"Well that was fun, anybody dead?"
Victor didn't respond. Of course, nobody had to say anything to confirm that he was alive. He was very tightly gripping the seat in front of him, his whimpering very pronounced. These cars were absolutely NOT meant to hit 60 miles per hour, and yet they had just done so, bouncing through a traction-less desert no less. His terrified shivering died down quickly, once he realized they had stopped. He gripped his rifle tightly, ready to leap out of the car and into action.
[hr]
Before responding to the Lieutenant Colonel's orders, the driver in the third car tossed a single bullet into the Stone Alchemist's lap. "If you were anyone but a member of the military, sir, this is the bullet that would be in your knee."
Before her superior could protest, she gave an acknowledgement of James' orders and procured a canteen of water from under her seat, which she handed to the Deep Blue Alchemist.
The car had finally come to a stop, along with the other two. The driver turned toward the ranking officer among the trio and sharply saluted him. "I wish you luck on your mission, sir. Give them hell."
[hr]
Lieutenant Banagher dove out of his car, quickly opening the doors for his three passengers and letting them out. "Hey, good luck out there fellas. If you're ever in East City and need a hand, call me up."
As all the passengers exited their vehicles, they found themselves on the far edge of the camp where they had entered. At the moment, the place seemed to be more or less deserted. Only a skeleton crew of Amestrian snipers patrolled alchemically crafted watch towers, taking a few potshots at targets only they could spot from their elevated position. They found themselves approached by a pair of men, one average looking dark haired man and a massive, dark-skinned brute wearing a military overcoat along with a tan coat, presumably for use in the desert. He was clutching his abdomen, blood leaking out from a fairly fresh wound.
"Colonel Basque Grand's the name!" he shouted over a trio of shots from the snipers. "Looks like you're the special ops team I was forewarned about! Follow me, I'll give you the rundown."
He led the group out to the edge of the camp onto a small ridge lined with sandbags. It was clear now that the smoke they had seen earlier was coming from a village about half a mile from their current position. The buildings were tightly clustered, and even now fresh explosions and gunfire filled the air. The smell of death was in the air.
"I've got a whole company of greenhorns along with three State Alchemists inside the village as we speak. Intelligence suggests at least 100 Ishvalans are located within the village, not including whatever monks that Torul bastard's got holed up with him. It's a volatile situation, but we have the advantage. At the moment, we've focused our efforts on the food storage warehouses, so we've got them thinking that's what we're after."
He pointed at a small pathway up the back of the village onto a large, rocky hill. A few large buildings could be made out at the peak.
"But THAT is where you'll be going. With most of their forces distracted, we've got a more or less clear path for you. I wouldn't expect more than a platoon's worth of resistance, along with the monks."
The other man, Grand's XO nodded in agreement. "We can't provide any extra men for this mission, so we'll be sticking to the camp, from which we'll provide artillery support. If you need a strike, drop a red smoke grenade, and we'll aim right for it."
When the XO was finished, Colonel Grand looked at him like he was insane. "Captain Jenkins, are you out of your MIND?" he growled. "We got a direct order from the Fuhrer to escort these men and ensure their safety! I will NOT be doing that from a safety that my men are being denied. I'm going with them, you take charge of the camp."
Captain Jenkins glared at him and shouted back. "Colonel, sir! Your wounds are far too severe to allow me to let you out on the battlefield! These men need a leader, and they won't have one if you're--"
Suddenly, the Colonel used his free hand to grab Jenkins by the coat and lift him up into the air. "Jenkins, you're right! They DO need a leader! And you know what a leader does? He
leads."
Grand dropped the Captain and leaped over the sandbags to the ground below. He waved at the Ops team to hurry along. "Don't delay! We only get one shot before the Ishvalans figure out what we're trying to do!"
