Steel Hearts

Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Their First Mission

    We waged into war right away. We waited no moment to seize the terrorist group. Alam naming hindi magiging madali ang lahat, but we were assisted thoroughly by the infantry division na nakakasakop sa area. Pero hindi nila kami sinamahan. Dahil na rin sa utos ng defense secretary, the mission is all up to us.

    We were given everything that we need – that is of course, the ammunition and then knowledge of the terrain. We have a full course that was shared to us by what the agents retrieved ahead. Ang lokasyon ng kuta ng mga rebelde ay sa gitna ng kagubatan. Pasikot sikot ang daan, pero nagawa itong sundan ng mga tropa ng militar at maibigay ang mapa sa kinauukulan. We were shared a copy of it.

    Binigyan ako ng sapat na oras upang pag-aralan ang mga stratehiya at taktika na inilatag sa akin ng mga senior officers pero wala pa rin akong nakikitang perpekto sa mga iyon. There are houses in the area outside the forest. Kahit malayo sila sa pusod ng kagubatan kung nasaan ang kuta ng mga terorista, pwede pa ring madamay ang mga sibilyan if ever we brew something up. And that’s the least that I want to happen.

    You see that’s what I hate about wars. It does not only destroy both the fighter and the enemy – it also strikes with collateral damages. And more often than not, mas malala ang nagiging epekto ng gyera sa mga nadadamay lang. Mas matindi ang naiiwan nitong bakas sa mga inosenteng tao. Why? Because civilians aren’t trained for it. These terrorists, us soldiers, we are. We have always prepared for it. Pero yung mga bata? Mga babae? Mga asawang gusto lang protektahan ang kanilang pamilya? Wala silang alam. Biktima lang sila ng baluktot na mga paniniwala na nagdudulot ng walang katuturang palitan ng bala at dugo.

“Hey.” Ibinalik ako sa ulirat ng tawag ni Chaos.

    Kanina pa pala ako nakatitig sa blueprints ng terrain. Wala nang pumasok sa utak ko.

“All squared away?” tanong ko sa kanya.

“Yes, lieutenant.” Nakakapanibago talaga sa tuwing tatawagin nya ako sa ranggo ko. “Ready to go on your signal.”

“Good.” Saad ko at lalong napressure. Signal ko nalang ang hinihintay. “I’m just going through the tactics presented to me. Butas lahat. Walang mag tatagumpay. We need a solid plan and these are all faulty.”

     Isinantabi ko lahat ng papel sa isang sulok at minasahe ang aking ulo. Sumasakit na ang utak ko sa overuse. Kung may ram indicator lang ang utak ng tao, malamang kanina pa ako may storage overload warning. I don’t know if it’s just the pressure building up, because I want everything to go out smoothly. Kaya kahit maliit na detalye ay binubusisi ko. Ayokong magkamali sa mga desisyon at hakbang na gagawin namin. I can’t afford to perform badly. Not now, never after.

“Hey, loosen up.” Chaos said. “You don’t need other opinions. If everything is faulty, then why not formulate your own?”

    He seemed to ring my light bulb. He never fails to make me see things clearer and better than I usually do. Well that is probably because he has a higher IQ than me.

“Gather the team. We will formulate our own tactics and strategy.” Saad ko.

“Yes ma’am.” Ngumiti si Chaos bago madaling tawagin ang buong team para sa aming munting assembly.

    After a few minutes, my machine squad arrived. I explained what I’ve learned so far from studying everything and they all listened intently to what I have to say. We brainstormed and shared our thoughts. It lasted for about an hour or so before we finally came up with our own plan. Ang plano na lahat ng butas, ay sinigurado naming sarado. Lahat ng posibleng maging gusot, plantsado. Walang kawala ang lider nilang si Abdul Makdum sa isasagawa naming operasyon.

    I should have asked for my team ever since the beginning. After all, a good leader also seeks help from his team members. It’s not a shame to do that. Wala naming mawawala sa akin lalo na at ako ang mayroon pinaka matalinong squad in the whole of earth right now.

    It was afternoon when we left the camp. Nagdesisyon kami na mamayang agaw dapithapon isagawa ang aming plano. Yung mga oras na mag aagaw ang liwanag at dilim, yan ang oras na hindi nila aakalain na may pupunta para ineutralize sila. Ang mga common kasing operasyon ay sa gabi, madaling araw o hating gabi isinasagawa. That’s too old to follow. We need a twist.

