[AU] Black Hawk Down (Tag: Cassidy Stryker, Artemis, Ezra)

[Alexandra Lawson]

"This is Conner. I want to make sure you know what you're asking for so say it out loud and clear."



"We're asking to go in and set up a perimeter until ground support arrives."



"And you realize I cannot tell when that might be. It could take quite a while.  And you still want to go in there?"



The diminutive redhead swallowed hard and gave a stoic nod as she listened to the radio conversation between her partner, Ezra Cooper and the General back at HQ. They knew what needed to be done, knew what they were asking. The situation had gone from tenuous and tense to bad to worse to downright fucked in a matter of minutes.  There was a helicopter on the ground being swarmed by a group of savage enemies pelting it with small arms fire and hope for the pilots stuck inside was dwindling.  With only stilted, broken up communication there was no telling what condition the flight crew was in but it didn't take a rocket scientist to see the ever growing danger developing on the ground.

"Yes sir."  Warrant Officer Alex Lawson insisted, pushing her way into the conversation as she stared out the open door of he helicopter as it circled around the city where dozens of her fellow soldiers were locked in a number of skirmishes in the claustrophobic urban environment.  "We're more effective on the ground."

There came a long stretch of radio silence.  The only sound was the steady thwop sound of the UH-60 Black Hawk's rotors as it circled high above the carnage.  It looked as though the entire city had come to life and swarmed the soldiers like hornets protecting their nest.  The situation was dire, of that she knew.  Slowly she turned her eyes back to her partner, fellow sniper, Warrant Officer and member of the experimental 'special weapons division' of the US Army Special Forces Command.  The two of them had been recruited for their exceptional talents that gave them an edge in most combat situations, in spite of Alex's physical limitations.

"Spencer.  Put them in."

Alex nodded again at the answer that finally came over the radio.  At the order the helicopter's pilot caused the craft to dip and begin dropping toward the city streets.  The area surrounding the downed chopper that would be the target of the two snipers was far too hot leaving them no choice but to be inserted a few clicks away.  The moment Alex's boots hit the ground she felt an overwhelming calm wash over her.  She slapped her partner's shoulder and peered up at the much taller soldier.  "We better hurry."  She said once the chopper had lifted off, blowing dust and dirt around them.  "They don't have much time."


(Tag: Ezra Cooper , Cassie Stryker , Artemis James )

[Ezra Cooper]

Once they were on the ground, Ezra nodded quietly at his partner's words. His heart was pounding in his chest, adrenaline pumping. His main focus was on his two comrades trapped a few miles away. All around him, dust and sand kicked up, but everything else was calm. Eerily so.

He looked up at the chopper as it flew away before turning to his much smaller partner. It still, to this day, surprises him that she had signed on for this gig. He had no doubts of her abilities, absolutely, but it never occurred to him that her survival through the gruelling process was based on pure grit. She was almost a different person on the field.

Hell, they all were but strip away the gear and the uniform, nobody would have thought the five foot redhead was a soldier through and through.

Hoisting up his weapon, Ezra started moving, his eyes and ears alert.

[Cassie Stryker]

The pilot was dead. Cassie hadn't been able to check his vitals yet, but it was pretty much a foregone conclusion. They'd landed on the front of the chopper, so he'd likely taken the brunt of the crash. Cassie was just lucky she'd been able to dive to the chopper's floor in time to avoid the flying debris. She groaned and rubbed the bump on her head. She hadn't gone away without one. It was courtesy of hitting the floor too hard. Go figure. Where was Art? They'd crashed in enemy territory there were bound to be soldiers showing up soon and she'd rather not be here to greet them when they arrived. She picked up a machine gun from the wall. Already loaded and ready to go. If the soldiers came, they'd be wanting a fight. The least she could do was give it to them. And if they got too close, she had that extra ace up her sleeve that they weren't aware of.

[Alexandra Lawson]

If the circumstances had been different Alex would probably be looked upon as more of a joke than anything. With her brilliant red hair tied in a tight pony-tail and topped with a dull, beige ballcap, baggy cargo pants, black boots and tactical vest she looked more like a high school kid dressing up for Halloween than a trained military operator. The only thing that was missing was an orange stripe around the barrel of her rifle, which was slung across her shoulder. But here, in this city under these conditions no one would mistake her for anything other than the enemy and that simple fact scared the living hell out of her.

Moving quickly, using the debris and rubble years of infighting had caused for cover, Alex and Ezra covered ground at a decent pace. Alex's equipment was void of the bulky pieces most soldiers wore but her most dangerous weapon hadn't been issued by the government. A weathered pick up truck with a handful of soldiers and a large machine gun mounted in the bed went roaring on by in the direction of the crash. Alex quickly identified the threat. If that reached the downed chopper whatever was left of the flight crew probably wouldn't last long. She pivoted, lifted a hand and enveloped the vehicle in a wreath of flame. She never got used to the screams that accompanied the use of her power. They echoed through her mind even as she doused the truck until it, and everything inside it, stopped moving.

"This way." She said, moving past the burning wreckage. "We're not far now."

[Ezra Cooper]

It still amazes and scares the shit out of Ezra whenever he saw his partner use her abilities. Even under these circumstances, seeing the truck burst into flames gave Ezra pause before he was following Alex. His dark brown eyes trained on her, hoping he never got on her bad side. Ever.

As they moved through the dilapidated buildings and gunned down posts, Ezra's heart squeezed, wondering if he was really doing the right thing, being here in his position, in a country where the civilians far outweighed their enemies. He wondered how many children, women and oldfolks have perished under the seige and it almost made him stop but his team member needed help and he would be damned if he didn't get to their rescue.

"I see it. Straight ahead." He ran up to Alex's side before leading them both up to the crash site. A bullet flew past his shoulder and he grabbed Alex to pull her down. When his back hit a wall, he groaned slightly when he found that the bullet had grazed him. "Shit." He breathed shallowly. "I can't believe I didn't see them."