Whiskey Team: Echelon Bedbugs
The Intel on this Need-To-know Op comes from our informant in Russia. Imran Zakhaev is attempting to sell uranium fuel rods to Russian Ultranationalists. There is a large military force in the area, so be on your guard.
Captain Macmillan and Lieutenant Price, make your way to the marked hotel in Pripyat, Ukraine where you will have a clear-sight to assassinate Imran, Godspeed.
- Authors Note*
This is a fanon representation of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare mission of the same namesake "Ghillies In The Mist" and as a fanon, it should be taken as such. No copyright infringement laws have been breached as this is freedom of expression and not plagiarized to any extent. All rights to Infinity Ward, including Characters, Setting, Weapons and original Plot.
Chapter 1: Entrance[]
"Baseplate, this is Hammer Two-Four. We have a visual on the drop-zone. E.T.A sixty seconds."
"Get ready to go, Leftenant!" I remind Price as the helicopter descends for our drop off, two clicks outside Chernobyl.
"I'm ready, Fruit Salad." He brashly remarks as he finishes tightening the harness strap on his Ghillie suit.
He reaches into his knapsack on the seat, and reveals a cigar and lighter. Before he is even able to light it, I snatch it and crush it between my fingers, where I then toss the remains out into the countryside. "That mulch will kill you." I beckoned.
"Not faster than this," he says as he brought a bullet round to his eyesight.
"Mighty fine thing this little devil is, it'd be a shame to catch him in your back..."
I lunge forward and ran my hand around his neck, then I send him down onto the helicopters floor.
"You do well to remember your place, green!" I shout.
He smirks and extends his hand, where it is then greeted by mine. Heaving him to his feet, I give him a friendly, but a hard punch to the shoulder. He feels it for a short second, before returning the kindness with a harder one. The co-pilot of Hammer Two-Four speaks through the intercom, "Alright Bedbugs, get ready and deploy...now!"
We both move to opposite edges of the helicopter. I toss the repel rope out the side and traverse down it accordingly. Soon after, Price makes it down the other side. I signal the pilots with a hand signal, and the helicopter began to ascend and fly back toward the border. I hear static emanate from my radio.
"Go get 'EM, bedbugs, Baseplate out."
We ready our weapons and equipment, then have a quick Ghillie suit check. I motion to Price and he nods in conjunction. We then begin our dangerous journey into the belly of the beast.
Chapter 2: Infiltration[]
We finally made it to the outskirts of Chernobyl from the surrounding foliage, we both sit and have a short break and take in the breeze, as well as some water. We finish up and begin to enter the outside fields of the once bustling town of commerce and potential. Suddenly, three Russian Raptor-V2's fly in our position. I dive to the tall grass, and Price does soon after. We wait for them to pass, then wait an extra minute to be sure. We inch forward a few feet, but our Geiger counter light up brighter than Christmas trees on New Years Eve.
"Too much radiation. We'll have to go around." I command.
Price rises to a crouching position and fastens his Ghillie suit once more. I move out in front of him and switch the safety on my rifle, I turn back to him.
"Follow me, and keep low. Careful...there's pockets of radiation all over this area. If you absorb too much, you're a dead man." He nods and pulls his scarf up over his jaw, and we quickly move from the open field to an old abandoned, corrugated iron shack. I take a brief gaze inside, but it is empty. I hear a rustling on the other side of the shack. The smell of cigars and the laughs of Russians ruin the tranquility of the countryside.
"Standby." I say, raising my fist in a hold position manner, "Contact. Enemy patrol dead ahead. Stay low and move slowly, we'll be impossible to spot in our Ghillie suits."
We both lied to a prone and move closer to the patrol of two, obviously intoxicated. The Russians are oblivious to the dangers moving behind them. We move close enough to hear their conversation, it is hard to understand, but we were taught Russian in the corps.
"Hey! Sergei! Why do we wander in this area?"
"We're not wandering, we are patrolling, idiot."
"Why are we on patrol? There's nobody around for 120 kilometers. It's a desert terrain!"
"Listen! Zakhaev is paying us good money to patrol the area. If you knew that you well - you would shut up. And if he is paranoid - that is his business."
It is time to strike, "Take one out when the other's not looking." I command.
I hold my breath and fire, the bullet takes the scalp off the tall one, "Good Night" I whisper.
Price fires the next shot, it swiftly enters and exits the shorter one's head. "Sleep Tight" he whispers.
