Ava's Crucible- The Complete series Box Set

by Mark Goodwin

  He took a bottle of water from the side pocket of his cargo pants and gave it to her. “Okay, but at least keep drinking. You need to be hydrated.”

  She opened it and took a sip. “I will.”

  He kissed her on top of her head. “We’ll leave the safe house at 3:25 AM. Be ready by 3:00 for a final gear check.”

  “Sure thing.” She watched him walk away, then turned her attention back to the front door.

  The final hours before the raid crept by. Ava, entranced by staring at the door, began to nod off.

  “Five minutes till final gear check.” Foley patted her on the back.

  Ava snapped out of her daze. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.” She hurried off to her bunk to collect her gear. She rushed to put on her tactical vest, which would be worn under an oversized windbreaker to hide her supply of extra pistol and rifle magazines. She’d wear a simple baseball cap, with her jeans pulled down over the tops of her combat boots. The entire company would be dressed in civilian attire meant to help them blend in and not give any warning to the enemy of the coming attack. Ava folded the stock of the AK-47 she’d be operating and placed it in her duffle bag. The rifle would stay concealed until the moment the attack on the level-two facility commenced. Once she was ready, Ava hurried to the front of the warehouse for final inspection.

  Foley walked up the line inspecting the gear of each of the eighty men and women who were soon to depart on this treacherous assignment. He paid special attention to the suppressors on each of the rifles, making sure they were attached correctly. Once the battle began, noise wouldn’t matter, but a few silent shots in the initial phase of the attack could give them just enough of an edge to actually be successful.

  After a very short comms check, Foley bowed his head and said a prayer for the safety and success of Austin Company. Afterward, he looked up. “Godspeed everyone. Alpha Platoon, follow me!”

  CHAPTER 25

  Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour.

  Exodus 32:26-27

  Alpha Platoon was broken into five smaller fire teams of five members each. Ava was assigned to Team One with Scott, Carl, Elizabeth, and Foley as the team leader. Scott, Carl, and Elizabeth had all fought in the militia alongside Foley in the battle to liberate Boise. Team One would be responsible for getting to the main administration office where the cyanide-gas release trigger was housed.

  The other four fireteams would be tasked with taking out the perimeter guards and securing the boundaries of the education facility until Alliance forces arrived. Captain Murphy would serve as the only medic for the Platoon.

  Alpha Platoon was shuttled to the ORP, or objective rally point, by members of the resistance in six different vehicles, which left the safe house at staggered intervals. The ORP was a salvage yard located approximately 500 yards from Sanders Residential Education Facility. Ava, Foley, and the rest of Team One rode in an old dusty minivan. Their vehicle was the first to arrive at the ORP.

  Ava exited the vehicle, waited for the others to get out, then shut the sliding door of the minivan as softly as possible.

  One by one, the other vehicles dropped off the members of the remaining four teams at the ORP. Foley checked his watch. "3:55. Let’s move out.”

  Ava said a silent prayer and followed Foley. They approached the glorified prison from the rear. Once they’d crossed the field between the junkyard and Sanders, Team Three split off and followed the fence toward the left of the administration building while Team Two tackled right. Unlike most detention centers, Sanders had only one row of fencing since it was a level-two facility. Three holes were cut in the fence by the platoon for multiple avenues of retreat in case they had to abort the mission. Teams Two and Three entered via the holes on the right and left. Teams One, Four, and Five entered through the center hole in the fence. Once inside the fence line, Foley pointed up at three surveillance cameras mounted along the edge of the roof. The building was a three-story facility, so the only way to neutralize the cameras was to shoot them. Foley took the camera on the right, Ava took the center one, and Carl shot out the last one.

  “They’ll know we’re here,” Foley whispered.

  Ava heard the bolts of the suppressed AK-47s snapping from both sides of the buildings. The relative silence was soon broken by echoing gunfire.

  “We’ve got heavy contact on the south side of the building!” cried a voice over Ava’s radio earphone.

