Posted by Moore on May 02, 2003 at 08:48:01:
Phoenix and his section waited on the top of the hill. He believed in the motto "trapped rats fight". His plan to kill the three hundred men, women, and children in Nowe was simple. He would give them a direction in which to run so they wouldn't feel the trap until it was too late. Phoenix and his section, on the hill to the southwest of town, would fire a lot and drive the villagers north. "Porky Pig", one of the LAV25s, would enter the village from the south, blow some stuff up, and advance slowly. The townspeople would have time to flee. East was the river. Route 1 out of Nowe to the north was the most logical way for the frightened villagers to flee in the darkness. The ground was muddy from the spring rains, and would slow down movement on foot off the roads. A stream flowed into the Vistula north of the town. The only bridge over it was on Route 1. That is why Phoenix placed the other LAV25 in a hull down position (that is when only the turret can be seen) in the stream bed, and had the two machine gun squads set up an ambush on the side of route 1. Despite all of its wear and tear, the LAV25 was still basically amphibious, and could operate in the rain swollen stream.
For information on a new LAV25, please see: http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/lav-25.htm
Phoenix's LAV25s have been in many battles, and have suffered considerable operational degradation.
The vehicle's commanders radioed to Phoenix with short, coded transmissions when they were ready. Phoenix would coordinated the attack, Hawk and Eagle would fire their M240 machine guns for effect, hitting houses but not causing many causalities. Peacock would keep the MK 19 grenade launcher in reserve. The special grenades were too expensive to use without good reason. It would only be used against hostiles with a rocket propelled grenade launcher or other heavy weapons "Agata" hadn't told them about, or against a number of hostiles trying to swarm the hill. Owl would use his old M79 grenade launcher. The "thumper" would be fired behind the fleeing villagers to drive them into the ambush. Vulture would do counter sniper work. Falcon would keep watch, and fire the illumination round from his M203 grenade launcher mounted under his M16. This would signal the start of the attack. The section had worked together for a long time now. Phoenix' skill as a commander had kept his men alive. They had honed their skills in the field, and knew their jobs well.
When all was ready Falcon fired the 40 mm illumination round over the center of the village. A hundred meter radius was illuminated briefly, but the parachute malfunctioned and the light fell to earth. "That's not good" Falcon muttered. "Porky Pig" started firing it HE rounds at houses, causing explosions and fires. It advanced slowly, rumbling its engine, being as menacing as possible, force the townspeople to flee.
The townspeople, well aware of the need for a defense against maurders or army units, reacted quickly. The ORMO (basically all able bodied adults) tried to lay down suppressive fire to allow the rest of the villagers to flee. "Agata" hadn't lied; Nowe did not have any heavy weapons that could compromise "Porky Pig's" armor. Phoenix's section starting firing. The thump of Owl's M79 grenade launcher preceded a large explosion.
While his section conducted their attack, Phoenix was happy to see the villagers streaming north. As people without military training tend to do when frightened, the villagers of Nowe grouped together. It should be easy for the northern LAV25 and the machine gunners to ambush them without expending too much ammo. Part of merc work was having a good business sense. Keep expenses down and profits high. Phoenix paid his men very well. Extremely dangerous men with weapons and the skill to use them should always be paid well. The men were with him because of his intelligence, tactical skill, and the pay they received, not his charisma or his former military rank.
When the main body of villagers were north of the hill, Phoenix radioed the LAV25s that his section was moving to the marina, and its important dock. He didn't want there to be another SNAFU.
He and his men descended the hill, crossing east over route 1 immediately after "Porky Pig" passed in front of them. Phoenix took point. Owl and Vulture took the flanks. Hawk and Eagle left the tripods for the M240 machine guns on the hill. They wouldn't need the extra accuracy at long range inside a town. Although the weapon weighs just under eleven kilograms without ammo, they had no trouble carrying then. Both were large, powerful Marines. But Peacock and Falcon struggled under the weight of the MK19 grenade launcher; the base unit weighed forty kilograms; the one belt of fifty, 40 mm HVHE grenades weighed about twenty kilograms; plus the tripod. And neither man was as strong as Hawk or Eagle. The section darted from one house to another, cover to cover, ten meters rushes at a time, until they crossed most of the village and were about fifty meters from the marina.
They saw three shapes, the left two smaller, the right one larger, pop up from a small hill near the marina. All three were armed. It doesn't matter if the bullet that hits you is from weapon fired by a man or a women; dead is dead. All three had to be taken care of. The men were taking cover before any hostile fire headed their way. The inexperienced civilians fired too high anyway, and the rounds went harmless over their heads. The man's weapon was pointed roughly at Hawk and Eagle. Although the man emptied his magazine at them, the rounds were "aimed" too high. But it kept them pinned down. Owl and Vulture both fired at the figure on the left. Owl hit, Vulture missed. When the man panicked and stood up, Hawk and Eagle had their turn, and finished him.
Phoenix had been belly crawling during the short fire fight. Civilians almost always fire back at what fires at them, so he knew it was unlikely that these three would be looking for someone outflanking them. Phoenix moved to cut off the escape route toward the water. When he heard the firing stop he duck walked right of the ridge, but when the firing resumed he rushed forward to avoid being caught out in the open.
Black tank top, long hair, pretty face and form. Phoenix fired anyway. Dead men don't get to have sex. Still, he missed. But the girl dropped her weapon, and stretched out in the mud. "I meant to do that" he thought. He covered her as the rest of the section approached. Falcon took the weapons lying around her. Owl organized the rest of the men.
This one he could take his time with.