Chapter 6
#6 of Operation: Liberation (New)
"Hey, Endrico?" Master Sergeant Tucker broke the silence, "I notice you don't speak a lot." The conversation that Sergeant Woods and Staff Sergeant Bates were having in the back ceased. A few minutes ago, the convoy stopped to rest and get fuel from our supply trucks, and now we were back on the road with Master Sergeant Tucker and I in the front and the other two in the back. It was raining hard right now
"I know, Master Sergeant, I usually don't say a lot," I said, looking over at him.
To the front of us, another Humvee lead the convoy. Lieutenant Katie Greystone, who is the daughter of General Westin Greystone, was in the Humvee with her squad. She was a native to Tennessee and knew all the safer routes to East Ridge instead of taking the main road there and risking an ambush or running into a minefield. This route she chose was the bumpiest route I've ever been on, but the tanks to the sides of us don't seem to be affected. Lucky tankers.
"Tell us a little bit about yourself," Sergeant First Class Woods told me, "MORE instead of where you were born and raised, like yourself in general."
"Well, I'm a wolf," I answered
"We can see that," Master Sergeant Tucker said to me, chuckling as he shook his head.
"He looks a little skinny to be just a wolf," Staff Sergeant Bates commented.
"Helena, that was rude!" Sergeant Woods exclaimed.
"What? I was just pointing out the obvious!"
"I don't care, you probably hurt his feelings. Now apologize."
"You aren't my mom, Woods."
"Ladies, please chill out," Master Sergeant Tucker told them as he focused on the Humvee in front of him.
I took off my Kevlar helmet and ruffled my muddy, dark blue mohawk hair, "I get that comment a lot." Everything fell silent again in the vehicle after I placed my helmet back on my head.
Staff Sergeant Bates and Sergeant Woods went back to talking to each other, mentioning my name a few times. I didn't care for their conversation, I was too busy taking in the soothing sound of the rain that was hitting the windshield. "Why do you grow out your mohawk that long?" Master Sergeant Tucker asked me as we began to turn onto a road that lead into a neighborhood, "I keep mine cut short."
"Just preference, Master Sergeant," I replied, "it's something I've had since I joined the army and I never thought about cutting it short." The wolf nodded his head and focused on the road.
Whoa, what's going on up there? The lead Humvee stopped, getting over to the side of the road. "Bates, contact the LT and see what's going on," Master Sergeant Tucker also drove off the road, putting the vehicle in park. We were about fifty meters away from the lead vehicle.
"Typhoon to Tiger-Two-One," Bates talked into the radio attached to the back of Tucker's seat, "What's happening up there?" The radio reminded me of what the radio operators carried during World War II.
All the other vehicles appeared to have did the same, getting off the road as the M1 Abrams tanks stayed in the middle of the road. "This is Tiger-Two-One," a female voice answered over the radio, "we may have a potential IED about sixty meters in front of us." Are you fucking kidding me? Russians leaving nasty surprises?
"Ma'am, are you sure?" Master Sergeant Tucker took the talkie from Staff Sergeant Bates, "I mean, it's raining pretty hard right now."
"Come up here and see for yourself, Master Sergeant," Lieutenant Greystone snapped, "and hurry before the Colonel throws a tiger tantrum. You know what? I'll tell the Colonel, you just get your damn squad up here and check it out." She did not sound too happy at all.
"Come on, let's go," Master Sergeant Tucker was annoyed as he grabbed is HK416 from beside him, unbuckling his seatbelt and stepping out the Humvee. We all did the same, following the Master Sergeant to the lead vehicle. All the anthros in the Humvees were outside, pulling security.
After the male anthro spoke to the female platoon leader, he led us into the woods. "Here's the plan," Master Sergeant Tucker spoke to us after we met up near a tree, "Warwing, you and Woods approach that pile of trash bags near the entrance of the neighborhood. Bates and I will move forward and clear the nearest house. Let's make this quick, alright? And Warwing, lose the crazy look before I smack it off you."
I quickly fixed the expression I gave him, "yes, Master Sergeant."
The rain continued to pour down as Sergeant Woods and I walked back out to the road, approaching the potential "IED" from an angle. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a regular pile of trash that probably got misplaced. Out of all the things that littered the ground, dead, burnt bodies, destroyed cars, and debris from buildings, a pile of trash posed more of a threat.
"This thing has wires sticking out," I heard the panther say as we got within twenty meters of the pile of garbage.
The combat vests Woods and I wore were thick enough to absorb a bullet or two. Sadly though, if this thing was to blow, our limbs would be flying everywhere, as well as anyone else near the blast being either injured or killed depending on the force.
