But she couldn't worry about that right now. If the radio was up that meant Ragnarok could start rallying the defenses, and she needed to get her platoon together.
“Logan, where the heck are you?” she asked, trying to find his marker on the map.
“I think we're on the other side of the building from where you are,” he said sheepishly. “Must have taken a wrong term somewhere.”
“OK, if I ping my marker can you head toward it with whatever troops you have on hand?”
“Copy that.”
“Remember that we're on the basement level.”
“I will.”
Selene switched her radio channel and tried to raise home base. “Wolf Lead, Wolf Lead, this is Alpha Wolf. Please respond. Wolf Lead, this is Alpha Wolf. Please respond.”
“I hear you Alpha Wolf,” Zach replied. Selene noted that he sounded a bit frazzled.
“We're inside the target building trying to push through the defenses. We should be able to take out the target within the next thirty minutes.”
“Understood, and do what you can. We're not going to be able to provide assistance.”
Selene frowned. “You're under attack, right?”
“Under attack and about to be stomped,” Zach told her. “They forced us out of our outer defenses and are about to storm the tower. Be aware that the offensive has been moved up. They'll attack in thirty minutes, so take the jammer out, if you will.”
“Copy that,” Selene said. An angry, sinking feeling started to rise in the pit of her stomach. If the offensive was starting soon then it would occur while the jammer was still in cool-down mode. Hydra would be able to freely use their cybernetic radios.
They had come all this way for nothing.
Or maybe not, she thought to herself. If they could take the building and hold out until reinforcements arrived to relive them then they could finally learn the capabilities of the mysterious enemy weapon. Hephaestus Company could study the device, possibly learning countermeasures.
“Change of plans everyone,” she said. “We're going to capture the building and the jammer.”
“That's a bold move,” Ethan said. “Do you really think we can pull it off this deep in enemy territory?”
“I do,” Selene told him. Under normal circumstances it would be difficult, but with so many Ragnarok troops tied up in other fights the enemy probably wouldn't be able to muster up much of a counterattack. Alpha Wolf could hold designated choke points leading to the device. The fight didn't have to be pretty, it just had to get the job done.
And if they couldn't then she'd implement a failsafe. Selene would have her platoon wire up the device with explosive charges. If it looked like they were being overwhelmed they could always blow the entire place sky high.
“Ambitious, but we still have to get past the turrets,” Gavin warned.
“I think I have an idea,” Logan cut in. “But it's probably crazy.”
Selene had to crack a smile. “Oh, this I have to hear.”
* * *
“We're not going to be able to hold them off for long,” Liz warned.
Nora ducked back behind cover to reload. “I know, but we can't let them inside without a fight.”
“If we fight too long then we're not going to have enough troops to hold them off when they do get inside.”
Nora grimaced and resumed firing. Liz's words had merit, but letting Ragnarok into the tower presented its own problems. They had to guard both the upper levels and the basement level from attack. The bottom level was arguably more important because of the tunnel and the amount of ammunition stored there. If Ragnarok was able to gain access they could potentially set the entire thing off, demolishing the tower in the process. While that wouldn't be the absolute worst thing in the world, no one wanted to die that way. If they had to go down, they wanted to go down swinging.
“Radio's back up,” Anna's voice chimed in.
Nora ducked back behind cover and opened up another channel. “Zach, are you there?”
“I'm here.”
“Can you cut the power to the lifts? We're going to be forced back soon.”
“On it.”
“And we need to come up with a plan to guard the basements and the upper levels.”
“Dragon Battalion's positioning troops to block off the other end of the tunnel.”
“That's going to take away troops from the main assault.”
“I know. When you fall back have Redd Foxx head for the basement.”
“What about us?” Nora asked, though she could already guess the answer.
“Bravo Wolf will hold them out of the upper levels for as long as possible. Just make sure you can keep them from getting through the tunnel.”
Nora sighed. “Understood, and good luck.”
“I think that all our luck has deserted us now,” Zach replied.
* * *
“This is insane,” Ethan said.
“I told you it was,” Logan pointed out. “But it might be our best shot given what we have on hand.”