Chapter 3: Transference[]
"Beautiful, Move!" I say as I motion to Price to move the bodies. He has no problem with the short one, but the larger corpse gives him trouble. I shake my head and help him haul the burly Russian into the tall grass. I raise my fist and Price meets it with his fist. We slowly advance up to the second sock, which was an extension by a house. Price moved in front and stepped inside the shack, I reached out my hand and stopped him moving any further.
"Hold up. There's more cover if we go around."
We slip around the side of the shack, and move to the wall of a house, a television sparks up on the inside. I take a peek through the side window. I see four Ultranationalists playing some sort of card game inside the house, and a dog sleeping on a ragged couch.
"Four tangos inside." I whisper, and I spot Price reaching for a hand-grenade.
"Don't even think about it..." I scold as I take the grenade from his hand.
I place the grenade in my gunny-pack and peek around the corner. A guard stepped sleepily out into the out yard, and he looked my way. I quickly pulled my head back from the corner and turned to Price.
"Wait there. Tango by the car. Take him out quietly, or..."
The Russian suddenly jerked and slumped awkwardly to the dust.
"Or." Price said as he smirked and reloaded his M21.
I nodded and we dragged the body to where we were at the corner, then we continued over the short fence surrounding the house. A church was in the distance, and we closed the gap between it. I spotted a guard in the church tower and another ahead. I cowered behind a tree, and lifted my fist for Price to stop.
"Don't move. We've got a lookout in the church tower..." He took a deep breath and raised his rifle to his eyesight,"...and a patrol coming from the north. Let's move up for a better view."
I move up to another tree, then behind a salvaged car. The man patrolling lit up a cigar and began to slowly smoke it whilst he walked. It's time. I gaze back at Price who is a little confused where to look. His rifle is aimed at the round tower on the opposite side, idiot.
"No the square one; The other tower; You're looking at the wrong one, it's to your right."
He nods and positions himself to the appropriate tower and gives me the A-OK signal. A few mere seconds later, he fires two consecutive shots. The first hit the tower guard's neck, and the other punctured through his eye for good measure.
"Beautiful. Target approaching from the north. Take him out quietly, or just let him pass. Your call."
He crawled toward the path the sentry was going towards, and as he passed, Price raised and lunged the guard off the path into the bushes on the other side. A scuffle insured and I couldn't see what was happening. A minute passed, and I was worried. A tap on the shoulder startled me and I turned viciously and almost fired. It was Price, the deviant bastard, his knife was in his hand and he wiped it clean on the grass. He brought a half-smoked cigar to his lips and took a heave of it, spitting and coughing after it.
"You're. getting too. Slow, old man." He jokingly said, and heaved me from my back to my feet. "And that mulch'll kill you."
Chapter 4: Incursion[]
We make it to the Church entrance, and I slowly open it with my rifle at the ready. I scan all corners and Price follows after me as we enter the church. I stick an eye out the boarded window and see no movement, only degrading tombstones and unkempt weeds. There is an armament here of assault rifles and a grenade cache, I set a small destination marker underneath a crate and continue to look outside. I look back for Price, but he is gone! I look around some more and find him up the tower where the guard was.
"Let's go!" I command.
He slides down the ladder with a laptop strung under his arm. "I knew it, I found some Intel."
I shrug it off and he places it inside his backpack, it means nothing to the mission, it probably just has pornographic material than military material on it. We move out the backdoor of the church, and into the shadowy graveyard.
"The coast is clear-" I begin, but I hear the definite sound of air splitting in the distance. "You hear that? Enemy helicopter, get down! Stay in the shadows."
I trudge to a crouch behind the low, but dank wall in its shadow. Price is a bit slower and he gets down late. The helicopter passes the church, but I can see it flying back around again.
"He's circling back around. Don't...move." It hovers above the church, but then runs in a different direction. "Let's go."
We quickly move through the field, climb over a gas pipe and dash across a road. We come to another field and we begin to move across it. Suddenly, I smell the grotesque stench of burning oil and smoke. A tumbling sound rocks the hill we are approaching.
"Get down, now!" I spit as I interpret a convoy approaching.
We immediately go prone side-by-side and begin to crawl through the grass. A very large convoy reveals over the horizon, they are vastly moving towards us but we stay down unseen. I slowly tilt my head so Price can hear me over the engines.
"Easy lad... There's too many of them, let them go. Keep a low profile and hold your fire. Try to anticipate their paths. If you have to maneuver, do it slow and steady, no quick movements."
