“Yeah, I can see this taking a while,” Tafari agreed.
“Hopefully not too long. You might be needed up this way soon, especially if Ragnarok launches the attack I’ve been talking about.”
“Right. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”
“Will you support us if that happens?”
“We have to defend our territory, of course,” Tafari replied evasively. “But hopefully that won’t come to pass. We have a lot of fighting to do around Davenport.”
“But if it does happen?”
“I don’t think it will.”
“But if it does?” Danny continued to prod. “Can we count on your support?”
“We have a lot of fighting to do in the south.”
“And?”
Tafari hesitate for a moment. “And we have a lot of fighting to do in the south right now. That’s all.”
Danny nodded. “OK then. Good luck around Davenport, and I’ll see you later.”
“Thanks. Same to you guys about Milwaukee.”
Danny watched the line of trucks pull away along the now clear road before turning back to his own transport.
“Bravo Wolf, let’s head out,” he said.
Now the tables had completely turned. Now Hydra was being used as a shield by Ronin, instead of the other way around. Danny could almost laugh at the irony, if it didn’t pose such a danger. Instead, he felt nothing but nerves.
If they had to defend the western end of the flank, they might be doing it alone.
18
THE CAGE
Clear. At least, it appeared so, but Selene wasn’t taking any chances. She hurried across the ruined building, making to stay in cover as much as possible. Even though she was currently behind the front lines, that didn’t mean she was safe.
In fact, danger could be lurking anywhere in the city. Large scale fighting had ground to a halt, but skirmishes still occurred on a daily basis. Even during the moments of quite, potshots could come out of nowhere. An enemy squad could fire off a few burst to harass their lines, or one of the mortar teams could launch a shell or two. They didn’t cause a huge amount of damage, but they kept everyone on their toes.
And then there were the snipers. While the other forms of attack were little more than harassment and annoyances, sniper fire proved deadly. It lacked the random element of machine gun fire or shells, and good snipers made their shots count. They’d kill regular troopers if they weren’t presented with another option, but officers, technicians, heavy weapons crews and other specialists remained their prime targets.
The changes to the leveling system made them deadly, because one shot could erase weeks or even months of progress in a split-second. Keeping up to date clones and paying attention to their specializations certainly helped, but death still stung, and being shot out of nowhere hurt even worse.
This place was crawling with snipers and sharpshooters, completely at home in the maze of ruined buildings and rubble. Many of them were little better than amateurs, frequently missing or accidently giving away their position. One particular fool scored an excellent kill, but didn’t move after their shot. The unit under attack figured out where the attack was coming from and called down 155mm fire.
But even with the glut of wannabes, there were several experts stalking the ruined city as well, and they knew what they were doing. Not only could they approach a unit and pick off a specific target, but they could also tell when their sniper rifle wasn’t going to be enough. Hydra had been hit with accurate artillery fire on several occasions, and Selene suspected that it had been called down by Ragnarok snipers acting as spotters.
The update had deleted the feature that told players who had killed them last, so they had no way of knowing which troops were present. Selene thought she had a pretty good idea of one of them, though. The Wraith, one of the highest ranking officers in Ragnarok and possibly the best sniper in the region, was here. She could feel it in her bones.
With the changes to the system she had no way of knowing, but several officers had fallen victim to shots out of the blue, many behind the front line. She couldn’t think of many who could pull off an infiltration like that, although doubtless Ragnarok had many excellent snipers in an organization that size.
Hydra wasn’t far behind, though. Hydra had plenty of good snipers in their own ranks, especially in Ghost Battalion. Their experience with stealth and fighting in small units behind enemy lines suited that type of work perfectly. They could slip into an area, find their target, score a kill and then change positions before anyone was the wiser.
In fact, Selene would put Miko up against any sniper in the game short of the Wraith, and even then she thought they were relative equals. Both had a kill of their counterpart, and Selene imagined they’d be dueling more in the future.
But unless the Wraith was lurking somewhere in front of her, that future wouldn’t be now. Selene crept into another ruined building, signaling the troops inside that she was friendly. She activated her radio.
“Miko, where are you at?”
“That your marker that just came into the building?”
“Probably,” she replied.
“Then I’m on the third floor. Watch your step on the stairs, and don’t lean on the railing. It’s not secure.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Selene replied. The last way she wanted to lose this body was to fall off a flight of stairs.
Miko was waiting for her at the top, perched in a sniping position inside a relatively intact room. Selene noted her setup. Many shooters would prop themselves up against the window, but that left them exposed and somewhat easy to spot. Miko in contrast, had set up a table near the wall opposite the window and propped her rifle on top in a shooting position. She could still see and shoot out the window, but was harder to spot from the outside. Anyone wanted to get a crack at her could only shoot from certain angles, and that would put them directly in her line of sight.
It was those little touches that separated the rookies from the veterans. In a world where death could come in an instant, every trick, every little advantage they could take could mean the difference between living to fight another day and dying a horrible death.
