Galaxy At War: World At Ransom, Chapter 9

Warehouse, Nanterre, Paris

29 June, 1999, 0134 hours

  
The INDF team moved out of the safety of the room and took cover behind the pillars along the cold, dark corridor. Their immediate enemies, the PSAF force, had retreated to the stairway and was camping there.

 Looking at the distance between them and the PSAF force, Eusebio calculated that it was about 150 meters. A good thing since his P90 had an effective range of 200 meters. Unslinging his P-90, Eusebio took a deep breath before...

  Eusebio leaped from his cover, firing his P-90 at ten unfortunate unknowing PSAF men standing on the stairway. He quickly executed a roll to the opposite pillar to avoid being spotted.

  Lewey heard the gunshots and turned in time to see ten of his men being mowed down by gunfire. Shouting for his men to take cover, he ordered three snipers armed with Remington M24 sniper rifles to snipe any agent who poked their head out from the cover of the pillars.

 An INDF agent's head burst into red as a bullet passed through it. One of the snipers had made his first kill of the day.

  
"Don't let any part of your vitals leave cover! Sniper alert!" Eusebio radioed to all of the surviving agents. He really hated snipers. After being trained as a sniper for nearly two years in the Portugese military, he realized that snipers who were out of gun range were nearly impossible to kill. The only option to deal with those snipers was to activate smoke grenades and run out of the sniper's range. Only multiple targets could kill one sniper that was at this close range and it was almost certain that one person would die. Eusebio racked his brains for options. He did not want anybody in his team to die. After many years of taking on missions together, they had almost considered any other INDF agent as a brother or sister.

  Eusebio launched a grenade from the NOS EX 41 grenade launcher that he stored in his backpack. The grenade landed about five meters from the snipers and detonated. Using his trusty mirror, Eusebio tried to make out the snipers through that smoke. When the smoke cleared, his heart sank. The snipers were still alive. They had taken cover behind the sandbag wall that the PSAF had erected for protection.

 Just then, Eusebio had a brilliant idea. Smoke grenades! He took one from his grenade pouch and gave instructions for the agents to fire at will when the smoke grenade was activated.

  "Pop!" The smoke grenade exploded as it landed just in front of the sandbag wall, releasing a huge cloud of smoke that obstructed the snipers' view. The smoke also contained tear gas, thus incapacitating the snipers. The agents had already put on their gas masks, so they were not affected at all. Opening fire with a vengeance, the agents riddled the snipers' bodies with bullets. Under the cover of the smoke, the agents moved toward the stairway.


   Using his agent goggles, Eusebio could see through the smoke and found that the PSAF had already retreated down the stairway. Signaling for the agents to move forward, Eusebio was not prepared for what happened next.

 Three agents fell as gunfire erupted from the other side of the corridor. Guns smoking, the AF guards were here.

  "Noooo!" Eusebio screamed. He had forgotten about the AF guards! Now they were caught between two enemy forces with almost no hope of escape. They had no choice but to battle it out now with three men down.

 Jumping behind the sandbag wall that the PSAF had erected, Eusebio assigned Allen and seven other senior agents to move down the stairs to combat the PSAF. He, Wang, David, and two other junior agents would fight it out with the AF guards. 

 Analyzing the AF guards, Eusebio noticed that they were carrying China-made NORINCO QBZ-95s that had a 400-meter effective range and could fire 650 rpm. The distance between them was approximately 160 meters. Looking at the agents under his command, they were carrying a variety of weapons ranging from Bushmaster M17Ss, M-16s, Steyr AUGs, IMI Galils, and AK-107s,  weapons that had a minimum of 650 rpm. The agents had the advantage of advanced weaponry in this fight. However, the agents were outnumbered 4 to 1. Moreover, Eusebio knew that the twenty guards facing them now were just a small part of the total number of guards in this massive warehouse. This twenty were probably the lousiest soldiers of the whole guard company in the warehouse. That was probably why they were sent on this "suicide" mission.

  Considering his options, Eusebio picked the safest. He knew that the AF guards would just charge and fire wildly, being the "stupid" soldiers that they were, hoping to hit one target. Then they would reload as one group and the whole cycle would start all over again. Eusebio snickered wickedly, telling his fellow agents how stupid the guards were and how their "shooting and reloading as one group" mentality was their weakness. 

 Bullets whizzed over their heads as the five agents ducked behind their sandbag protection. Soon, the firing stopped and the agents jumped up, sending their bullets flying toward the AF guards. 

 Within minutes, the fight was over. All the AF guards were killed while Wang was wounded in the leg. While treating Wang's wound, Eusebio noted that it was not that serious, although Wang would have to be out of action for a few weeks if he ever gets back to Demarque.

 "Classic case of an ‘easy’ mission becoming "hard" all of a sudden. Huh." David breathed.

 "Yeah. This whole affair is becoming more complicated by the minute. The PSAF was our closest ally. Why are they attacking us? We will have to solve this enigma if we ever get back to Demarque alive," Eusebio bit his lip. "I wonder how is Allen doing. I think we'd better go and help him."

1st Floor of the Warehouse

29 June, 1999, 0158 hours

 The situation was dire. Three agents were dead while one was wounded. Although it was a light wound, Allen knew that all the odds were stacked against them. The PSAF had just proven their intelligence and their ruthlessness. They had climbed out of the windows and got behind the agents. Allen did not know until it was too late. Three agents were shot and killed. Allen and the surviving agents retreated into a room and locked the metal door, planning a strategy and treating the wound of the injured agent. 

 They could hear many footsteps coming down the hallway and shouts resonating from the corridor outside. The PSAF were here. 