It felt like an eternity as the female panther and I crept forward, being careful of anything that could trigger the suspected IED. After reaching the garbage bags, the female anthro stopped and halted me, "here, hold my rifle, " she turned to me and gave me her M4A1 carbine and Kevlar helmet. She took a deep breath before turning back around, creeping a little closer to the pile of garbage.
"First time defusing a bomb if it is one," I heard the female say after kneeling in front of the trash bags about five meters in front of me. My ears perked up and I gave her a disturbed look.
Did I hear that correctly? Or am I hearing things?_I was already on edge about coming closer to the IED, but now I'm with someone that's never defused a live bomb? I just wanted to drop all my gear and run. Then I chuckled to myself, _why am I panicking? Way more life-threatening things happened to me in Florida and Georgia, so what am I afraid of? I watched the female panther cautiously move one of the garbage bags, leaning forward with the claws on one of her paws out. The rain continued to fall and our uniforms became soaked, sticking to us. This little rain or whatever is being a little bitch.... Well, it already was.
I couldn't help to notice, but Sergeant First Class Woods had a NICE body for a panther; the anthro looked as if she worked out A LOT. With her natural body features, she looked more muscular and toned than the average panther, her combat shirt forming around her upper body and her combat pants showing off her thighs.
I saw the female look at me out the corner of her eyes, her arms pausing for a few seconds. Instinctively, I looked somewhere else with my M4A1, scanning the area. How long has she been glancing at me? I looked back after a short time, seeing that she returned to inspecting the suspicious pile of garbage.
She tossed a black trash bag aside, which made me jump. "Relax, silly!" the female laughed as she stood up, brushing her knees off, "stop being so tense, it was just a random pile of trash!" I growled to myself and gave her back her M4A1 assault rifle and Kevlar helmet.
A gunshot rang out, pinging one of the Humvees. "Contact! Contact!" I heard one of the anthros back at the convoy scream out. The quiet afternoon suddenly turned into a chaos as small arms fire and explosions filled the air.
Immediately, I found the nearest piece of cover I could find, which was conveniently a low, concrete wall to my nine o'clock. "Marines! Head into that neighborhood and take those bastards out! Tanks, you need to reposition yourselves for covering fire!" a familiar rough, country accent yelled over the sounds of the skirmish, "watch your avenues of fire! We have friendlies in that neighborhood!" Behind us, I could see the Humvees spinning out of the middle of the road while the tanks began to form a wall of armor.
I felt Sergeant Woods pat my shoulder and I looked at her. "See that house ahead of us?" the female asked me over the gunfire, "I hear the sound of an American made weapon in there. Do you think it's Bates or Tucker?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "let's go see."
With that decision, the female and I hopped over the low wall, rushing straight into the yard of the two-story house in front of us. Luckily, we were assaulting from the side that had less windows. The sounds of yelling and fighting can be heard around us, the smell of death and gunpowder being clear. Is there a such thing as a break these days?
Sergeant First Class Woods and I rushed the backdoor, the female anthro leading the way. Instead of kicking down the wooden door, she literally smashed through it with her shoulder, her weapon raised. I wasn't far behind, clearing the left while she went right and up a flight of stairs. Inside the building was a little dark and hot, with sporadic muzzle flashes from outside flashing through the windows up front.
I then heard it: an M16 assault rifle firing to my twelve o'clock. I continued forward with my M4A1 raised. "United States Army!" I yelled when I rounded a tight corner, seeing an anthro female feline firing her rifle outside of a broken window.
She immediately looked at me. The female wore a navy-blue uniform, as well as black body armor. Before I could say anything to her, she was shot dead from a bullet entering the window in front of her. Then, the door behind me was kicked down and I whirled around, my M4A1 at the ready. Foreign bastards. I double tapped both anthros, who carried AN-94s and wore the weird green camouflage that Russian paratroopers normally wear.
I quickly inspected the police officer, looking for a wallet and anything else that can identify her. "You okay, Warwing?" a familiar female voice asked from behind me. I looked back, seeing the female anthro behind me with her weapon in her paws.
"Yeah," I replied over the gunfire, standing up with the dead anthro's wallet and dog tags in my paw, "this police officer was the friendly you were talking about."
"Okay, good," Woods said to me, "come on, we've got to move. The bastards are all over the southern half of this neighborhood." With that, I followed her out the back door and we rushed the next house, which had the familiar sound of AK-47s and AN-94s of the enemy.