“How’s it been up here?” Selene asked.
“Quiet,” Miko told her. “Looks like they’re content to let us have this area for now.”
Selene nodded. “Yeah, they really haven’t been all that aggressive with us. They’ve attacked us, but they’re not pressing them very much. I’d have thought they’d want to follow up their last victory with another push to completely force us out of the city.”
“Maybe they have another reason for it,” Miko suggested as she looked down the scope of her sniper rifle. “Didn’t Nora and Zach say something about a distraction?”
“It’s just a theory,” Selene replied, although she had also heard it second hand, since she had been placed in charge of the battalion while that was happening.
“Yeah, but given the current situation doesn’t it have a little bit of merit?” Miko asked. “Unless Ragnarok’s totally switched their way of fighting since the update, are they really the type to sit back and play conservatively? I would have thought we’d have them swarming all over us by now.”
Selene nodded. Aggression and savagery were some of the hallmarks of Ragnarok’s fighting style, and they weren’t the type to back down, even when faced with the prospect of heavily casualties. They were smart enough to try and avoid them, but when push came to shove, they weren’t afraid of dying.
Miko continued. “It’s not just here either. They haven’t made a move anywhere, so what are they planning? I don’t think they’re just going to sit around and let us have our way.”
“OK, supposing that’s true,” Selene said.
“It is true,” Miko answered. “Or are you saying you don’t believe it?”
“I believe it,” she answered. “Problem being, where are they going to strike? Here? West? Green Bay?”
“Smart money would bet on here,” Miko said. “They can’t allow us to get another city, especially one that’s so close to Old Chicago. If we get this we own the routes to the city, and we’ll cut their throats for good.”
“Yeah, but shouldn’t they have hit us sooner if that’s their goal?” Selene asked. “They had the initiative after the counterattack, but they gave us enough time to consolidate our positions and dig in. They’re not moving us any time soon.”
“Maybe that’s the point,” Miko shrugged. “The more of us tied down here, the less there are for other areas.”
Selene nodded. Zach and Nora had said something similar about Danny’s speculations. This whole fight might be nothing more than an elaborate diversion. But even if that were true, that only solved one question. If this was just a distraction, where would their hammer blow fall next?
“Could they be aiming for Green Bay?” Selene asked. “That’s a pretty big threat to their supply lines.”
“It is, but do we have enough troops to actually do anything with it? Ragnarok might think that too.”
“They at least have to consider the threat.”
“But they can make a judgment call based on the available information,” Miko replied. “Think of it this way. Ragnarok knows we have a battalion in the north around the city, but it has to defend the area as well as perform offensive operations. We could reinforce it, but by now they know all our reserves are committed to Milwaukee.”
“Which means they know that Magic isn’t getting any reinforcements, and therefore isn’t a serious threat,” Selene finished. “Which means they can focus on the western end of the line, like Danny believes.”
“It could work for them too,” Miko shrugged. “It’s not like we have any significant reserves left.”
And that would be the biggest problem, if Danny’s hunch was correct. Hydra was stretched to the limit at this point, their forces committed to several theatres they couldn’t abandon. Flinching in any sector meant giving Ragnarok an opportunity to exploit, something that no one wanted. Having been on the defensive for so long, no one in Hydra wanted to give their enemy another opportunity.
“You know,” Miko commented, “we’d have an easier time if we had more troops in the area.”
“Obviously. Where are they coming from, or are you just pulling them out of thin air?”
“Wouldn’t that be great,” Miko said dryly. “I’m thinking of Magic Battalion. If Ragnarok knows they’re not a serious threat, then what are they doing up there? We should move them to a front where they’ll do some good.”
Selene frowned. “Don’t you remember how hard we had to fight to take the city?” she asked. “Not to mention how hard we fought to keep it.”
“Gosh, you’re all so sentimental,” Miko laughed. “Wasn’t the whole thing just a distraction to keep Ragnarok busy while the rest of the alliance took Indianapolis? It’s served its purpose, and it’s a drain on our resources right now. Do you really want to keep it just because we fought a hard battle there? That’s like insisting we keep our first HQ instead of moving into the one at Indianapolis.”
Selene could see the wisdom in her remarks, but still, abandoning the prize they had fought so long and hard for felt like a complete failure. Their desperate fight at the Ghost Line would mean nothing now, and they’d be handing over another city to the enemy. Magic Battalion probably wouldn’t want to give up their home base either.
But the more she considered it, the more Selene realized the merits of the decision. Green Bay served little purpose at the moment. It couldn’t be reinforced or resupplied by land, and supply ships were in constant danger of air attack. Ragnarok didn’t have to commit significant resources to keep it at bay, and the troops could be better used at other points in the line. Moreover, if they could only have one city, Milwaukee was much more valuable than Green Bay.
And yet, she still couldn’t bring herself to think of abandoning the city. Was Miko right? Was she being too sentimental about the whole thing, clinging to memories in the past when it was time to move on to bigger and better things?
