by Tom Jones
The next anthros he would free would be a brown female cat, a male black wolf, and a male black jaguar. He still noticed that all of the anthros that he freed were all unconscious. He felt for a pulse on a few of them, and he found that they were alive. However, he did not know what drug they were under the effects of. His radio sounded, and it was Bocchino again, “Arcades, we have a moment of downtime. The helicopter force has returned, and they are pushing the NSS back. Some allied Germans have armored cars, and they’re pushing in closer to the city. How’s it going in there? Over.” Arcades held the PTT button as he moved to the free the second half of anthros, “Bocchino, this is Arcades. I am currently in the process of freeing the anthros. Standby for a future sitrep. Out.” Arcades was quite surprised that he was able to regain his composure to speak coherently after what he witnessed. The fox moved to the third row, and he began freeing the next wave of anthros. He freed two male red foxes; he also freed two female wolves, one white and one medium gray. For all of the anthros he sat on the ground, he turned their heads to the right so that they would hopefully not be too uncomfortable in the event they were to wake up. He also did not have time to move them from the pole, so he only moved their ankles out of the cuffs.
Finally moving to the last row, Arcades looked at the tails of the last four that he had to free. He could see one more red fox, and three feline tails. He went to work and he freed the female red fox first before freeing two female mountain lions and one black male leopard. Now with all of the anthros freed, he still was not able to communicate with them as the drugs were still in effect. The fox stood back and he listened to see if he could estimate how far away the firefight was from his current position. He was surprised to find that Bocchino was right, and that the firefight was relatively distant. He looked back at the recently liberated anthros, and he shook his head in disapproval of all of the restraints that were hanging from the ceiling and littered the floor. Arcades held the PTT button, “Bocchino… This is Arcades. I have freed all of the anthros, and we are still inside the train car….” The fox took a long pause. During his pause, the cat spoke, “Boss, are you alright in there? Over.” The fox took off his boonie hat, and he wiped sweat off of his face with it. Bocchino spoke again, “Boss? Are you alright? What’s your status? Please respond. Over.” The fox dropped his hat on the ground, and he held the button again, “Come take a look for yourself in the train. I don’t even know how to describe it. Over.” He heard brief static followed by Jason’s voice, “Boss, what do you mean, mate?” The fox took a short, heavy breath, and he continued, “Just get in here!” His voice sounded noticeably distressed.
Arcades heard footsteps outside of the train car, and he then heard the automatic doors opening. The fox had picked his boonie hat back up, but he clutched it in his gloved hand instead of putting it back on his head. As Jason and Bocchino entered, they stopped immediately due to the sight. They had never seen as many restraints hanging from the ceiling as they did. They also saw sixteen anthros all lying unconscious on the ground. Bocchino was the first to break the silence, “What the fuck?” Jason then had his own comment to add, “Bloody hell…” They looked to Arcades, and he had his eyes closed. The fox slowly brought his boonie hat to his head before placing it back on his head, “I promise you… It was not a pretty sight when I got in here.”
Jason looked at the muzzles and blindfolds on the ground, “Are these blindfolds and muzzles? Were they wearing these?” Arcades nodded slowly, but he did not say anything. Bocchino clenched his teeth before saying, “Those fucking NSS shits! They rounded up the anthros, and they keep them like they’re fucking wild animals!” Arcades was silent. Jason carefully stepped over the unconscious anthros, and he looked at all of them. He asked, “Um… Are they all supposed to be around the same age?” The fox slowly shrugged, but he closed his eyes. Bocchino could not take the sight anymore, so he stepped outside to radio in for support.
When Jason walked next to Arcades, the fox grabbed the wolf’s arm. Jason looked at Arcades, and the fox opened his eyes. The fox said, “You know what this means?” Jason did not have an answer. Arcades continued, “Remember on the news before we even got here? They said thousands of anthros were missing. There are only sixteen here… We’re not even seeing half of it.” Jason’s jaw opened, “What?” He then remembered the broadcast, and he grabbed his mouth in shock. His boss continued, “It’s too late to help the others. These tracks make more than one stop. There is no telling where the others got hauled off to.” Jason was confused, “Why would the NSS do this? I thought the original final solution involved killing all the anthros? Wouldn’t it make more sense to just kill them then are there?” Arcades finally let go of the wolf and he said, “I have a really bad feeling that more is going on than what we currently know of.” Jason turned back around before noticing a peculiar restraint type on the ground. He picked it up, and he turned back around to show Arcades. The wolf asked, “What is this?”
Arcades looked at the object before replying, “Yuil M-05 Thumbcuffs. All four of the foxes wore two of those. One pair on their thumbs, and one pair on their big toes.” Jason dropped the restraints back on the ground, and he remembered what the NSS soldiers said back when he and Arcades were briefly captured. The wolf’s eyes lit up, “Boss! You’re right!” Arcades raised his eyebrows, “What? I’m right about what?” Jason went up to the fox, “When we got captured last night, the NSS soldiers were talking about how foxes were special. They hogtied you because they wanted to make sure that you could not escape. There is something more going on than we know.” Arcades placed his hand on the side of the car to support himself, “Wait… They think foxes are special? What do you mean special?” Jason tried to remember the conversation, “They said that they get paid more for capturing foxes. You guys are special for some reason.” Arcades was still in disbelief, “I dunno, man. It’s really weird, but we need to get to the bottom of this.”
