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11/14/2009 5:20:05 AM
3
[Story] Sniper (Chapter 3 - Lack of Control)
[b]Chapter 1: Silent Kill[/b]
Joseph Zakahov took a deep breath of the fresh Earth air. He had not been on Earth for 20 years and it felt great to be back. Even if being back meant terrorizing it. Zakahov grinned at his own joke. He looked around the sprawling field that expanded outwards towards the horizon behind his house. The tall grass of the field looked like waves as it rippled and moved with the gentle spring wind.
A vibration in his pocket brought Zakahov out of his daydreaming. He reached into his pocket and extracted his cellphone.
"General?" The voice on the other end of the phone asked.
"Yes it is me. Are the charges set?" Zakahov replied.
"Yes sir, The charges in the City will be going off in exactly 30 minutes."
Zakahov hung up. No need to say anything more. His men knew what to do. Zakahov once again started to gaze out into the field. He saw a glint. Squinting, Zakahov tried to make out what he was seeing.
A loud crack sounded from where Zakahov had seen the glint. A bullet came carreening through the air and into Joseph Zakahovs left eye. Exploding out the back of his head, the bullet continued into the wall behind him.
Zakahov's body slumped to the ground. Blood began to pool around him.
Back at the field, a figure rose. Covered in the very same grass the field contained. A hardened Marine by the name of Captain Ross Clark. Yellow paint smeared his face to blend into the yellow grass around him. Stiched to his back were rows of the grass. Ross had in his hands a standard SRS sniper rifle. It too was covered in the crisp yellow grass. In that field, Ross was virtually invisible to the naked eye.
Moving in a silent crouch, Ross moved swiftly to his kill. With professional efficiency, he stripped the body of his cellphone, and any vital information such as papers and flash cards. Of the latter he found none, but he did find what seemed to be detailed instructions to others of the Black Fist.
Leaving as silently as he came, Ross headed back into the grass... Minutes later, a Hornet came Racing in. Ross stepped on to the side of the hornet, and held on as it took off.
Upon arriving at the base, Ross Clark was received with enthusiastic cheers from his fellow marines. They had heard of his successful kill. Ross raised a hand as he grinned. He walked from the now landed hornet to the barracks while being showered with cheers. Jim Morgan came out of the crowd with a beer and a smile.
"Congrats on the greatest kill of the decade Clark." He said still grinning.
"Just good to be back and alive is all" Ross said in return.
"Come on, lets head inside." Jim said as he handed Ross the ice cold beer.
Both of the soldiers headed inside. Jim sat down as Ross closed the door to the office they entered. Ross came over and collapsed onto a couch.
"ugh.... I feel so sore..." Ross moaned now that he was out of the earshot of the other Marines.
"Probably because you havnt moved in, what was it, 3 days?" Jim responded with a chuckle.
"True" Ross said with a laugh himself.
Ross had been in that field motionless for 3 straight days in order to make that kill. Getting through the barbed fence that sorrounded Zakahovs estate was tricky business. but he had done it. After getting in, he set up his rifle and started the wait. With nothing but a canteen full of water and a couple dehydrated meals, Ross had managed to stay in the field night and day for 3 days. The kill he had made was no small ordeal either. Joseph Zakohov, (the brother of Arnold Zakahov) had joined the terrorist group called the Black Hand a couple of years ago. Since then, he had risen through the ranks untill he was top in command. He orchestrated attacks on populated city areas, as well as military maneuvers against the USNC. He was raging full scale war. Taking him down put a major dent in the Black Hand chain of command.
Second in power was, unfortunately, Josephs son, Karl. Karl was even more of a military genius than his father, but he seemed to not like the attacks on innocent civilians that his father seemed to love.
Ross sighed, He had a bit of a family affair with the Zakahovs. His brother John Clark had been hunted by Arnold Zakahov for years. Both of them were helljumpers. Arnold was dead now, thanks to one of Johns men. John Clark was currently on some planet fighting the same Insurrectionist that Ross was.
"Ross."
Ross snapped out of his daydreaming as Jim called his name.
"you gonna drink that beer i got you or what?" Jim asked
"Oh right. Sorry i was daydreaming there" Ross replied.
He cracked open the beer and took a sip. it was cool and refreshing. He turned the bottle. Heineken. His favorite.
"Hey Ross, you never did tell me what you did before you joined the marines." Jim said
"Now what brings that up?" Ross responded.
"Aww i dont know. It just hit me that you were gonna tell me before you got called off to that latest mission. I guess you never got around to it." Jim said
"Alright then fine. What do you want to know?" Ross asked
"Lets see here..." Jim paused as he looked towards the ceiling as he thought. "How did you get interested in sniping. I mean, what got you started"
"Interesting question." Ross said with a grin. "Well, i started at a young age. 13 or so. I got a bebee gun then, and i loved shooting cans in my backyard. Soon enough that turned into a .22 caliber rifle i got when i was 16. I hunted squirrels and rabbits and stuff." Ross paused. "At the age of 17, i was asked to use my 30 ot 6 to take out some guy who was terrorizing the my neighborhood. He was mugging people at night, breaking into homes. you know. So one night i climbed a tree and waited for him to try to break into a house. I knew he would hit that one, cause me and a friend had figured out his pattern and predicted the next house. Well after 2 in the morning, he showed. When i took aim, i just could not do it. So i shot him in the leg instead of the head. The shot woke up all the neighbors and they managed to catch him at the door, crowbar in hand. He was shipped off to jail and for all i know, is still rotting there."