“You look unhappy,” Miko said. “Sorry if I touched a nerve.”
“Eh, it’s alright” Selene replied. “Just thinking about what you said.”
Miko stepped away from her gun and stretched. “So, is there any particular reason you came by? Other than to talk?”
“I wanted to get your opinion on something.”
“Something you can’t discuss over the radio?” Miko asked.
“Ragnarok has a way to jam our communications. Who’s to say they don’t have some way to intercept them too? Zach says there’s methods for them as well,” Selene pointed out.
“Eh, point taken. So, what’s your question?”
Selene leaned up against one of the walls. “What do think about sending raiding teams at the enemy?”
“What, you mean like what we’re doing now?” Miko asked. “They’re not having much effect except for giving people something to do.”
“No, beyond that,” Selene replied. “We’re not doing anything right now but skirmishing along the front lines. I’m thinking of trying to get into Ragnarok’s rear areas to cause some chaos.”
“Blowing up ammunition dumps and the like? Can’t we get the artillery to do that?”
“They need accurate coordinates to do that. And given the number of antiaircraft guns they have…”
“Mm, point taken.”
The sound of automatic weapons fire interrupted their conversation for a moment. Selene checked her map, but no one called over the radio, and the gunfire sounded like it was at a distance. Probably just a small-scale skirmish somewhere along the line. Her squads would alert her if it was anything more.
“See, stuff like that’s not going to do much,” Miko pointed out. “We’d need a major offensive to crack their front lines.”
“Which is why I want to get small teams behind enemy lines,” Selene said.
“OK, so let’s suppose we go ahead with this,” Miko replied. “There’s a bunch of problems we’d need to overcome first.”
“Which is why I asked you first.”
Miko had the best stealth and infiltration skills in Black Wolf, and Selene valued her opinion greatly. She could ask Anna, Gray or Liz for help, but they had enough on their minds, trying to keep their company and the battalion together. Miko had a lot more time on her hands.
“So,” Selene continued, “what are you thinking we’ll run into?”
“First, how are we going to get past the front lines? They’re going to be pretty heavily guarded.”
“There’s always a weak point,” Selene said. “And there’s always a way to make the weak point. We could always do a night landing along the docks or use artillery to punch a hole.”
“That’s the problem of getting in,” Miko replied. “How are we getting back out?”
“Same way we always do.”
Miko shook her head. “They know we’re here, and they have a ton of troops in the district. They’ll be prepared for infiltrators, which means we might have a bunch of enemies hot on our tail.”
“Well, there’s always artillery support,” Selene suggested. “We could coordinate with Bravehart for firepower in a pinch.”
“That’s one possibility,” Miko agreed. “But still, that’s pretty chancy. We’re not going to have air support, unless you really want to risk the helos over their territory.”
“Yeah, I don’t,” Selene told her. “Too many ways for them to get shot down.”
“Right, and it’s going to be tough getting behind Ragnarok’s front lines, let alone doing significant damage. Why are you so gung-ho about it?”
“Because it fits our strengths,” Selene explained. “And because we’re not doing a lot of good where we are right now. We’re light infantry, and our best asset is mobility. How are we going to maximize that sitting here on the front lines?”
Miko went back to her rifle and looked down th
e scope. “Then maybe we should switch places with Knight Battalion?”
“Commandos are needed everywhere,” Selene pointed out.
“True enough,” Miko replied, then went silent.
Selene watched as she focused in on something, and a second later, the sound of a single shot reverberated through the room.
“Well, I think we should head downstairs,” Miko commented. “They’ll probably send a return present our way.”
“What did you shoot?”
“Officer. I’m guessing we’ll have an RPG coming in the window within a minute or two.”
Selene nodded. “OK, let’s get out of here.”
“And while I’m finding another spot, we can go over your plans a little more,” Miko said.
19
RACE THE CLOCK
Nora leaned up against the side of the train car, watching the forest roll by. She let out a tired sigh.
“That bad already, huh?” Liz asked.
“I don’t know how we got stuck talking to the military council,” she replied. “Couldn’t Anna do it?”
“Conflict of interest, since she’s on the council,” Liz pointed out. “Of course, having me do it is only fine because of technicalities, but I’ll take it.”
“Don’t want to pawn responsibility on someone else?”
“Who else am I going to send? Gray?”
“Yeah, I think he’d hate you for that,” Nora agreed. “Selene and Danny definitely would for me as well.”
“And since Zach is in charge of the battalion, that leaves you as the only one free to go to Indianapolis with me,” Liz said.
“He could have gone.”
“Who’s going to be in charge of the battalion then? You?” Liz asked.
“We have more company commanders. Neil would be fine,” Nora suggested. “Or Robbie.”
“Robbie’s an air commander,” Liz pointed out. “As for Neil, yeah, I think he’s competent, but I get the feeling some of the others are nervous about putting the least experienced company commander in charge of the battalion.”
Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) Page 20