  “Roger that, Team Three. I’m sending Four to back you up.” Foley nodded at Octavio, the leader of Team Four.

  Octavio led his troops quickly around the corner to assist those under heavy fire.

  “Two, what’s your status?” Foley asked over the radio.

  “Hostiles down. Ready to proceed to the front, but we’ve got this service door over here that I don’t want to turn my back on.”

  “Hang, on,” Foley replied. “We’ll cover the door.” He released the mic button and addressed the team leader of Five. “You guys stay here until we know where you’re needed.”

  “Roger.” The man nodded.

  Foley waved his hand for Ava and the rest of Team One to follow him. Ava hustled along the wall on the north side of the administration building. From her position, she could see the large detention center just across the parking lot from the administration building. She thought about the families housed in the giant jail—the men, women, and children whose lives depended on her being able to finish what she’d started.

  Foley called over the radio again, “What’s the status on the southside?”

  “Hostiles clear.”

  Just then, the service door swung open with a loud kick and objects flying out. Ava instantly recognized them as flashbangs and closed her eyes.

  BANG!

  She dropped to one knee and opened her eyes. She could see, but the loud ring in her ears would keep her from being able to hear Foley’s instructions for several seconds. The door opened in the opposite direction of Ava’s position but in precisely the direction of Team Two. Gunfire rang out. Three soldiers from Team Two went down. The surviving members took cover around the next corner.

  Ava grabbed the edge of the door with her left hand, and using the solid steel barrier as a shield, swung her rifle around with her right hand and began firing at the enemy troops inside the building. Foley ran around Ava and started shooting. Soon, the remaining troops from Team Two joined in the counter assault.

  Ava saw Foley’s mouth moving but was still temporarily deafened from the flashbang. She guessed he was calling for Team Five to come to the side door. Foley signaled to Ava to stack up behind him. She complied, and soon, Carl, Elizabeth, Scott and the soldiers from Team Two stacked up behind her. Foley held his hand up in the air, then suddenly dropped it and the group filed in through the door. Immediately, they began taking fire from the soldiers inside, who were shooting from inside the doorways of the offices along the hallway.

  Foley stormed forward to the first doorway, shooting into the room as he arrived. Ava rushed behind him eliminating targets along the way. The entire team hustled to the first office, where Scott and Elizabeth held the entrance.

  The first phase of the mission had been accomplished; they were inside the administration building.

  Once inside the room, Ava looked Foley over. “You’re hit!”

  Blood was oozing from his forearm and shoulder. “Can’t bake a cake without breaking some eggs.” He winced in pain.

  She huffed and quickly shed off the oversized windbreaker, which was covering her tactical vest. Ava reached for the medical kit attached to the right side of the vest.

  Foley shook his head. “Not now. We’ve gotta get to th
e main office on the top level before the administrator gasses the hostages. We have to clear this floor, then try to get to the third story without taking on every hostile on the second floor.”

  The sound of gunfire erupted in the hallway as Team Five arrived to engage the remaining enemy fighters on the ground floor.

  “Guys, Carl doesn’t look good,” Elizabeth’s voice sounded distressed.

  Ava looked at Carl who was slumped against the wall with his arm over his abdomen. No blood was visible through his tactical vest, but a dark red stain was appearing at the top of his pants. “Sit down. Let me take a look.”

  Carl shook his head. “Leave me here. Clear the building and then come back for me.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” Ava helped him slide down the wall to a seated position. She tugged his hand away from his stomach and unzipped his vest.

  Foley looked on with sorrowful eyes. He pressed the button on his mic. “Five, what’s your status?”

  A man called out over the mic, “We thinned them out, but they’re holed up in the offices down the hall. Is that your team in the first office on the left?”

  “Roger,” Foley replied. “We’ve got one man who’s hit pretty bad. Doc, if you can hear me, we could use your help.”

  Captain Murphy called back. “I’m patching up a man from Team Three, then I’ll be on around.”

  Ava pushed her mic button. “Hurry, he’s not looking good.”