"Damn" Jim said quietly. "No wonder you dont tell that to many people"
"Well your one of the few." Ross said with a chuckle. "Be proud"
"Dont worry Ross, I already am."
[quote] So thats the first chapter of Sniper. I hope you enjoyed it.[/quote]
[Edited on 11.25.2009 9:20 PM PST]
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[b]Chapter 2: A High Flying Ride[/b] "War?" This was the first words out of Ross's mouth when the corporal gave the news. "Thats right sir, full out war" Replied the news bearing corporal. Despite Ross not being in uniform (for he had just been woken up) the young Corporal kept a stiff and erect posture in the presence of one of the most famous snipers in the Marines. "I cant believe they would declare war on Insurrectionist. I mean yeah their a nuisance, but war?" Ross said still in disbelief. "That is what the message says sir. And its straight from the top." "Gimme that" Ross said as he snatched the message out of the corporals hands. Ross read over the thin paper. Not believing it, he read it again. The text did not change on bit though. The UNSC was to participate in full out war against the Black Fist insurrectionist group. "Also sir," The corporal spoke up "You have orders to pack up and move out towards a classified location." "Ugh.." Ross groaned. Packing up and moving out meant one thing. He was to sit in a field or a tree or in a swamp, and wait for a target to come by. But then again, as much as he hated it, he loved it. And it was his job. Not much he could do to argue it unless he wanted to be court martialed. With a yawn, Captain Ross stood up from the bunk, and dismissed the messenger. After dressing into his gear, he headed out to the air strip to get ready for his takeoff. Upon walking out the door, Ross ran into his commanding officer, Major Williams. "Sir" Ross said as he snapped to a crisp salute. "At ease" Major Williams said. "You get your orders?" "Yes sir, I also heard the news we are at full out war on the black fist" Ross said not so enthusiastically. "Yes that would be correct," Replied the Major "The reason behind that is more than what they show in the news though" This peaked Ross's interests, he knew there was a deeper motive behind this full out war. Major Williams continued. "It appears that the Black Fist has done several things that we deem quite dangerous. They have managed to get several planets to become sympathetic with their cause, which of course, now gives them a standing Army, Navy, and Air Force." Ross's face grew grave. Having that, the Black Hand could literally go about and conquer entire planets. "There is more," Major Williams continued, "They also have seem to have built up a large amount of Weapons of Mass Destruction. And by that I mean nukes, bombs, and planet destroying fleets." "Jesus" Ross muttered. "I have your orders here as well" Williams said. "Your shipping out in 1 hour." Major Williams handed Ross a sealed envelope containing Ross's target. With that, he departed. Ross went to a nearby bench and sat down. He did not open the letter. No, not quite yet. First, he leaned back and took a look at all that was happening around him. Pelicans were taking off and landing, moving supplies here and there getting ready for war. Troops moved in perfect squadrons to parked Warthogs ready to move out at any order. The entire base was a whirlwind of activity, all because of a simple declaration of war. Having watched enough of the activity the base had, Ross opened the letter. Inside was a single sheet of paper, and next to it, a picture. Ross read the letter first. "Captain Ross, Your next target will be arms dealer Andy Jackson. He is a American born on the planet Earth. After long affiliations with underhand arms dealing for the Black Fist, he has finally gone public and is now the main small arms supplier for the Black Fist Army. Also in this envelope, is his picture. You will be dropped during the night at a Black Fist camp on the planet Draco III. This planet has been occupied by the Black Fist for some years now, and is a sympathizer to their cause. Get the kill, get out, and radio for pickup. You know the drill. Good luck soldier, General Reynolds" Ross folded up the letter and put it back into the envelope. He took out the picture and looked at it. Andy Jackson was about 5'10 by the looks of it, and had jet black hair cut short. In the picture, he wore green fatigues and a similar olive green cap. On the left side of his face was what seemed to be a scar from a knife or other sharp object. Ross committed the picture to memory and tucked it into his pocket. Standing up, Captain Ross tucked away the envelope as well. He strolled over to the barracks. There, he stripped and cleaned his sniper with motherly care. He loaded up the magazine, and clicked it into place making sure the safety was on. With that taken care of, he set out towards his pelican. Stepping into the ship, he asked the pilot to what ship they were headed. "The UNSC Resolute sir." "Its a Destroyer" He added when he saw the puzzlement on Ross's face. "Fine then, take me there." The trip was uneventful. Once docked on the orbiting destroyer, Ross stepped out of the Pelican and into the Resolute. This is where he would spend the next two days. Headed for Draco III. There, he would make yet another kill.