An armored vehicle's track comes close to us, but we are lucky as we found a safe spot to prone. A foot-soldier trips on my hind leg and tumbles to the dirt, I don't flinch, I just pray he doesn't realize what he tripped on. The Russian gets up and his comrades laugh at him and headlock him, must be a new recruit, considering he is only in his teens. I take a look at Price, a fire ant is nibbling on his cheek, but he knows the danger around us is more urgent than a few bites-marks.
"OK, let's move. Nice and slow."
Chapter 5: Intervention[]
"Follow me," I said as we were out of the convoy's sight.
We approached a destroyed, stricken junkyard, some vehicles were still on fire. Ultranationalists, if they can't buy you, they'll kill you. Two soldiers have been left behind to dispose the bodies into the river. We hear their conversation as we slick closer.
"Wow! It's hard!" One of them shouts.
"When will Andrew bring food?" They other questions.
"I don't know, I hope soon...I haven't eaten since breakfast!"
"Let's finish this as soon as possible! The corpses are beginning to deflate!" One says, poking at the bare stomach of a corpse.
"Fool!" The other spouts, "You should have agreed to Zakhaev's proposal!"
They both laugh as they haul the body they were insulting by the arms and legs.
"Looks like they've already eliminated the men they couldn't buy out. Let's move up for a better view."
We inch closer, but a two-man patrol appears from behind a burning car. They begin in our direction.
"Taking 'em out without alerting the rest isn't going to be easy..." We both check our ammunition, "...But then again, neither is sneaking past them. Your call."
I aim up, but they pass an armored tank which was in the way of the shot. I see them move out and I fire on the first, the bullet hits him in the eye and he holds it, but slumps to his knees, "Good Night."
The other dashes but are introduced to Price's bullet, it enters and exits through his cranium, he slipped up and probably broke his neck when he hit a broken car door. "Sleep Tight"
I let out a sigh, "Topped them. Don't fire on the two by the lorry. We'll have to take them out at the same time. Wait for me to get into position."
I slipped from our first position and left Price to watch the soldiers, I finally got a clear sight of them and clicked my hand-radio.
"I'm in position. Take the shot when you're ready."
The second I let go of the audio button, one of the soldiers felt the bullet. I hesitated at the speed, but none the less, I fired after at the other soldier. They both slumped in unison and joined the bodies in the river. "Good Night, Sleep Tight" we said in unison as well.
"Stay in the shadows." I commented as we neared a gathering of storage containers.
Chapter 6: Displacement[]
As we moved through an empty crate, another mercenary waited on the other side, his back turned and a vodka bottle in the air. What a prick! He could've at least left some for us! Price raised the barrel of his gun, but I grasped it and lowered it back down.
"Stay low, he's mine."
With a swift and silent approach, I maneuvered behind the drunk soldier. He had finished the Vodka and hurled it over his shoulder, barely missing my head. I was mad, I stood up and moved closer.
"Oi, Suzy!" I whispered in his ear.
He writhed but he did not have enough time to act, because I had already introduced his jaw to my rifle-edge. He fell unconscious and I knelt down to finish him off. Price moved up with an admiration whistle, I looked back and gave him a wink.
"That's how it's done, let's go."
By insuring his body was hidden, we maneuvered around the collection of storage containers. We reach the edge of a container, and as I look around, another guard is patrolling the area. I have an idea.
"Hold up. Wait here. We should wait a bit, let's see if the guard makes another pass... Patrol coming this way, stay back."
I toss a pebble hard inside an open container and it ricochets three times. I dive back behind the shadows between the containers across from him and hide. Curiosity killed the cat, you'd think they knew that by now. The guard investigates the noise, and she steps inside the crate, he is hit by two bullets, mine and Price's.
"Tango down. Forward area clear. Go."
We are moving low through the container yard, but I spot a group of soldiers taking a smoke break. I point to a container and slowly motion Price to advance with it.
"Shhh. Stay hidden. Move up. This way. Let's go."
We both recuperate inside the crate, then I slowly pry open the gate door, and peeked out in horror. Outside, there is a whole convoy of Ultranationalists. I try not to show fear in my voice, but I think Price picks up on it.
"It's a bloody convention out there. Get ready to move on my signal. Stay right behind me. Hold.... Ok - go."