  
“Huh! My communications gear is out, shot to bits. We just have to wait and make our last stand, guys,” Allen sighed sadly. He did not imagine that it would end like this. He wanted to die peacefully on a comfy bed in some country home with a wife by his side, if he ever found one. Being shot to bits was not really optional. 

  Out of the blue came gunshots and screams. Somebody was engaging the PSAF! Was it Eusebio or the AF guards? That was a comforting thought, but Eusebio’s force would certainly be overwhelmed by the might of the PSAF force, he thought.

 Gritting his teeth, Allen ordered the agents to load their weapons and prepare to charge out and engage the enemy. Although the agents did not want to do that, they knew that that was the only way they could escape this room and certain death.

 Gripping his Saiga-12, Allen kicked open the door to see Eusebio’s agents engaging the PSAF force. Thankfully, the PSAF men had their backs to Allen and his agents. This is my luck day, he thought. It was time for revenge.

 Eusebio grinned as PSAF men were blasted off their feet. The sound of Allen’s Sledgehammer was music to his ears. Allen was alive after all; and that spelled bad news for the PSAF men. Allen’s agents assailed the PSAF with bullets from the back while Eusebio’s agents picked off the surviving PSAF men. 

 Eusebio strode over to the seriously-wounded Marcus Lewey.

 “Why did you attack us?” Eusebio asked as he glared down on Lewey.

  “While we were on our way...*cough*...we received a transmission that was supposedly from the President.*cough* It said that the INDF agents were not to be spared as they had gone rogue...*cough*. I was shocked. I thought you were the INDF’s most trusted...*cough*...agent. But I thought ‘orders were orders.’ It was only now that I found out...*cough*. You were actually on a INDF mission to sabotage the explosives. Additionally, the transmission number was not the President’s...*cough*,” Lewey coughed, tears streaking down his face.

  “Where did it come from?” Eusebio was anxious to find out. Lewey was one of his close friends. They had trained together during the Iraq War and also, Lewey maintained a close working and friendly relationship with the INDF and its agents.

  “I recognized the transmission number...*cough*. It is the transmission number of the...*cough*...UN security department. Forgive me. I’m sorry...”

 Lewey breathed his last and went limp. Eusebio stood back up, tears welling in his eyes. 
“Thanks, Lewey. You were only doing your job. I forgive you.”

 David clenched his fists, “What!! The transmission came from the UN security department! How could they!”

  “Whoa! Chill, man! It could be an AF mole in the UN security department! Don’t jump to conclusions,” Allen added.

 Wiping away his tears, Eusebio grabbed his P90, “Come on! We still have a mission to complete! The mystery will have to wait until we get back to Demarque!”

INDF Headquarters, Demarque

30 June, 1999, 1034 hours

 The mission was completed successfully and the explosives were destroyed. However, the mystery had not been solved.

  “Are you sure the transmission number is that of the UN security department?” Robert furrowed his eyebrows as Eusebio reported on the PSAF’s mistake.

  “Positive. We ran a check. The numbers matched exactly,” Eusebio answered as he handed a piece of paper to Robert. “Looks like we have enemies everywhere.”

  “What the...! You’re right! They match exactly!” Robert gasped as he passed the paper to Derrick.

  “Hmmm...yes. This is a really serious situation. We have to find out what exactly is going on,” Derrick exhaled, “I’ll find out the details of the transmission.”


INDF Headquarters, Demarque
30 June, 1996, 1138 hours

  "So how has the decoding been going?" Derrick asked Reznov.

  "Hhmm...good so far." Reznov smiled, "We found that a UN security department transmission machine was used to send the transmission. It was sent on 28 June, 1996, 1339 hours. It came from Diederich Castle somewhere in the north of Germany. Somebody there must have masterminded the events that have just unfolded. Somebody in the UN itself. Somebody sinister."

Diederich Castle, Northern forests of Germany
30 June, 1999, 1138 hours

  Joseph Drescher was a multi-billionaire, representative of Germany in the UN, and a top AF executive. His plan was working so far. He chuckled to himself. The AF's missile was already in its first stage being constructed. However, the entire building process would take about another six years.
  Before the missile was finished, Joseph planned to convince the UN to deactivate the INDF. Only then would the AF be unstoppable in constructing its weapon. The idea of holding the world at ransom was a delightful idea to Joseph and he could not wait for the next UN meeting at the UN headquarters in New York the next month.

Somewhere in the Australian outback
2 December, 1999, 1928 hours

  Eusebio sat on his bed. He sobbed uncontrollably as he recalled the events on that fateful day. The day that Demarque was destroyed by UN forces.

  Joseph had successfully convinced the "stupid" UN to deactivate the INDF, saying that it may turn against the UN itself. The UN surrounded Demarque, ordering the INDF agents to abandon the island. Some agents complied, but Eusebio and many others refused, saying that they would fight to defend the island and that it was a mistake to deactivate the INDF. After a three-day negotiations period produced no result, the UN attacked the island. The agents fought bravely, but were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the UN forces and were either killed or captured. Only Eusebio, Wang, David, and a number of other agents escaped with most of the equipment and gear in the headquarters. Sadly, Durango and Stone did not survive the onslaught and Eusebio lost his right arm while escaping.

  Fleeing to the Australian outback, the surviving agents built a house where they could live and store their equipment. David, being an excellent scientist and mechanic (and a soldier), constructed a robotic metal arm for Eusebio. The good news was that they knew Joseph Drescher was an AF executive. They would get him and give him a painful death when the time comes.

  The former INDF agents had now became bounty hunters, hunting criminals and the like. At the same time, they kept track of the AF's activities, hoping for the day they got their revenge.