Selene thought for a moment. Logan's suggestion had come after he had studied the map on the way to join up with the rest of Alpha Wolf. He had noted that one of the rooms he needed to pass through on the way to the stairwell was located right above the area the rest of the platoon was trying to reach. If they could find some way through, then they could bypass the automated turret that was giving them so much trouble.
And the way to bypass that was explosives. The engineers could wire up several shaped charges and blast their way through the concrete, making a hole big enough for troops to drop through. Once they were inside they could destroy the turret from the rear and free the rest of Alpha Wolf.
There were risks, of course. They didn't know what was in the chamber below, or if it was even their target. If it was then the force of the blast and falling concrete could destroy the machinery inside, spoiling her ideas of capturing the devices.
But even with those risks it was worth it in her mind. Their primary objective was to neutralize the enemy jamming device. If they could capture it intact that was a bonus, but even a damaged piece of equipment could yield valuable information.
“How long is it going to take you?”
“Just a few minutes to get the charges set,” Logan replied.
“And you're sure you can blast you way through?”
“With the amount of explosives we're carrying, yeah.”
Selene paused for a moment. “Go for it.”
“Copy that.”
“What do we do?” Gavin asked.
“Just try to stay alive until the charges go off,” Selene told him.
They needed to hurry, though. Ragnarok would be here in force soon enough.
* * *
Intense gunfire echoed through the stairwell, making it impossible to hear anything else. Shouts, the sounds of movement, grunts of pain and death, all of them were drowned out by the sheer noise of the fight. The only way to communicate was through the radio, but even that was hard to hear at this point.
“Grenades,” Danny ordered. “We have enough up here to last us a while. Don't be afraid to use them.”
If the tactic worked well enough for Ragnarok then it would work for Black Wolf as well. Danny yanked out the pin of one and tossed it over the side of the landing. A series of explosions went off below, and the gunfire stopped for a moment.
“Ryan, how are you holding up at your end?” Danny asked.
“We're holding.”
“Details?”
“We have enough grenades and ammunition, and we haven't taken any casualties yet. We should be able to hold them off for a while.”
“Good. Call for the reserve if you need it.”
Ryan and Javy were the only ones with full squads. Xavier had taken the remainder and formed up a small reserve force that would help to prevent breakthroughs on the two stairwells.
But they were their only backup. If Ragnarok forced a serious breakt
hrough then they were dead meat. With less than a platoon at his disposal there was precious little they could do against an enemy force consisting of hundreds of troops.
He was about to call up to Zach when something smacked into the far wall at the turn of the stairwell. Danny saw something that looked like a sack, just before the world in front of him lit up.
The force of the blast threw him backward, slamming him against the concrete wall at the back of the landing. Danny's vision went black for a second. He came to and struggled to his feet just as a tide of Ragnarok troops came swarming up the stairs.
His assault rifle was gone, lost in the chaos of the explosion, but he still had his pistol. Even while groggy he still had his extensive experience and training to call upon. He drew his handgun and racked the slide with one practiced motion, then started firing into the mass of bodies. One trooper pitched over dead, hit with several bullets. Her body fell backward, causing several of the others behind her to trip.
Danny quickly threw another grenade down the stairs and got on the radio.
“All units, fall back to the third floor! Fall back!”
The package he had seen slam into the wall was a satchel charge, big enough to stun the defenders even if it didn't land close to them. With so many troops nipping at their heels holding the second floor would be impossible. They needed to regroup and form another defensive line.
“Zach, we're falling back right now,” he said as he sprinted up the stairs with the rest of Javy's squad close behind. “I don't know how long we can hold them off.”
“Do what you can. The counteroffensive is launching in five minutes.”
Five minutes. At this rate they might not last that long.
* * *
BAM!
Even at the other end of a hallway Selene could hear and feel the sound of the blast. The hallway reverberated for a moment, then went deathly quiet.
“Wonder if it worked,” Ethan said, breaking the silence.
“We'll wait,” Selene told him. She wondered too, but she didn't want to distract Logan's assault force as they were storming the room. Swinging down into the middle of an enemy-held room would be tough enough without someone in their ear.
“What do we do about the turret?” Gavin asked.