Chapter 7: Avoidance[]
We quickly sprinted through the convoy undetected, narrowly dodging the views of the helicopters. We dive around the parked convoy, and hide behind the jeeps. We sat prone and crawled under their giant trucks recently parked on the street, they were getting out and speaking, they were lost. As we crawled underneath the second truck, we hit a stroke of luck.
"Let's go. There's a truck coming, we'll use it as cover. Keep moving."
The truck parked behind the vehicle we were crawling under, and we decide to use it to crawl further in. I hear the eerie sound of another convoy in the distance, and they arrive shortly after. I halt Price with my feet as the second convoy dismount.
"Just wait here a moment. When they leave, crawl out and stay low."
A bottle crashes next to our truck, and we are showered by a mixture of glass and whiskey, how ironic I think. Price is aggravated and slowly begins to cough and heave. He readies his side arm, as if to jump out and kill the litterer. I roll onto my side under the truck and clutch the barrel of it.
"Patience...Don't do anything stupid."
He slowly places his M1911 back into his hip holster and lets out a reassuring sigh.
"Don't worry." He spits.
I take a piece of the Russian bottle and gaze into it, and notice it is very reflective, almost like a mirror. I place it in my gunny-pack and make a final glance to the side, where all the soldiers have begun to leave the trucks. Now is our chance!
"Standby. Standby... Go!"
We both crawl out and start a mad dash forward, behind a small concrete barrier, then beside an upturned shipping container. We laid up against it and rest for a minute, and I take a swig from my water pouch. I get up and motion Price to follow, and we make it to a wall surrounding an open courtyard with projects surrounding it.
"Hold fast. No one saw us, let's keep moving. This way..." I unveil the bottle shard and use it as a mirror to peek around the corner safely. The grounds seem to be clear, but as I check the surrounding buildings, a soldier is situated on an outer stairwell.
"Don't move. Sniper. Fire escape, fourth floor, dead ahead. Take him out, or he'll give away our position."
Without hesitation, Price turned out of the corner and let a bullet meet the snipers forehead. The impact of the round sent the soldier back and over the railing, whereas the man was plummeted into a garbage crate. Price made a thumb and I gave him a hook in the shoulder.
"Beautiful. Move out. Go."
I moved out first, and scanned all areas as Price watched our flank. We climbed the railing staircase to the second floor and kicked in the apartment window to access the inside. With enough glass gone to fit through, we slipped our way inside and traversed the apartment complex from within.
"Area clear."
We moved out into the dank, radiation fueled streets of Chernobyl and proceeded through even though our Geiger Counters where spewing with pride. We trudge along quickly whilst taking the fewest breaths we could bare. Though we finally make it to another, smaller courtyard with an overhang. We take a breather and head under the overhang, but a vicious presence awaits on the other side, blood dripping from its mangled excuse of a mouth.
Chapter 8: Remembrance[]
"Stop. Leave it alone. It's a wild dog. Pooch doesn't look too friendly. Keep your distance. No need to attract unnecessary attention."
The vile dog, which seems to have spent years disturbed by radiation sickness, is chewing on a soldier it most-likely killed. The dog ripped at the corpse's intestines, and as we tried to maneuver around it, it sprang to its feet. It lets its ears down low, and raised its hairs in a violent stance. Hissing, barking and spitting all it could to keep us at bay. It lunged forward with a few steps, but we raised our rifles in unison. The dog pouted and after a short moment, it returned to its meal.
"Whew, that was close." Price said in a vulgar manner, and we continued our journey through an old Highschool.
"Clear right. Go. Forward area clear. Move up."
Even though we were inside, the sound of the dog could be heard. Loudly barking with slight yelps at the entrance as if it was calling for us to get out of there. We were mostly walking on a powdery concrete floor and there were piles of debris in places where the roof had caved in. We were checking the area and were entering the cafeteria, when we heard the distinct sound of laughter. Both of us went back to back and scanned in circles, but obviously we heard something else, right? There are no children in Chernobyl! I let out a sigh and continued through the building, speaking of the history to Price.
"Look at this place... Fifty thousand people used to live in this city. Now it's a ghost town... I've never seen anything like it."
We move hastily through the abandoned cafeteria with a clear view of some distraught buildings across Prypiat. At the end I saw the bright sun beaming through a door frame and we headed for it.
"This way! Let's go. There's the hotel. We should be able to observe the exchange from the top floor up there. Let's move."
Price sighed in relief and I looked back at him.
"Christmas for the bad guys, eh." He jokingly said.
"Too right, mate." I responded, "Too right."