    When we arrived, I asked the GAICS to run their sensors. According to the sensors of my squad, limang layer ang mga bantay bago ang pinaka sentro ng kuta – each of the layers about five meters apart and loaded with fully armed men. We splitted the team for that matter. Chaos is with me in the south, the exit where terrorists can go to the villagers to escape. Sa northern part andon si Mage at Azure where they can run towards the mountains. Danger on the East, and Caspian on the West – where there are less chances of retreat. We will make sure that we will penetrate through them slowly but still making sure that no one would escape. We will work on one circle after the other – stealthily as we can para hindi magsimula ng commotion sa innermost circle. We want a surprise and we should remain silent for that matter.

    When we reached the outermost layer kung saan naroon ang mga bantay ng kalaban, sinimulan na naming ang aming plano.

“Everyone in position?” Radyo ko sa mga kasamahan ko.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Commence.” Order ko sa radio.

    Dahan dahan kaming lumapit ni Chaos sa mga bantay. Gaya ng pinlano namin, hindi kami gumamit ng baril upang hindi mag cause ng commotion at mabulabog ang mga nasa loob pa ng perimeter. Like we expected, mukha silang nagulat sa presensya namin. We tried our best to not let them use their firearms or one single shot would blow up our whole plan. Chaos was extremely swift at para lang syang sumasayaw sa hangin habang nakikipaglaban. He was very light and his movements are well coordinated. In less than a minute or two, everyone was down.  He would pass to be a ninja of Naruto, I think.

“Tapos na kami dito. Anong balita dyan?” Radyo ni Chaos sa iba.

“All clear, Captain.” Sabi ng iba pa. “We are waiting for your signal on the second layer.”

   Tinignan ako ni Chaos at tinanguan ko sya.

“Commence.” Saad nya.

     Isang suntok ang pinakawalan ko sa mukha ng teroristang nakaposte sa ilalim ng mataas na puno. I launched another jab and hook combination, and Chaos was doing the same. We kept doing the same routine until we reached the last and final circle of enemies that are correspondingly more in number than the previous ones. Pakiramdam ko ay maga na ang mga kamao ko sa dami ng nasuntok ko sa mukha. Ang titigas pa naman ng bungo nila, sing tigas ng mga budhi nilang kalabanin ang pamahalaan. Hingal na hingal ako sa dami naming kinalaban pero si Chaos ay wala man lang ni isang tulo ng pawis. I get it – he’s a damn machine.

“You got this?” He asked me, assuring if I was fine.

“Ako pa.” sagot ko sa kabila ng hingal.

     Tumawa sya sa sinabi ko.

“Nahihirapan akong makipag sabayan sa’yo.” He told me.

    I glared at him for that.

“Tss. Plastic.” I replied and headed over to our last circle.

     Compared to the first ones, the last circle was hell so full of terrorist guards. Kaya naman wala akong nagawa kundi mapairap nalang sa ere.

“Come on. Do this people ever decrease in number?” I whispered annoyingly.

     I heard Chaos chuckled lightly to contain the sound.

“Ready when you are, Lieutenant.” He stated.

      Ibinaling kong muli ang tingin ko sa huling layer ng mga kalaban na pumapalibot sa mismong kuta ng lider nilang si Abdul Makdum. We get past through this and we can finally chase after the roots of Sandukil. We can end this budding organization.

“Let’s go kick their ass.” Sabi ko sabay takbo.

    Una kong inatake ang lalaking nakatalikod mula sa pwesto namin. I took him by the neck and wrestled him down to the ground. I broke his neck by that and he was then unresponsive. Another one was about to fire his gun, but I quickly landed a kick to him. Hindi na nya naiputok ang baril kaya kinuha ko iyong pagkakataon para agawin iyon at ipukpok sa batok nya nang malakas. Another one came attacking me from behind and he landed a punch to me. Inatake ko rin sya at pagtapos ay sinakal hanggang maubusan sya ng hangin at mawalan na ng malay ng tuluyan. It went on from one person to another, until like the previous circles, there were no more of the enemies left to guard the hive.

     Nagkita kita kaming anim as we all neared the center and main event of the puzzle piece. There are several houses built. Malamang ay may mga laman pa iyong mga terorista. One of those houses probably contains their leader.