Bocchino walked back inside of the train car, and there were several Bundeswehr troops and Fox Security operatives with him. Some Bundeswehr soldiers began to pick up the anthros, and they started to carry them out of the train car while the Fox Security operatives helped them carry out the unconscious anthros. As the anthros were being removed from the car, Jason asked Arcades another question, “Maybe they were going to be used as labor? That’s why they all look like they’re young adults. Isn’t that what the Nazis did back in World War II?” Arcades thought about the history for a moment, “Well, back in World War II, the Nazis just killed the anthros on the spot. They saw them as being even less than human Ashkenazis. It was even worse if you were both an anthro and an Ashkenazi. That’s basically an instant death sentence. Either way, they tried to kill as many anthros as they possibly could.”
Jason replied, “Then, there is something more going on here. What gear did the NSS have again? I know you know a lot about that stuff.” Arcades remembered all of the NSS soldiers that he had seen, “They wore US Army equipment from the mid 2000s. That stuff is technically all outdated now, but… Gosh, I know for sure I remember reading back in 2019 about a group that bought out all the rest of the UCP equipment. They also bought a bunch of helmets from the US Army. PASGTs and LWH helmets were included, I think. Their weapons were all Austrian made as well. I saw a lot of AUGs and MG 74s. I’m gonna have to go and see if I can’t find out who bought the UCP gear when we get to a computer with Internet access.”
Bocchino came back into the car after all of the freed anthros had been carried out, “Boss, what are you still doing in here? We need to get the anthros that you saved out of here. The chopper is comin’ back to pick us up.” Arcades walked out with the wolf and the cat, and he followed the rest of the Bundeswehr as they exited the train station. As he exited, he saw several Bundeswehr MRAPs and tanks drive by, and this gave him the indication that they were making significant progress at liberating Berlin from the NSS. Arcades could even see a few Bundeswehr soldiers taking down a few NSS flags that we
re deployed on some buildings. The fox looked up, and the sun entered right into his eyes. In response, Arcades closed his eyes shut, and he grabbed the M2 frames that were in his dump pouch. He placed them over his eyes, and the fox opened his eyes to see the Airbus NH-90 descending on their location. Though there was no helipad, the helicopter had plenty of room to land.
As they were waiting for the helicopter to land, Jason asked the fox another question, “Hey, Kurt. That was the only car, right?” The fox nodded, “Yeah… The only other thing that was part of that train was the engine. Why?” Jason added, “Then the situation is even worse than we thought mate, that was probably the last batch of anthros that the NSS planned on sending to wherever they’re going.” Arcades frowned, “They can’t track the trains?” Jason thought about the idea, and he decided to ask Bocchino as the cat had been talking to the Bundeswehr. Jason tapped the cat on the shoulder, “Hey, Bobby. Do you think they can track the trains that left previously?” Bocchino shook his head, “That ain’t happening. I already asked, and the Germans, and they told me that they’re unregistered. The NSS also took down their tracking system on the first day of the siege. They told me they’d never even seen those trains before.” Arcades stepped up, and Jason turned to face him. The fox then considered the fact that the train car had been almost purposely designed to transport restrained anthros. He remained silent, and Jason assumed that he heard what Bocchino had to say.
Almost all of the freed anthros had been now loaded onto the NH-90, and Arcades realized that there would only be room for an additional four personnel. Arcades decided that it would be best that he should ride in the helicopter with the anthros in case they were to wake up. The fox asked the cat, “Bobby, where are these guys going?” Bocchino replied, “The triage station that we set up. We’re going to take them there, and a medic is supposed to check them all over.” The fox then asked, “What about the battle? How is it looking for our allies?” Bocchino informed his boss, “Well, the NSS is apparently on the run. They’re in full retreat it seems, and our allies are currently in the process of securing Berlin. However, it looks as if the NSS is trying to flee out of the country. They’re sending people there to stop them before they escape.” The fox then decided to ask another question, “Who is more in need of support?” Bocchino considered the options before saying, “Boss, I think it would be best if you come with us to the triage station. That’s where Fox Security is setting up their RV point. Our mission is over. We helped the Bundeswehr drive out the NSS, and we were successful.” Arcades completely forgot about the reason that he was in Germany in the first place. The pilot of the helicopter turned around, “We’re about ready to leave now! Are you coming or not?” Bocchino entered the NH-90, and Arcades nodded at Jason before they entered the helicopter. The remaining Fox Security operatives and Bundeswehr members boarded a nearby MRAP to travel back to the triage station.