  Foley said over the radio, “Three and Four, I need you guys to split up and hold the perimeter. Three, take the southwest corner and focus on not letting anyone in or out of the front door. Octavio, have your guys cover the northeast corner and lockdown that service entrance. No one in or out.”

  “Roger,” replied Octavio.

  “We’re holding the front,” Team Three’s leader said.

  Foley pressed the mic key once more. “Five, try to take the office across from us. These walls are thin. We’ll start shooting into the room next to us while Scott and Elizabeth cover the hallway for you guys to make entry.”

  The man’s voice came back over the radio. “Just say when.”

  “Now!” Foley pointed to Ava who emptied a magazine into the wall, which stood between her team and the room next door.

  Shots rang out all around her for several seconds, then a moment of odd silence came.

  “Reload!” Foley shouted.

  Ava tossed the spent magazine from her rifle on the floor and popped in a fresh one.

  “Five, are you guys in?”

  A different voice replied, “We’re in, but our team leader is down. We lost another man, also. He took one in the face.”

  Captain Murphy rushed into the room and placed his rifle on the floor next to Carl, who had become unconscious. He quickly laid him out and cut away his shirt.

  Ava looked at Murphy. His face told her all she needed to know. “Captain, if he’s not going to make it, can you look at Foley?”

  “You’re hit?” Murphy asked.

  “No big deal.” Foley seemed more focused on the battle than his injury.

  “At least let me put a compression bandage on your arm. It will take all but five seconds.”

  Foley glared at Ava. “Five seconds.”

  Murphy cut away Foley’s sleeve and quickly bandaged both of his wounds. “Looks like they went through.”

  With his free hand, Foley pressed his mic button. “Five, we’re going to advance to the room next to you. Lay down some cover fire into that room until we begin crossing. On my signal.”

  “Roger.”

  “Thanks.” Foley reluctantly said to Captain Murphy. He looked at the rest of the team. “Ready?”

  Ava and the others stacked up behind him.

  “Hit ‘em!” Foley called out to Team Five.

  Gunfire rang out from across the hall.

  “Go!” Foley ran across the hall, shooting as he went.

  Ava did the same, targeting the door at the far end of the hall where she saw a muzzle flash. She watched a shooter fall face first into the doorway as she cleared the short distance to the next room. More shots came on her heels, but she couldn’t worry about them. Inside the room riddled with bullet holes from Team Five’s assault were three dead hostiles and two more who were taking cover behind a desk. Straightaway, Ava dropped to her knee to reduce her profile and shot directly into the desk. Foley and Scott flanked the desk and cut down the remaining two fighters in the room. Elizabeth took a knee and held the doorway behind them.

  Ava scanned the room. One of the remaining soldiers from Team Two was on the ground beside her foot, a growing puddle of blood covered the floor near his head. She looked around for the other man from Two. He was nowhere to be found.

  “Another casualty in the hallway,” Elizabeth said. “Multiple hits. I think he’s already gone.”

  Foley’s face was grim. He spoke over the radio. “Doc, we’ve got a guy down in the hall. You better hold off on helping him until we clear this floor. Otherwise, they’ll just cut you down.”

  “No can do. I’ll grab him and pull him into this office when you guys make your next move.”

  “Roger,” Foley replied. “Team Five, are you ready to go?”

  “Only three of us left, but I guess so.”

  “Same drill; run diagonally across the hall and take the next room. Go!”

  Ava heard Team Five’s boots stomping outside the door. Rifle fire echoed down the hallway.

  “We’re in,” said the man’s voice over the radio.

  Then, an explosion of machine gun fire barreled throughout the building.

  Foley pressed the mic key. “Five, what’s your status?”

  No one replied.

  He repeated the request. “Five, anyone from your team, please respond.”

  Captain Murphy’s voice was the next on the radio. “I think they adapted your tactic of shooting through the walls. I was getting stray bullets piercing the drywall all the way down here at the first office.”