“Retrieve Abdul Makdum alive.” Utos ko. “Whoever gets in the way, light them up.”

     Masinsin at seryoso akong tinanguan ng aking mga subordinates. We loaded our ammo. Magagamit na namin sila ngayon.

     Hinalikan ni Caspian ang baril nya.

“Finally, baby. We’ll be in this together.” Masaya nyang utas.

    Napailing na lang kami sa kanya. Malamang ay nagsawa rin sya sa fistfights kanina.

“Move.” Utas ko at lahat ay nag take position na.

       Dahan dahan kaming umabante habang naka-aim ang aming mga baril sa any possible sighting.

“Militar!” Someone shouted from afar and I shut my eyes tight upon hearing that. Napamura ako sa aking isipan.

     That was the cue of it all. The setting sun was starting to lose its light but thanks to whoever it was who shouted, nagsimulang lumiwanag ang paligid. Napalitan ang mga huni ng hayop sa gubat nang nakaririnding ingay ng mga sigaw at putok ng baril mula sa amin at sa kabilang panig.

“Everyone, I need you to run your sensors. Locate Abdul Makdum and once you do, tell me where the target exactly is. Over.” Radyo ko sa mga kasamahan ko.

      Nasa likod ako ngayon ng isang mataas na balde, nakikipagpalitan ng putok sa isang lalaking may nakabalabal na kung ano sa mukha.

“Lieutenant, I have eyes on Abdul Makdum.” Radio ni Mage sa akin. “6’oclock from where you are.

“Copy that.” Utas ko.

     Madali kong binaril ang sagabal na lalaki at nagsimula akong tumakbo sa gitna ng putukan. Lumiko ako at sinundan ang sinabi ni Mage sa akin na lokasyon ng lider. Halfway through, Chaos showed up along – running in the same direction as I do. Tinignan ko sya gamit ang nagtatakang mukha.

“You can’t go alone. I won’t let you.” Sabi nya lang sa akin at nauna.

      Pinaulanan nya ng putok ang mga kalaban na nasa harapan at sinuportahan ko sya. In no time, we got a clear sighting of the leader of this terrorism organization.

“That’s him.” Saad ko, remembering every detail at the picture that was handed to us by our office.

    Marami syang kasamang mga bantay at kahit sya ay nakikipagpalitan ng putok sa aming dalawa ni Chaos.

“He’s planning to retreat we have to stop him.” Saad ko kay Chaos.

    Tumakbo kaming dalawa ni Chaos pasugod ngunit binato nya kami ng kung ano.

“s**t! Get down!” sigaw ni Chaos at mabilis akong niyakap padapa sa lupa.

     Sumabog ang granadang itinapon ng ilang metro mula sa aming dalawa. Kinuha iyong pagkakataon ni Abdul at ng mga kasama nyang bantay upang tumakbo. Mabilis kaming tumayo muli ni Chaos at hinabol sila papasok sa gubat. Nakipagpalitan kami ng putok sa kanila habang patuloy na tumatakbo.

“You speed ahead. I’ll cover the guards; you get the leader.” Suhestyon ni Chaos.

     Alam nyang kaya ko pang bilisan ang pace ko ngunit nahihirapan lang akong mag adjust dahil sa mga bala na papunta sa direksyon ko. Kaya naman ginawa ko ang sinabi nya and he performed just as what he said as well.

     Abdul was still firing at me though but I’m just dodging it. ang gusto ng ahensya ay mahuli sya ng buhay dahil pwede syang maging susi sa malawakang pagtuklas ng mga bagay tungkol sa ISIS. Kung mapapaamin sya, pwedeng masapote ang mga illegal na bentahan ng mga armas at kung ano ano pang mga krimen na related sa terorismo.

     In a swift second, I was able to catch up to him. I quickly used my gun to hit him in the leg part which ultimately stopped him in his tracks. Nagpagulong gulong sya sa sahig nang gubat dahil sa biglaang pagkakahinto galing sa mabilis na pace. When he came to the ground wincing in pain, nilapitan ko sya at tinapakan ang kamay nyang aabutin pa sana ang baril nyang nahulog.

“When you run away from me, make sure that you’re faster.” Sabi ko bago sya sinuntok sa mukha para patulugin.

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