiot! I need you commanding the team from up here!” she pleaded, frown quickly fading. “You and I both getting hanged afterwards would leave them with no one afterward!”

“Who the hell said anyone’s getting hanged?” he shrugged as he flipped his visor down. “Rook,” he continued in a playful yet seemingly condescending manner, “get loaded up before I open this door.”

“And the coordination? Hmm!?” The second of silence was already enough as she huffed, climbing back down the ladder.

“You take one, I take the other two! Deal?” he shouted out from inside, hoping she could hear.

“No!”

“Scared?!” he continued with a chuckle.

“Damn it, Sly!” she fussed aloud as she started climbing into the other open Ap50 unit. “Just keep them distracted at least! I HAVE to cover for the evac landing!”

“Oh, hell no! Everyone got me pulling stunts, nuh-uh, there is no way I don’t go all out. Fuck all that shit! You just do what you got to do, then!”

.

.

Sam had finally finished securing her area before rushing to the front of the apartment building, running through her head several means to getting herself inside to search for Sebastian. Let’s see, scanners showing about three to four bodies scattered about the 8th floor… shit. Sebastian’s vitals are still nominal, that’s good. Got no body armor for myself… shit. Nothing but a PDW… shit. Metal cutters, that’s all I got?! But before she could think of disembarking from the Axiom, which she knew was most likely a terrible plan in itself to begin with, an alert caught her attention as she thumbed the map notifications tab up on view. “Two A-P’s launched from Evac! What are they doing?! Shit that might not be a good sign!” No more fucking time to waste! Damn it all! She threw up the visor and quickly unlatched the straps before slinging the helmet off her head, opening the man cockpit door as she unharnessed herself. “Heading inside marked building! We don’t have time to wait for Sebastian anymore!” Quickly snagging the docked PDW and survival sling pouch on her way down, she dashed for the open corridor entrance of the apartment building, ducking into a doorway cutout providing what seemed to be enough to make a stop and assess her surroundings.

“-On point, Axiom, good luck,” a male’s voice from the other squad spoke up through her earpiece.

Heart beating out of her chest, struggling to keep her breathing noise to a minimum, she peeks back at the Axiom, seeing it approached from behind by a fellow Av25 who heard her call. Holding her sigh of relief, she leaned against the door and quietly extended the stock to her PDW and pulled the sling and her pouch over her head and put her arm through, squeezing her weapon’s handle and foregrip tightly, all the while listening for footsteps or anything to hint the presence of someone in the vicinity.

“Backup to my location!” Andre shouted over the channel. “Last four in my corner!”

She wiggled her earpiece, ensuring its fit before pressing a button at the base of the device with an ensuing whisper: “Sebastian, I’m at the bottom of the building. Location.”

While she waited for a response, she peered back around the other corner, looking down the empty hallway, spotting a stairwell entrance. Come on, Sebastian, answer! Several long, nerve-wracking moments passed as the only sounds she heard were from occasional rifle fire, tripped and detonated claymores, or the impact of anti-tank rounds, unsure who or what was biting the dust.

“That’s the last of the rouges from inside our protection zone!” she heard Kerry shout with joy from her unit. “Evac, you are clear for approach!”

But even through the good news, all she knew was Sebastian never responded, and with Evac arriving soon, she knew she was on the clock for real. She subconsciously took a quick look back at her watch, scrolling to the team vitals screen, seeing his signs were still nominal. I take it he’s held up and can’t talk. Here goes nothing. She gathered her wills before taking a dash with as light of a tread as she possibly could make, carrying her awkward gait up to the stairwell to find it was pitch black. She pushed off the wall to bring her to a hushed halt, quickly reaching for her sling pocket to pull out a flashlight but soon realized that was a bad idea. Great, slow walk up the dark, wet, nasty stairwell to hell. Afraid to waste time as if it were a countdown to Sebastian’s doom, she without hesitation began to quietly feel her way up the steps, slowly, quietly, testing each footing area with her toes, all the while keeping her left hand on the wall for balance. Damn it! This is going to take all fucking day.

“Ground team this is Director Norris inbound, please be advised.”

The director!? she thought as she continued her slow, steady pace.

“You have eighteen additional bogeys headed your way from the south west, same equipment. Cloaks confirmed on the move and in their mix. I will attempt to cut them off; proceed with maximum caution.”

She’s piloting!? Is that what the two A-P’s we doing when… wait! Who is in the other one?!

.

.

Isaiah had been praying it never came to this. He had hoped the large force sent wouldn’t have been overwhelmed, asking over and over to receive more apt pilots and operators, but saw that once again he had been sold short. He kept a steady pace down the wide open eight-lane street, having prior military personnel clear the way minutes ago, side by side with his wingmen. He watched the large group of Kappa frames speed on ahead, hoping they could reach the exposed backside of the awaiting pickup crew soon enough to cause enough commotion to let them slip in undetected. “Revenant, Requiem, we won’t make it before they start boarding. Forget trying to pull off any miracle saves, just target anyone on post and let the others in front take their shots on the carriers.”

