Mt. Elberus, 2300 H

On a very quiet night, the wind blew cold and darkness engulfs the heavy rainforest of Mt. Elberus. The sound of crickets and dancing trees was only audible at this time of night. The coldness chilled the bones of the black ops team heading to the mission site.

There were three armed vehicles in convoy running at medium speed bouncing off against the rocky terrain. Captain Luke Mason and his 20 fellow agents were very silent in the armed military vehicle. They could not comprehend what, but maybe it was the cold breeze the Mountain offered with a perfect combination of lifelessness and a blanket of darkness or the risk of participating in any Kill squad missions.

The Captain, a handsome middle-aged man, addressed his team via radio and went over the mission details. Efficient, experienced, and dedicated to the military code, the Captain possessed, had gained him the respect of everybody under his wing. He headed the Kill squad with highly trained assassins and they were considered the most lethal operatives in covert missions.

"Attention Boys, this is mission Blacksweep. Two Teams, Alpha and Bravo. If in positions, both teams will use LTT (Light-Target Tech) F35 to signal the predator from the base to bomb the targets with B60 ballistic missiles.

We should be 450 to 600 meters away from targets to be safe from the blast radius. These babies should do the job. Two rebel leaders each housed on different sides of the village should be eliminated in a blink of an eye."

The team affirmed the mission details and prepped for their mission rally point. As they arrived at their drop-off, they disembarked from their vehicles. The Captain ordered his men, "Spread out, you four," pointing to the men behind him, "watch our six." He faced his closest comrade and said,

"Agent Rick and Alpha team, you are with me. We attack at the right side of the entrance of the hidden village. Agent Mark and Beta Team, you lead the team attacking the left side."

Each of them clad with black full-body armor vests with black helmets and night vision goggles. Embossed in their chests was a stenciled logo of a black wolf with writings on the sides, "Primus Ego In Conspectu Dumos et Patria Protegat".

They were fully armed with Assault rifles CZ 805 Bren, a couple of extra magazines, hand grenades, flashbangs, smoke grenades, two handguns Beretta 93, and the whole package. They checked their gears one by one and cocked their Assault rifles and pistols. The clicks and clanking sounds were in unison and fast-paced. All were dressed to kill.

As the teams dispersed, Captain Luke said into his earphone "Comms check???". The team responded "Clear".

"ETA to our positions, 2245 Hours. Radio when you're ready."

Then the Captain parted some words to his men for encouragement as he always did in every before missions, "Remember your training boys. What you are doing here is for your country and your family. This is a shoot-to-kill order situation.

Stealth is the key but always expect the worst. As the Commander said, there will be 50 to 100 rebels housed in this hidden village. The Blast will at least eliminate most of them. Always watch your six and communicate if you are in position. This will be easy boys, just follow protocol. Beers on me after this mission." His men responded with a silent cheer.

The Captain gave assurance to his men that their plan was solid and simple. A simple assassination mission. This small team of 20 operatives was fully trained and capable of wiping out 50 to 100 armed rebels if they attack in stealth. They had several missions like this before and all of them were successful. For them, it was a walk in the park.

The Captain and his comrades were carefully chosen to form these elite black ops teams. They were trained for months to become one of the elite and were compensated by the Government 10 times that of ordinary military men. Their missions were mostly reconnaissance, deep espionage, and assassinations.

This was the type of team that was called for off-the-books missions and highly confidential objectives. Commander James had chosen these men because they were highly expendable but with top-of-the-line military skills.

Some of them were disqualified due to some issues, with administrative cases due to bad behavior, had committed petty crimes, and killed comrades due to friendly fire.

But they all agreed with the terms of their enlistment and they were considered Ghosts (no records, out of the grid, cannot be traced by Government systems, and considered dead) but with hefty compensations.

The black ops team cautiously and silently entered the thick forest with their weapons armed and ready. An unexplainable feeling still crept on their spines but reassured them that they were ready for what was to come. They left behind their Armored vehicles and the area grew silent again.

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Two hours later back at the base camp, Commander James Johnson was enraged that the Kill squad did not give timely communications reports as instructed. The Captain should deliver them every 30 minutes about the mission progress. In the room with him were two military geeks, facing 4 computer monitors waiting for Captain Luke's report.

They surveyed with their monitors and computers to control satellite imaging but it was useless, they haven't heard anything and they cannot see from up above as the thick forest concealed the happenings on the ground.

Commander James executed instructions to his men inside the room in a loud manner,

"Launch two spy drones to the area with night visions! Call the Search and Rescue operatives immediately and ready them for their deployment! I will brief them ASAP!" He was known for his calm demeanor but now he was surprisingly agitated and uneased.

The man in glasses who wore military camouflage quickly reached out for the phone and contacted the operatives to come immediately to the mission center. The man was shivering as he fears the storm that the Commander would nearly unleash.

The other military operative immediately grazed his keyboards to launch the spy drones.

"I need immediate visuals!" The Commander exclaimed. He was walking back and forth, droning above the two military personnel who were trembling but with professional efficiency.

"Sir it will take about 30 to 40 minutes for the drones to arrive at the mission site depending on wind speed impedance," The military man explained.

"That's too long!" The Commander demanded and he continued, "Where is my rescue team? Prep the armory!"

The two men sensed that the Commander was surprisingly rattled with the situation. It was the first time with their numerous past missions that their Commander was not composed and acted differently like he was gritting his teeth all the time. The two men noticed the Commander's uneasiness since Captain Luke and his black ops team left the base.

Commander James was feared and respected by his men. A man in his late 50's, he was 6 foot 3, strong built, weighing 200 pounds, with white streams of hair, a perfectly placed beard, a square-faced jaw, and a set of strong-looking eyes that everyone feared staring at them. His eyes projected fearlessness and true self-discipline.

Commander James was a very dedicated man to his missions and serving his country, a true patriot would be the perfect definition. He had a solid military track record and was promoted to General at the young age of 40. One of the youngest Generals in UAC military history.

He was granted a Silver star, a medal of Honor, and was awarded "The Astron City's Hero award" by United Alliance Confederation Prime Minister, as he was the commanding officer of the Alpha team who fought the rebels penetrating the City, 8 years before.

The Commander was known for his perfectly executed strategies and was considered to be one of the brightest Generals ever have lived in history. This was the reason why The President of the United Alliance appointed the Commander to head the black operations team.

A covert team who was designed and trained to topple rebel groups, illegal but necessary assassinations, and broke down rival Governments in stealth. Through the years, since the Commander's stint as Head of the black ops department, they have had 100% successful missions.

The base was mortified with electrified fence wires above a 100-meter high concrete perimeter wall and 3 bunkers inside.

1 Bunker for the commander and where the mission center was, the 2nd bunker was intended for the barracks, training divisions, and the operative's quarters and the 3rd bunker was for their supply storage. The base was vast covering around 2 hectares and situated in a strategic plain field of Mt. Elberus where they could easily see incoming attacks.

Inside the Mission Center, the Commander was sitting impatiently in his chair and constantly looking over the mission control monitors. His expression was full of agitation.

'Is this my first failed mission?' The Commander thought. His heart hammered hard against his chest. He had difficulty concealing his anxiousness as cold sweat started to stream down his cheeks.