Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) (24 page)

“None,” Selene admitted. “This is just my combat instincts telling me that something big is about to go down.”

The other two didn’t respond for a minute.

“I’ll keep an eye out for now,” Selene finally told them.

“No, put your guys on alert,” Zach ordered. “It might be nothing, but I’m not one to take chances. I’m reporting this to battalion command. I’ll advise them to go on alert, citing the complete lack of activity on the enemy’s side.”

“Thanks,” Selene told him.

“Don’t mention it. Let’s hope that your instincts are wrong,” he said.

She hoped so too, as she looked out the front of her platoon command post, but something just felt off to her. Selene could feel it in her bones. The storm loomed just over the horizon, and it was only a matter of time before it hit.

But did that line up with any of their predictions? If Ragnarok was going to attack in the west, then why would they be preparing a major offensive within Milwaukee? Wouldn’t they need the troops to achieve a breakthrough, or to exploit their success once they did so?

Her wrist alert went off. “Alpha Wolf?”

She answered. “This is Alpha Wolf. Haven’t heard from you in a while, Evy.”

“I could say the same for you. My company’s moving up to relieve you. Lead units should start arriving within a few minutes,” Evy replied.

“Good. Be advised that we’re on alert. Ragnarok might be planning something.”

“Understood. We’ll be careful.”

Selene’s wrist alert went off again. “Alpha Wolf,” she replied.

“Selene, I have eyes on an enemy sniper,” Miko said on the other end of the line. “Looks like he’s scoping out our positions.”

Selene frowned. “What for? Is he looking for targets?”

“If he is then he’s choosing very carefully,” Miko replied. “Should I kill him, or do you want me to observe him first?”

“Try to figure out what he’s doing,” Selene ordered. “If you think he’s becoming too much of a threat, shoot him.”

“Got it.”

Selene was about to call back to company headquarters when she heard a moaning sound that grew louder and louder by the second. Her blood ran cold as she opened a channel to the entire platoon.

“All units, cover! Cover!”

A few seconds later a deluge of explosions went off.

Selene felt the earth shaking around her as the rockets hit. One close blast rattled her teeth and send dirt and small chunks of rubble cascading down on her.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

She took the opportunity to look at the radio readout on her HUD. Sure enough, all the channels were dead. Ragnarok definitely wasn’t playing around this time. An all-out attack was sure to follow.

So much for being able to leave the front lines. Right now the only way they’d be doing that was in body bags.

The phone lines in the headquarters started ringing. Selene had to grab each one in turn and confirm her status with her squad leaders. Normally she would have a few more here to help her, but Ragnarok had caught them at a time when she was the only one online. By the time the others logged in they would probably be needed at the front lines.

At least they had backup on the way, though that remained entirely dependent on Thorn not being hit by the enemy artillery strikes. Even with that possibility, she welcomed their presence. Selene had fought alongside them at the Ghost Line, where they had proved their skill and tenacity. They would need every bit of it to fend off the coming onslaught.

The line from Company HQ rang as the bombardment lifted.

“Selene, you there?” Zach asked.

“I’m here,” she replied. “A little worse for wear, but still kicking.”

“Good. We’re calling in counterbattery fire onto the enemy positions. Has Thorn Company reached you yet?”

“It was going to be a few minutes, just before the bombardment hit.”

“OK, I’ll see if I can raise them.” There was a pause. “OK, Nora’s headed to their last known position on ATV. We’ll try to get them up.”

Another one of the phone lines rang. “Thanks, I’ll keep you posted.” She picked up the other receiver. “Alpha Wolf.”

“Selene, they’re acting really weird,” Gavin said on the other end of the line.

“Wait. What?” she asked. “Who’s acting weird, and what exactly are they doing?”

“We have Ragnarok troops in front of us, but they’re not pressing their attack.”

“Wait, what?”

That didn’t make any sense. If they were launching an all-out attack, Ragnarok would have used the chaos from the bombardment to close the distance.

“Are they attacking at all?”

“We’re trading fire, but they’re not trying to assault us,” Gavin clarified. “But they’re probably not going to pass up the chance if we give it to them.”

The pieces began to fall into place in Selene’s mind. “Got it. Hold position and wait for further orders. Call if the situation changes.”

“Copy.”

