Fang: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 3)

by Mitchell T. Jacobs

  Sound advice, Zach thought.

  The next two days were hectic. All of the commanders spent most of their time assembling their troops and gathering the necessary supplies for the attack. Everyone's kit needed to be in working order, and inspecting four hundred of them was a tall task. Most of the troops were veterans and didn't really need that kind of prodding, but they still needed to be sure. One fatal mistake could cost them dearly.

  Supplies and gear weren't the only things that needed to be prepared. All of the vehicles, whether they were Mules, APCs, assault guns or choppers needed to have their callsigns designated to avoid any confusion in the heat of battle. Sacred Sword's Bulls would operate under the callsign 'Caliburn'. Raven Flight would retain their normal 'Raven' callsign, and Nora would receive the new unit designation 'Hoplite'.

  Zach sure hoped that they were ready. Tomorrow could be a great triumph or an absolute disaster. Until the time came, though, there was no use worrying about it. Everyone needed some way to unwind so they were calm and collected.

  Their method of choice for unwinding was basketball once again. The weather was getting colder, but it still was mild enough to play outdoors. Besides, the cool air would do them some good when they started to sweat.

  The ball came flying right at him. A year ago he would have fumbled the catch, but by now he had much better hands. Zach plucked the ball out of the air and got off a jumper. It wasn't his best shot, but it went in for a basket.

  “Couldn't throw it a little slower, could you?” he asked Selene as they ran back down the court.

  “Sure, if you wanted to have Xavier cut you off,” she replied.

  “Hey, we're up by five points. I don't think we can really complain,” Javy said.

  “Not for long,” Danny called back at them.

  “We'll see about that,” Selene said. She stepped forward to cover him.

  Zach took up a position to cover Gavin, Javy took on Xavier and Miko matched up against Nora. The middle was going to be the problem. Xavier was the tallest out of them all, and he knew how to use his height to its full advantage. Javy was good, but giving up several inches to his opponent made his job difficult. A well placed pass could reach Xavier with little fear of it being intercepted.

  They would have to cut the passes off at the source. Selene did just that. Danny tried to lob the ball over her head, but she timed her jump perfectly and knocked it down. There was a mad scramble for the ball. Zach and Nora reached it at the same time and made a grab for it. Both of them started to wrestle for control, but then the ball squirted away. Quick as lightning, Javy managed to scoop it up and charge down the court. He hit an easy layup.

  “Up by seven!” he shouted gleefully. “Great work team!”

  “Yeah, yeah, keep talking,” Xavier said, walking back to get the ball in a nonchalant fashion. He suddenly snatched it and charged down the court, dodging through the defenders as he did so. He finished off his run with a hard dunk.

  “Nice defense,” Danny said.

  “OK, could we not taunt them until we're winning? Or at least tied? Because we're getting owned right now,” Nora said.

  “Aw, where's the fun in that?” Danny asked.

  Miko grabbed the ball and headed down the court, shadowed by Nora. Zach took up a position on the outside of the arc and headed to the left, trying to get open. Selene headed toward the basket, and Javy moved over toward the right.

  The pass came right for him. Zach leaped up and tried to catch it...

  But Gavin tapped it with his fingertips. It careened into the paint, and once again there was a scramble for the ball. Danny got there first and gained control, then threw a laser to Nora who was sprinting back down the court. Miko wasn't even close to her, and Nora easily made a layup at the other end.

  “Coming back,” Gavin said with some satisfaction.

  “Full team effort,” Danny added.

  “We're not giving up the lead,” Selene insisted.

  “Ohho, someone's not happy,” Danny ribbed her.

  “Says the person that's still losing.”

  “For now.”

  “And later,” she retorted.

  “We'll have to see about that now, won't we.”

  Selene responded by turning around and snatching a pass from Miko out of the air. She drove toward the basket and made an ankle breaking move that sent Danny stumbling by. Yet another layup sank into the basket.