The helicopter took off, and Arcades sat next to Jason and Bocchino. He looked at the unconscious anthros that he had rescued. He wondered what would have happened to them if he never showed up in the first place, and then Arcades started wondering what happened to the anthros that were taken before he arrived in Germany. He pushed the thought out of his head, and he looked to the only seated passenger who was not an anthro. The human was a Fox Security operative that was carrying an M4A1 SOPMOD Block II fitted with a suppressor and custom crane stock. Arcades then looked at all of the still captive anthros. He did not know how long the tranquilizing drug was supposed to last, but he figured that he would know when they arrived at the triage station. Arcades found it weird that the NSS seemed to have retreated seemingly at the same time the train station was under Bundeswehr control. After all, the original battle projection was set to have Berlin secure over the duration of days and not a few hours. Arcades was now almost certain that something else was going on. He made a mental note to himself that the first thing he would do was search on the internet the name of the group who bought all of the UCP equipment. While he was at it, he would also try and find out who bought Steyr products in bulk.
Arcades now refused to believe that the NSS was the product of a bunch of Neo-Nazis. Sure, they probably had a good chunk of them trying to take over Germany, but after what Jason had said and what he had heard and seen, he was not sure anymore. The fox decided that he should think about caring for the rescued anthros first, and then he would be able to find out the truth behind the NSS. Arcades removed his Bible from his large pants pocket, and he turned to the Book of Joshua. Perhaps he should brush up on some of the history of Ancient Israel. Arcades began to read as the helicopter flew. Some of the standing Bundeswehr troops looked over at what Arcades was looking at.
The fox heard German voices, but he did not understand what they were saying. Instead, he focused on reading. After all, it would be a little while until he would be able to leave Germany and return to the United States after the successful mission that they had. When he thought about missions, he remembered Johnny. Arcades closed his eyes, and he slowly shook his head. He then remembered that he had not yet prayed to God. Arcades kept his eyes closed, and he prayed to God. While he prayed, Jason watched, and the wolf knew what the fox was doing. Bocchino also watched his boss, but he was more familiar with Arcades due to the fact that he had worked with him longer.
When Arcades finished praying, he took a sigh of relief. He had successfully completed the mission, and he rescued sixteen anthros while he was at it. However, the fox really wanted to figure out where the other unfortunate anthros were on their way to. He even had prayed for the anthros when he prayed to God. He still kept Johnny in his prayers even though he had not heard from him since Hong Kong. Despite what Johnny did to the fox, Arcades never held it against him. One thing that Arcades made sure to remember was that God forgives all sin against other people, so that means Arcades should forgive people when they sin against him. What Johnny did was wrong, but Arcades had no hard feelings for him. Arcades realized that he had let his mind wander again, so he focused back on reading the Bible. He would have plenty of time to think about everything else.
Chapter 5
Battle of Abu Kamal
Five humans walked up to their M1114 that was outfitted with custom armor plating complete with a bed welded to the chassis’ frame. The men opened the aftermarket rear door of the M1114, and they checked to make sure all of their weapons and equipment were still inside of the truck. One of the humans spoke in Arabic, “We still have all of our guns in there. Are you all ready to head out and defeat CDI?” One of the other humans spoke, “Yeah. Make sure our two bomber trucks make it there first before we start.” The first man turned around to see two black Toyota Tacomas with custom black armor plating. The trucks featured white arabic words spray painted on them as well as numerous armed VBIEDs in the bed of the truck. The driver was planning on driving the trucks to a CDI outpost before detonating them. The driver of the truck opened the door, “God is great. I’m sure that God will accept me into paradise.”
One of the men walked up to the bomber, and he gave him a hug. “May God accept you, Salim.” Salim responded, “Thanks, Abu Hajaar. Don’t forget our struggle for God, and we need to fight against everybody whether it be Israel, Kurdistan, anthros, or CDI.” Abu Hajaar finally stepped away from the truck, and Salim closed the door. Salim accelerated the truck out of the way, and he stopped next to the armored M1114. The second bomb-rigged Tacoma drove up, but the driver only waved through the window. Abu Hajaar waved back, “Goodbye Achmed! May God accept you!” Achmed grabbed the steering wheel, and he drove past the small improvised mechanized infantry unit. The two Tacomas stopped next to each other, and they soon started driving away. Abu Ridhwan turned around to face the squad after the trucks drove off. He announced, “Okay, we’ll leave in a few minutes to fight CDI. Abu Hajaar, get your machine gun set up, and Abu Abdullah, remember to take the safety cap off of the rockets this time.” Abu Abdullah gave a look of disapproval, but he stepped up
on the custom bed of the M1114.
The crew was packing plenty of supplies in the bed of the truck. There were boxes of food, ammo, gas, and water to last the crew of five up to a month. Abu Hajaar grabbed his Rheinmetall MG3, and he sat the barrel on the thin sheet of metal on the front of the truck’s custom bed. He opened the loading port, and he made sure that he had a belt of plenty of 7.62x51mm rounds that were feeding into the German MG. He then checked to make sure that his MICH-2000 was secure on his head before he stood on the bed of the truck waiting to get going. Abu Abdullah looked at the bag of RPG-7 warheads, and he made sure that they had the safety caps on to make sure they would not detonate inside of the truck. Abu Ridhwan stepped inside of the truck, grabbed a Hungarian Kalashnikov variant, and he seated a 7.62x39mm magazine in the weapon. He flipped the safety lever downwards, and he pulled the charging handle.