  Foley quickly interrupted. “Then we have to assume the troops from Five are down and the enemy has their radios. Everyone, switch to the alternate secure channel.”

  Ava quickly adjusted the frequency on her radio.

  “Octavio, I need your team to help us out in here.” Foley made a quick magazine change.

  “Not a good idea,” said the team leader from Three. “We’ve got hostiles coming across the yard from the detention center.”

  Foley huffed. “Then both of you, get inside. Octavio, you guys help us get upstairs. Three, you guys hold that service door from inside.”

  Both teams acknowledged the order.

  “We have to push through to that stairwell or we’ll never stop the administrator from gassing the hostages. It’s basically a suicide mission, but we have to try.” Foley’s gaze went from Elizabeth, to Scott, to Ava, showing his pain when his eyes met those of his wife.

  “We’re coming in the door now, boss,” Octavio said.

  Foley replied, “Follow us.” He quickly glanced at his team. “Go!”

  Foley led the way out the door and opened fire. Ava ran out directly behind him. Unlike her husband, she didn’t spray the hall with bullets. Instead, she seized the opportunity provided by his cover fire to take calculated shots as targets became visible. They rushed toward the stairwell door exchanging bullets with the enemy while they moved.

  Foley reached the door first and slung it open for the rest of his team. “Scott, take the lead. Run past the second floor. It’s primarily housing for the guards. I expect most of them are already down here, but we could get some latecomers, so be careful. Nevertheless, we have to get by them and take the top floor.”

  Scott did not delay. Like Elizabeth and Ava, he had changed magazines while Foley handed out the instructions, then led the way up the stairs.

  Elizabeth followed Scott, and Ava tailed her.

  Octavio and one other man from his team came through the stairwell door.

&nbs
p; “Where’s the rest of your team?” Foley asked.

  Ava turned around to see the woeful look on Octavio’s face.

  Foley offered a look of sympathy. “I’m going to need you to hold back anyone left on the second level.”

  “We’ll do what we can, boss.” Octavio swallowed hard and began climbing the stairs behind Foley.

  Ava looked through the small opening in the door of the second story as she passed on her way up. Four more hostiles were emerging from their rooms. Octavio would have his work cut out for him.

  Once they arrived on the third-floor landing, Foley pointed at Ava and Elizabeth. “You two, hold the stairwell. Don’t let anyone else up here. We’ll locate the main admin office and secure the gas release trigger.”

  “No, Foley! I don’t want to get split up!” Ava protested.

  “I’m going right down the hall. It should be the last door on the left.” His smile was forced, which told her that he did not expect to live long enough to see her again.

  “No!” Her voice became weak and shallow.

  His departing grin persisted. “I need you to do this for me, Ava. I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Godspeed,” Elizabeth said to Foley and Scott.

  Ava felt frozen from grief while her husband marched off to certain doom.

  Elizabeth gently put her arm on Ava’s shoulder. “We’ve got a job to do.”

  Ava broke her gaze from Foley and turned to look down the stairwell. Gunfire broke out below her. Next, she heard the volley of bullets being exchanged between Foley and the guards of the main office. She watched the man below her on the second-floor stairwell landing fall, leaving Octavio by himself to keep fighting.

  “I’m going to help Foley,” Ava yelped.

  Elizabeth frowned. “Okay. I guess if we’re breaking rank anyway, I’ll give Octavio a hand.”

  “Be safe.” Ava readied her rifle and charged down the hall toward the barrage of rifle fire. The exchange ceased just before she walked through the door. No less than ten enemy soldiers lay strewn about the room like mobile homes after a tornado. One SJL guard had fallen out the window, impaling his chest with a large triangular shard of glass, which pointed to the ceiling like a crimson stalagmite. Three yards away from the door was Scott’s body, riddled with bullet holes. At the far end of the room was the administrator's desk. Foley’s body was slumped against the desk between two dead hostiles and covered in blood. The entire scene was such a mess, she couldn’t tell how much of the blood belonged to Foley and what was from the enemy soldiers.