  “Oh, I'm sorry, what were you saying?” Selene asked.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Danny replied. He grabbed the ball and tossed it over to Gavin.

  Zach went with him step for step, but try as he might he couldn't dislodge the ball. Gavin tossed a pass over to Nora. She grabbed it and quickly flipped it over to Danny, just managing to get it past Selene's outstretched arms. Danny threw a hard high pass toward Xavier under the hoop. Xavier went up for the ball...

  And Javy knocked him aside with a hard body check, trying to reach for the ball as well. It went out of bounds.

  “That's definitely a foul,” Danny said.

  “Eh, can't really argue that,” Selene agreed.

  “Sorry about that,” Javy said.

  “No problem,” Xavier responded to him amicably. “But you're getting the ball.”

  “I thought so,” Javy said. He jogged off and grabbed it.

  Xavier stood at the foul line and promptly sank both shots.

  “Getting close,” Danny said.

  “Still winning,” Selene replied.

  “Yeah, but we're hanging around, at least,” Nora said.

  “What's the score?” Gavin asked.

  “I think that it's 42-39, if I'm keeping track of it right,” Miko said. “Correct me if I'm wrong.”

  “No, that sounds right,” Nora replied. “Still going with fifty?”

  “Yeah, still fifty,” Selene confirmed.

  “Alright. Let's come back and win this, team,” Danny said.

  Selene fixed him with a hard smile, the one that she always used when she felt extremely competitive.

  “Duck and cover,” Zach warned.

  “Not another point,” Selene said.

  “Uh, that's a pretty tall order,” Javy commented.

  Danny apparently loved the bravado. “Ohhoho, throwing down the gauntlet like that, are you? Fine, we'll ruin that thought right here and now.”

  “You can certainly try,” she responded.

  Selene took control of the ball and headed down the court. This time Zach headed toward the paint area. He wasn't the tallest, but then again neither was Gavin. If he could just get under the basket he would have a good chance to go for another layup. If they could get up by two scores again they probably had the game in hand.

  Selene didn't pass it to him. Instead, she threw it to Javy on the outer edge of the three point line. He nimbly dodged around Xavier and got off a clean shot.

  Swish.

  Javy leaped up and pumped his fist. “Three points and nothing but net!”

  “Shouldn't you guys be doing better?” Miko asked. “I mean, you have three basketball players on your team.”

  “And my dead weight,” Gavin added.

  “Hey, we have two dead weights on this team,” Miko shrugged.

  “Speak for yourself,” Zach said. “I've made shots.”

  “You've missed even more,” Danny commented.

  “And yet we're still winning.”

  Danny gritted his teeth. “Alright, that ends now. We're coming back!”

  He grabbed ahold of the ball and relayed it to Gavin. Zach had to admit they had a good plan as he watched it unfold. They made quick passes, trying to keep their team off balance. Meanwhile, they would exploit any opportunity that presented itself.

  Nora suddenly made a break for the basket, and Zach was the closest one to her. He stepped in front and put his hands up in an attempt to block.

  She stopped and made a stutter step, trying to throw off his balance. Zach kept his footing and stayed with her. Nor
a spun again and made a quick shot toward the basket. Zach managed to get his fingertips on the ball, though it did little to change its trajectory. It rattled around the rim for a second before it dropped in.

  “Hah. What was that?” Danny asked.

  “Still winning.”

  “Still the most tired excuse ever,” Danny replied.

  Zach smiled to himself as he ran back down the court. Ever since they had been kids the banter between those two had always been amusing to listen to.

  Javy had the ball now. He passed it over to Miko, who took a shot from inside the three point arc. It bounced wild, and Xavier grabbed the rebound. Zach tried to cut him off, but he was just too fast. He sprinted down the court, then flipped a pass to Gavin when Selene tried to block his path. Gavin made a good jumper in the paint.

  Zach took the rebound and started up the court. He was scanning the others, looking for an opening when Nora came barreling in. She took the ball away from him and threw up a jumper. It fell through.