Selene was about to reply when a long burst of gunfire rang out from around the corner.
“We're clear,” Logan's voice crackled over the radio. “The jamming device is down as well. Sorry, looks like we might have damaged it pretty badly.”
Selene clicked her tongue. “That's part of the risk we took. Is the turret dead?”
“Yup, shot it in the back with a full magazine.”
“We're going,” Gavin said.
Selene nodded. “Move your squad to help Logan secure the room. Ethan, cover the stairwell with your squad. We're going to try to hold the area around this room until we're relieved.”
If they were relieved, that was. Selene didn't know when their backup might arrive or whether it even would. Until then they would keep fighting.
But then her wrist alert went off. Selene looked down and opened it up to see a single word displayed in a message: reckoning.
That was the signal they had all been waiting for. The counteroffensive was underway.
* * *
Zach took a moment to zoom out from the immediate area around the tower and take in a view of the entire district. Even with just a holographic display the sheer scope of the fighting was enormous, with hundreds, maybe thousands of troops slugging it out.
But Hydra was playing with a stacked deck and they were winning, there was no doubt about that. Myrmidon Company was slicing through a breach in the eastern end of the Cudahy District, rapidly expanding their gains with backup from the rest of Magic Battalion. To the west Crimson Eagle and Lion were smashing through the Ragnarok defenses to the west of the tower, using a combination of assault guns, infantry and supporting artillery.
Zach felt certain Black Wolf and Redd Foxx had contributed to the success of the counteroffensive. Their desperate defense of the tower had sucked in hundreds of enemy troops, keeping them occupied and unable to influence the fighting in several of the other critical sectors.
But they weren't out of the woods yet. Ragnarok was still pressing the attack, and Black Wolf's reserves were dwindling. Hydra might win the battle, but his company would come out horribly mauled.
“Danny, what's your status?”
“Bad,” came the reply. “We're fighting as hard as we can, but they're not giving up.”
“Just keep fighting.”
There was nothing else to do at this point. Zach couldn't influence the battle standing up her in the command center. He didn't have enough troops to coordinate anything. All they could do was stand and fight until they were killed.
No use waiting at this point. Zach grabbed his carbine and headed toward the stairs, toward the fighting.
Toward the carnage.
EPILOGUE
The battle report was glowing, glorious, but he could only skim through it. Zach barely felt any sense of accomplishment, even though his company had made massive contributions to the victory.
It had taken hours of hard fighting, but the Hydra Alliance had finally gained control of the Cudahy District, their first capture in Milwaukee. One step on the long road toward total victory in the city, but a significant one nonetheless. An enthusiastic energy filled the air as the alliance members celebrated their accomplishments. After months of hard fighting they had finally triumphed over the toughest foe.
But inside the tower there was only a sense of foreboding gloom. Black Wolf had suffered horrendously during the battle, losing over three quarters of their troops in the fighting. Their fortifications were in ruins, their power supplies and infrastructure completely destroyed. When Ragnarok had finally decided they couldn't take the tower they blew up everything they could get their hands on. The lift was little more than twisted metal, the generators scrap, the phone lines torn up coils of wire.
“Well, that sucked,” Danny finally said.
Selene nodded. “Yeah, I'd say so.”
Alpha Wolf had come out better, though they had suffered losses as well. Selene had managed to hold out until Thorn Company troops had reached their positions, yielding a damaged yet still useful jamming device. Hephaestus Company engineers would be here to look it over soon enough.
It was another victory in the middle of a string of them, so why did it feel so empty? Zach mused over that as he tapped his fingers on the edge of the now defunct map table.
“Sitting here and taking the enemy's blows definitely isn't our strong suit,” Nora said. “I'm hoping that it doesn't become a habit.”
Danny nodded. “Just like Green Bay. Bailed out again at the last minute by the rest of the alliance.”
Zach scowled and slapped the edge of the map table. “You know what, I'm getting sick of sitting around and letting Ragnarok have their way.”
The other three looked at him.
“Does that mean what I think it does?” Selene asked.
Zach nodded. “Yes. Next time we fight, we're punching them in the mouth.”
Carnage City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 6) Page 25