Her mind raced as she hung up the field telephone. Ragnarok was launching an offensive supported by heavy artillery inside the district, but they weren’t pressing their attacks. That could only mean one thing.

They weren’t trying to break through here. Their real objective was to tie down Hydra forces in the city so they couldn’t respond to other attack across the line. And that could only mean the main axis of their advance would come in one place…

“I hope you’re ready Danny,” she muttered to herself.

If he wasn’t then there was nothing she could do about it. This might not be their main objective, but Ragnarok would certainly take advantage if they saw weakness.

She had to make sure that didn’t happen.

E
ven miles
away through the filter of his cybernetic radio, Danny could tell the battle around the river wasn’t going well. From his position in the back of his transport helicopter’s troop compartment he listened to the radio chatter coming from Sacred Sword. Almost none of it sounded good.

At first radio communications had gone completely dead, likely from another jamming device. Unlike in Milwaukee, the forces at this end didn’t have the time or resources to create telephone connections between units, instead relying on foot messengers and the temporary nature of the jammer. But even though it lasted only thirty minutes, that was still enough time to cause havoc.

Danny didn’t know how they had managed to do so, but the enemy was already across the river and pushing deep into defenses. Morgan’s instincts had been correct. If they had concentrated all their troops at the river Ragnarok would have broken through and would be currently defeating them in detail.

Morgan’s preparations forced them to fight for every inch of ground in the forest. Anything along the main pathways was a deathtrap, forcing the attackers to either take massive casualties or find alternate routes through the dense brush. Ragnarok chose the second option, but that also caused severe delays.

And the number and depth of the defenses helped significantly as well, Danny realized as he listened. Any time a unit was about to be overwhelmed or crushed they would withdraw to the next position, preserving their numbers while inflicting more and more losses on the enemy. One or two cuts might not kill, but a dozen, a score, a hundred could bring down even the most formidable foes.

But the situation on the ground still sounded grim. The enemy was somehow pouring droves of reinforcements over the river, hitting Sacred Sword with relentless attacks. Danny heard several units reporting significant numbers of casualties, and a cursory survey of his wrist menu map showed Ragnarok forces deep into the forest. Gio’s platoon still held their positions on the river, but Morgan and Staci’s units had been forced back.

Sacred Sword definitely needed backup, and they were it. Danny had Bravo Wolf Platoon mounted in three Typhoons, along with six Hornets armed with miniguns and rockets. Their attack helicopters could provide heavy firepower where it was needed. It was a good thing too, because the platoon itself only had around twenty five members in total.

They needed to be careful. Danny couldn’t afford to waste his troops, the last reserve that could reach the battlefield quickly. No, he needed to place them carefully, where they would do the most good, and to do that he needed good information.

He cut the open channel and signaled Sacred Sword Command. “Sword Lead, Sword Lead, this is Bravo Wolf. Please respond. I say again, Sword Lead, Sword Lead this is Bravo Wolf. Please respond.”

Nothing. Danny tried again to no avail.

“David’s not responding?” Xavier asked from beside him.

Danny shook his head. “I’ve got nothing.”

“Mm.” Xavier glanced out of the open side door of the helo. “This might end up being a rough one.”

“Jeeze, you think?”

Danny tried again and got no response. He was about to switch channels to try to raise Morgan when a voice crackled over the radio.

“Bravo Wolf, this is Sword Lead.”

Danny perked up and responded. “I hear you, Sword Lead.”

“Good. Sorry about the delay. It’s pretty hairy down here.”

“No problem. We’re on our way, bringing the air cavalry reserve.” Danny glanced at his wrist menu map and timer. “ETA is three minutes. We’ll drop as close to the front lines as possible and move to reinforce wherever you need.”

“Negative,” David told him. “We’re getting forced back, and you’re not going to be enough to stabilize the line. They’re pouring troops across the river?”

“How’d they get across?”

“They sent commando teams in assault boats, but once they secured a small part of the shore their combat engineers set up a pontoon bridge with boats and lumber within ten minutes,” David explained.

“Ten minutes?” Danny asked incredulously. “How’d they manage to get a pontoon bridge built that fast?”

“It’s not exactly the most solid thing, just a bunch of boats connected together with pairs of boards. They’re not going to be lugging anything heavy over it, but it’s enough to get infantry across.”