  “Coming back, and only down by a point,” Danny said. “It's going to be close.”

  Zach grabbed the ball again. This time he was much more conscious of his surroundings. He wasn't going to be surprised again, if only for the fact that Selene would probably skin him alive if he gave up the game so easily.

  Javy was streaking down the sideline. Zach hit him in stride with a gorgeous pass that impressed even himself. Javy stopped on a dime just outside of the three point line and threw up a shot.

  “Next shot from us wins,” Selene said as she watched it go in.

  “We're not dead yet,” Xavier said. He lobbed a pass over to Nora.

  Miko tried to cover her, but Nora was simply too fast. She dodged by her and headed for the basket. At the last second Javy tried to cut her off, but that just created another opening. She flipped the ball back to Danny, who nabbed it out of the air and immediately made a shot. It wasn't pretty, but it went in.

  “Just one more basket,” Selene said. “That's all we need. Just one more.”

  Miko gathered up the ball and dribbled it down the court. Zach tried this best to get open, but by now he was starting to tire from the constant running. Gavin looked like he was tiring too, but he was able to keep pace.

  Xavier had tight coverage on Javy. That left Selene against Danny, with Nora playing off of Miko a short distance.

  Selene made a quick move and left Danny in the dust. Nora tried to cover for him, but she was too far away. Even with her quickness there was no way to cover the gap. Miko's pass hit Selene right on the hands. She shot...

  And her shot bounced off the rim.

  “Choke!” Danny exclaimed, but the ball was still bouncing free, and Zach was already heading straight for it. He got there before anyone else and grabbed ahold of it. He threw up a wild shot.

  It went in anyhow.

  “Fifty!” Zach shouted in triumph.

  “Nice awareness,” Javy said as he ran over and gave him a high five.

  “Well, at least it wasn't her,” Danny said.

  “Loser,” Selene replied.

  “Choker.”

  Zach laughed. “OK, let's not kill each other before tomorrow.”

  “Everyone still up for grabbing something at one of the diners?” Xavier asked.

  “Oh yeah,” Danny said.

  “This took a lot out of me, so I'd like to as well,” Miko said.

  Everyone else was in agreement.

  Zach walked over and grabbed his backpack. “Then let's head there, shall we?”

  The group walked off the court and into the calm of the night. It certainly wouldn't be a calm night in the virtual world tomorrow.

  CHAPTER 22

  Death's Herald

  Nightfall. The attack force was as ready as they would ever be. The attack on the Meridian District had occurred earlier in the day and had gone off without a hitch. As expected Dragon and Rogue took heavy casualties during the battle, but they had captured the district after more than three hours of fierce fighting. Phase one of the plan was complete.

  Now it was up to Ghost Battalion and Sacred Sword to fulfill their end of the bargain, and that was not going to be an easy task. Judging from the size of the district the garrison was far larger than the attacking force, and they had no idea how well they were armed. There would be no artillery support, since Bravehart had used most of their stocks in the earlier battle. Air support would be limited to certain areas due to the placement of antiaircraft guns, and the airfield was going to be a nightmare to take. There was too much open ground, which would leave the attackers vulnerable to all manner of enemy fire.

  Still, they had what they needed to win. Their troops were well armed, experienced and confident. They had been put in tight situations before and had had out on top, and they knew they could do it again. And they also had a new card to play.

  “We're moving up,” Anna's voice said through the suit's speakers.

  “Good luck,” Nora replied. Her suit was just small enough to fit inside the subway entrances.

  She could have gone in guns blazing, but that wasn't her style. The task force was outnumbered, and if a head-on attack didn't work they wouldn't have anything to fall back on. Besides, subtlety was their speciality.

