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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][u]Chapter 3: Lack of Control[/u][/b] Life on a destroyer ship was uneventful at best. For the last week, Captain Ross Clark had been living on the The UNSC Resolute, a Destroyer Class space craft headed for enemy controlled Draco III. Ross had spent his time practicing at the rifle range aboard the ship, and lifting weights and staying in shape. Now that they were approaching Draco III, he was getting his gear packed and ready for his deployment. The loud speakers crackled on, "Captain Ross, report to the hanger ready for departure." Ross shouldered his small pack and his rifle and started his long walk to the hanger. His footsteps echoed down the long halls. The ship was silent, it being 2 AM. A night guard patrolled the corridors. He nodded to him as he passed. Turning into the hanger, Ross found a single Pelican, engines running, ready for takeoff. He stepped into the back and strapped in. The pelican doors hissed as they shut and the cabin pressurized. "Is the LZ hot?" Ross called up to the pilot. "It shouldnt be sir," The pilot responded, "We have been bombing their buildings and airfields all week." This surprised Ross, "I thought the plan was to keep this quiet?" Ross asked "Things changed sir, the Black Hand engaged our cruisers in space 1 week ago, we have been bombing and engaging in heavy fighting since. Your op should still be running smooth though." The pilot replied. Ross nodded, though the pilot could not see it. The Pelican rumbled as it hit the planets atmosphere. Suddenly, the aircraft lurched violently to the side. An explosion went off to the left, throwing the Pelican violently yet again. "I thought the LZ wasnt hot?" Ross shouted "Its not supposed to be! Intel said that all AA guns were destroyed along this sector!" The pilot yelled back "Well Intel was wrong!" Ross shouted. Another rumble shook the Pelican as more Anti Aircraft blasts streaked through the air. Ross's stomach lurched into his throat as the Pelican dropped in altitude. The pilot threw something back at Ross. "Put that parachute on in case you need to make a hasty exit!" he yelled over the noise of the explosions. Ross leaned over and grabbed the pack. He quickly strapped it to his back. Suddenly, the explosions stopped. No more anti aircraft fire came from the ground below. "We out of range?" Ross asked the pilot. "No, i think we might be in for something even worse." the pilot responded. "What is that supposed to-" Ross was cut off as a fighter streaked by the pelican spraying it with .50 caliber bullets. "-blam!-!" Ross shouted as holes sprouted up through the metal of the Pelican. The Pelican started to lean to the left. Ross looked up at the cockpit and to his dismay, saw that the cockpit, as well as the pilot it contained were both destroyed. The pelican was by this point dropping in altitude and leaning even more severely to the left. Ross scrambled for the lever which opened the back hatch. Sliding across the slanted floor, Ross leaped and managed to pull the hatch. The back door crashed open with a shriek of bent metal. The enemy fighter jet flew over the pelican again, this time hitting the front with a missile. The blast threw Captain Ross out of the Pelican. Falling through the air, Ross reached for the parachute. He tugged fiercely at it and it opened up. Ross grunted as the sudden deceleration slowed his decent. Within seconds, Ross hit the ground with a thud. Once on the ground he acted fast. Taking of the parachute, he quickly turned on his night vision and assessed his surroundings. He was in what appeared to be a wheat field. Craters from the UNSC bombardment riddled the field. A around the field, was woods and a half collapsed barn. The barn, it appeared, had taken a direct hit from a shell and was hardly standing. Ross checked his GPS. His destination was only a mile to the south. He set out a jog, hoping that he would not run into any enemy patrols. If he did he would at least have a silenced sniper rifle. He had decided to add on a silencer while on the destroyer due to the fact that it was a night mission and there may be others around when he made the kill. Ross reached the woods at the edge of the field. He paused when he saw lights moving about in the wood. Ross unslung his rifle and leveled it. The light appeared to be coming from a two man patrol headed towards the north. Ross peered through the scope of his rifle. He had a clear shot on both of them. With calm efficiency he pulled the trigger two times. Both of the men dropped to the ground. Ross was about to continue on when a gun went off near where the two men were. More fire started coming from that direction. Ross swore as he dove for cover. He drew his side arm and tried to figure out who was shooting. Slowly, he stuck his head around the tree he was behind. A single man stood with a rifle in his hands, searching for where Ross had gone. Ross quickly pulled his head back as the mans flashlight swung by the tree Ross was behind. Ross screwed on a silencer to his pistol. He took a deep breath, and swung out from behind the tree. The man was gone. Perplexed, Ross scanned the area. Nothing was there, not a single living thing. He turned around and he came face to face with the man he was looking for. "niedergehen es!" The man shouted. Ross didnt understand. Though it sounded awfully like German. or some type of variation of it. "niedergehen es!" The man repeated. This time emphasizing it with a jerk of his rifle. Ross set down his pistol, thinking that that was probably what the man wanted. Ross slowly put his hands behind his head. The man said something else in the German like language. Ross set his hands around the handle of the knife he had strapped to his back right under his neck. The man repeated what he said, louder this time. With a swift motion, Ross pulled the knife and came downward in an arc. The knife hit its target in the side of the neck. The gun went off next to Ross's face. The blast out of the muzzle seared the side of his cheek. The bullets though, went past him causing no harm. With no sound, the victim dropped to his knees, and fell to the ground. Saying nothing, Ross took his blade back, cleaned it off, and continued on his way.