“Can you mortar it?”

“They figured out where it was and hit it with counterbattery fire of their own,” David told him. “The survivors had to scatter.”

This just kept getting better and better, Danny thought to himself. The real questions was, what could they do about it?

“Can we hit them with a strafing run with the gunships?” he asked.

“I wouldn’t try that. They have several antiaircraft guns on the other side of the river. That’s what helped them force their way across.”

Danny could imagine the carnage that those kind of weapons caused, capable of shredding aircraft, cover and flesh with equally frightful efficiency. He knew their gunships couldn’t take much punishment, and with their artillery gone they needed them to serve as an equalizer.

“Great,” he said. “That means we’re going in on foot, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s the only option I can see at the moment,” David said apologetically. “Sorry about sending you guys on a suicide mission.”

“Heh, I think pretty much everything we do qualifies as a crazy suicide mission,” Danny said. “That seems to be our company’s calling card.”

David laughed at the other end. “Good thing we have you along, then.”

“Do you need support?” Danny asked. “I’ll keep two of the gunships and send the other four your way.”

“If you can spare them, we can use them,” David told him.

“I’ll send them your way then. Bravo Wolf out.” Danny switched channels. “Blake, Sacred Sword needs help. Pick one of your flight to stay with you. Deploy the rest under a separate callsign to support Sacred Sword.”

“Got it. I assume we’re going with you?”

“You assume correctly. Be advised that there’s antiaircraft guns by the river. Try not to stray over them.”

“Don’t plan on it. Thanks.”

Danny switch channels again. “David, I’m seeing a smaller concentration of enemy forces on the eastern edge. Can we land there?”

“That’ll land you fairly close to the pontoon bridge. If you can find a spot, that is,” David replied. “The forest is pretty thick there.”

Maybe, Danny thought as he looked over the map in his wrist menu, but there had to be somewhere they could deploy, even if it wasn’t a wide open expanse. But what could they use? Like David said, most of the terrain was either trees or thick brush. Spots they could have used with transport Hornets were too small to fit Typhoons. If only…

“There,” Xavier said, looking over his own wrist menu.

“What?”

“You wanted a landing spot, right?”

“We’re you listening in?”

Xavier shook his head. “You’re sitting right next to me. It’s pretty easy to listen in.”

Danny had to laugh. In the confusion of the lead-up to battle he had missed the extremely obvious fact in front of him.

“So, what have you got?”

Xavier shifted his wrist so he could get a better view. “Right there, about a quarter mile south of the river. It’s probably only big enough for one at a time, but that’s going to be the best we can do.”

Danny nodded. They didn’t have enough time to fight their way through a mile or more of heavily forested terrain against overwhelming odds. Bravo Wolf had to stem the tide here and now.

He opened up a channel to the pilots and squad leaders. “All units, we’re headed for this landing area,” Danny explained, sending them all a marked copy of the map. “Once there we’ll disembark and head for an enemy pontoon bridge on the river, located here.”

“That’s going to be a tough one,” Blake said. “You’re only going to be able to fit one Typhoon in there at a time, and the clearance is only about ten to fifteen feet.”

“Can you do it?” Danny asked.

He heard a series of laughs over the radio link.

“Can we do it, he says,” an unfamiliar voice chuckled.

“It’s extremely difficult. Luckily you have us along, so we’re good,” Blake told him. “If I can make one suggestion, though?”

“Yeah?”

“You only get to ask us for this kind of thing once. Next time, learn to rappel.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Danny said with a grin.

“That’d be a useful skill to have anyhow,” Xavier said beside him.

It would, but they’d have to file that thought away for later. Right now they needed to concentrate on the fight looming ahead of them. Danny paused for a moment, then opened the channel up to the entire unit.

“Listen up everyone. We’ve been given our marching orders. Ragnarok has a pontoon bridge across the river and is using it to flood the area with reinforcements. Our job is to land and destroy it in order to stop that flow.”

He paused again to gather his words. “Bear in mind that we’re the last available reinforcements. If we can’t stop them then this entire flank is screwed, and we might have our entire army cut off here in the north.”

“We won’t let that happen,” Javy spoke up. Several others echoed that sentiment.