  The subway came out at the northeast end of the Decatur district. Redd Foxx would secure the area and then begin to move south, using their infiltration skills to quietly take the enemy positions in the dead of the night. Meanwhile, Barghest and Black Wolf would head north toward the gate. Once that was taken they would link up with Sacred Sword and spread out to the west and southwest. Their goal was to converge on the airfield in three different directions, hopefully catching whatever was lurking their in a pincer move.

  Simple enough on paper, Nora thought, but what would happen when they had to put the plan into action? If any part of the plan was held up they could be in serious trouble. Spectre Company was acting as a rapid deployment reserve, riding on Raven Flight's choppers, but beyond them their reserves were limited. If they ran into another unexpected problem like they had in the Central City district they could be in serious trouble.

  But then again, that was where much of the excitement came from. The game would be no fun if the outcome was predetermined, and the struggle was going to be what got their blood pumping. And everyone knew that they were tough enough to weather the storm.

  Nora decided to make a last minute check with everyone before they began the assault. She opened up the list of contacts on the visual display.

  “Barghest, this is Hoplite. Everyone ready?”

  “Black Lead,” Karen responded.

  “Red Lead.”

  “Yellow Lead,” Allen said, using his new callsign.

  “Lone Wolf.”

  Nora smiled. “Ready to spearhead this thing?”

  “Ready and willing,” Karen replied.

  Liz's voice came over the speakers. “All units, the area around the station is clear, and we haven't been detected. We're headed south to our objectives.”

  “Copy that. Good luck,” Nora replied.

  “Thanks.”

  “OK, we're ready then,” Zach's voice said. “Black Wolf, let's move out!”

  Yet more waiting to do, Nora thought to herself. Black Wolf would lead the northern attack force out, using their own stealth skills to close in on the enemy without alerting them. Once they reached the gate Barghest would take over and spearhead the assault on the gate.

  Anna and Zach had decided on this course of action with Karen's approval. In many ways Barghest had become a formidable company in their own right, but they still lacked the necessary stealth skills to be truly called rangers. That meant that they wouldn't be in the lead, even though they still had a valuable part to play in the battalion.

  Nora probably wouldn't have helped matters. The armored exoskeleton was many things, but quiet was not one of them. The motors that operated the joints were quiet, but there was no good way to dampen all the noi
se that resulted when something that size and weight moved. It was quieter than an armored vehicle, but it was never going to sneak up on you.

  Then again, that wasn't the point, and silence wasn't the only means of stealth. The exoskeletons could sneak in their own way, using their all-terrain mobility to emerge from places that other heavy support vehicles couldn't traverse. The main point of stealth was to achieve surprise, and the exoskeletons could do that well.

  “Fang,” Zach's voice said over the radio. That was the signal for them to move.

  Red Platoon went first, followed by Blue Platoon. Nora went next, followed by Yellow Platoon. They all emerged into the expanse of the Decatur district.

  Nora's first view of the place through the lenses of her visual display were unremarkable. It looked like any of the other districts, with massive amounts of buildings scattered about. It was a city, after all. Everything was green when filtered through her suit's night vision settings.

  “Let's move,” Karen said, and Barghest complied.

  Nora continually swept her vision from side to side, scanning the area for any signs of life. She had switched her suit over to infrared vision trying to see if there were any enemies lurking inside the buildings. She saw a few shapes here and there, but they were laying prone, their heat signatures slowly fading away. Black Wolf must have killed them in the initial sweep.

  They caught up to Black Wolf in ten minutes. Zach was waiting for them beside an abandoned gas station and signaled them over. Karen, the platoon leaders and Nora headed in his direction.

  Once they met up Nora opened up the back hatch, powered down the suit and stepped out. There was no use wasting energy when all they needed to do was talk.

  “OK, the gate looks the same as most of the others we've encountered,” Zach said. “Should be simple enough.”

  “Nothing is ever simple when we're involved,” Selene said.

  Nora nodded. “I'm going to have to agree with that. They probably have at least one trick up their sleeve.”

  “Then how do you want to handle that one trick?” Zach asked.