“We got it, Reap,” Revenant responded calmly, keeping eyes on the road as well as their map, showing where to veer off.

“Activate cloaking,” Isaiah continued with the flick and the press of a hat switch on his controls.

-BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-

Rang the approaching IR sensor tracking alarm, startling all three.

They got behind us? Isaiah thought in a mix of bewilderment and concern, knowing their only real weakness to their cloaked design was being targeted under boost. That much exhaust would paint any decent IR targeting a highly detailed picture, triggering the dilemma he had to handle. Would he slow them down, hide, and wait to engage after they pass? Or turn off cloaking, match speed, and engage head on? But with the distance between themselves and the tracking source being too far to be a real threat, he knew had a moment bought. Who did they send? Let me guess…

Three rounds cracked and shattered asphalt just next to Requiem to Isaiah’s left before one round struck the unit’s back shoulder, all happening too fast to have been prepared for.

From this distance?! He thought as he knew their range was still beyond a kilometer out. That’s… no… they sent her for me. The bastards really went for broke. Very well, then, he continued with a nasal chuckle. “You two, move on. I will stop Norris.”

(Ten minutes prior)

.

Crowds had by this point in the morning had already started to bulge into the streets, almost pushing over barriers put up by the military brought in by the junta. They were all seeming eager to get a closer look at the now publicly speaking Rakib Hossain, who had just taken his position as the chairman of the new party in command. Isaiah, still serving as one of the dozens still surrounding the Parliament as both security as well as an act of boasting its victory over Infinity, remained disinterested, helmet off and stowed away. He had been uneasy, spending the down time going over possible scenarios that were likely to pan out once Hexa made their move to attempt their rescue mission. This came at the tail of angering Rex, knowing the next step he took couldn’t take him too far off the path he was hired to take, never one to forget he would be responsible not only for his own consequences but for his three partners as well.

On one hand I could say Marian was right. Losses aren’t going to be worth it in the end. We go home this afternoon, regardless of the turnout as Hossain is already locked in. But on the other hand, I still need to hear that one most important response from Sharif about how he will sign off with Rex. Can’t just fly the coop and burn that bridge we managed to build so quickly.

Requiem interrupted his thoughts over the private channel: “Um, you do realize we have company approaching. Didn’t you catch that alarm?”

Great… He reached for his helmet and strapped it back in, lowering his visor so that he could see the map and notification. “That’s…” he said before letting out a troubled sigh.

“Only two LTACs, I know, but what do you think we do about it?” Requiem continued, not seeming the least bit concerned with their situation. “I guess we let the other boys handle it?”

“That throws a wrench in the whole deal,” Isaiah responded with a frown. “It’s almost insulting.”

“I don’t follow.”

“We can’t rule out Norris being in that mix. She was the last one to take down our men, shooting them in the back like the coward she is. It’s not out of the question that she might do the same over there at Tejgaon.”

“So, we intercept?”

Isaiah refrained from speaking up about the incessant chattiness of his, perhaps for the hundredth time. Swallowing his irritation, he shook it off slowly with a switching of his channel. “Mr. Hossain, I have a request.”

“Yes, Mr. Reaper,” Sharif’s voice came back over the line. “I take it you have news of our new guests.”

“That’s what I was getting to-”

“-Proceed to Tejgaon Airfield and see to it there is no rescue operation,” Sharif cut off in a cold tone. “We have more innocent young boys of ours killed by these Hexa bastards. They weren’t even involved with anything. School boys with dreams. Make their actions paid back in tenfold.”

Isaiah felt the deep resentment for the invaders in his voice and a sincerity that stung even his nerves. “I understand your anger. I do have to ask if you understand what my team has been tasked to do, and that I may not move under your authority without consent from my own superiors.”

“I knew you would make requests based on that concern, Mr. Reaper,” he calmly replied, leaving a moment of pause before the next voice came over the channel.

“Reaper,” Rex’s signature digitally masked voice came to his surprise. “I have just finished adjusting the deal with Mr. Hossain here. The losses must be justified with theirs. Move in on the rescue operation, intercept, and eliminate the leading team members. Those are your new orders.”

Well that answers that. I can’t help but be incredibly suspicious with such a shift in direction. “On it.” He then switched to the team’s private channel once more. “Revenant. Requiem. We move now.”

“I just saw the main street getting cleared, taking the hint that’s what was coming,” Requiem replied. “And I kept an eye on the incoming pair. Can’t tell which way they are headed being that far from landing, but seems like a bee-line for Tejgaon.”

Of course. That would only fit the bill, knowing Norris.

They didn’t send her for the rescue op, they sent her for me. She has a death wish taking on all three of us, Isaiah thought to himself as he spun back the other way, holding a shield up that matched the model the other Kappa frames were all equipped with over at the air field interception op. “You two, keep moving! I will take her on myself!”

“You’re the boss!” Revenant responded as they picked up the pace, rapidly distancing themselves from Isaiah.