Danny nodded in appreciation. “No, we won’t. Not if we fight like I know we’re capable of. Everyone, the destruction of that pontoon bridge is our top priority. Use everything and anything to do it. Don’t worry about ammunition consumption or casualties. Just go for the bridge.”

“If you can neutralize some of the AA guns around the river we can provide closer support,” Blake cut in.

“Keep that in mind, but the top priority is the bridge,” Danny told them.

“One minute to drop zone,” Brooke announced from her seat in the front of the helo.

Danny made the final preparations. “My bird goes in first, followed by Javy and then Ryan. Get off, get into the forest and head for the objective. Hit them hard and fast and don’t give them the time to recover. Understood?”

“Aye!” came the reply from over two dozen voices.

“Here goes nothing,” Xavier commented beside him. “You ready for some real action again, or have you gotten too fond of sitting behind the front line at headquarters?”

“Heh, as if.”

“Just saying. Wouldn’t want you to fall behind or anything.”

Danny grinned back. “Oh, just watch me. I’ll probably have to drag you out of the fire at least once.”

“Hm, that’ll be fun to watch.”

Xavier’s commented broke the tension a bit and helped Danny to focus. He felt the energy crackling all around him. Even outnumbered and in dire straits, he didn’t think they could lose. There was just something about him that made him believe that, no matter how stupid it might sound.

They’d pull through against the odds. Was it foolish, especially against the elite troops that they were certain to face out there? Maybe, but that didn’t faze him the slightest bit. What was the point of being in this world if they didn’t take on the challenges it offered?

“Thirty seconds to drop zone.”

Danny checked his weapons one last time, preparing for the inevitable brawl that would follow. As usual he had his trusty machine gun, with his harness laden down with extra ammunition and grenades.

Bravo Wolf had a pair of recoilless rifles in Bravo 2 and Bravo 3, which Danny hoped to use against the pontoon bridge and then the antiaircraft guns, if they got the chance. Even heavily-built objects wouldn’t stand a chance against one of those shells.

“Twenty seconds.”

Danny braced himself for the reception on the ground. Would they have a smooth landing, or would they meet heavy resistance?

“Ten seconds.”

He got on the radio. “Troops with flamethrowers, you need to be out in front to help clear a path through the brush. Everyone else, protect them and the heavy weapons teams. They’re going to be critical.”

Brooke came on the line. “We’re over the landing zone. Headed in now.”

Danny watched the trees close in around them as the helicopter descended into the clear, almost at arm’s length. Blake hadn’t been kidding when he said they had little room to maneuver here.

Bravo 1 was already on their feet when the skids hit the ground.

Danny leaped down onto solid earth, followed by Xavier and then the rest of the squad. They quickly pushed into the forest as their transport lifted away, sticking to one of the paths for faster movement. It was a gamble, he knew, but speed was of the essence. The ability to perform a rapid advance definitely outweighed the potential of being ambushed and pinned down. Besides, that would require the enemy to know they were here.

“We’re landed,” Javy reported over the radio.

“Good. Follow the path. It’s clear on our end,” Danny ordered. He could hear the sounds of a fierce firefight wafting toward them from the south. They needed to hurry.

“Pick up the pace,” he urged the squad over the radio.

“Not too fast, mind you,” Xavier cut in. “We don’t want to lose all sense of awareness and blunder into an ambush. Or make a wrong turn, for that matter.”

“Right,” Danny said, opening his wrist menu and bringing up the map application. “Head north about a hundred yards from here. There should be overgrowth in the way, so let’s clear it out with the flamethrower.”

“Got it,” Joe said. “I’m right behind you.”

But once they reached their turn Danny saw that the brush had already been burned away. That meant Ragnarok had used it as an avenue of advance. And that also might mean…

“Contact at ten!” Xavier said over the link.

Danny hit the ground just as bullets started whipping over his head. He landed on the hard path, searching for targets. Nothing, not in this dense maze of brush and trees.

But out here he was completely exposed, and if he didn’t move he’d be dead within thirty seconds. He couldn’t see the enemy, but that probably didn’t cut both ways.

“Bravo 1, get into cover,” Xavier said calmly over the radio.

Danny crawled toward one of the trees in the area of burnt-out brush, desperately hoping a stray bullet didn’t find him. They were so close to the bridge, oh so very close, and now their window of opportunity might be shutting right before their eyes.