Chapter 103

It was now just before 9 AM. It is a pleasant winter's day with light clouds in the sky. A lot milder than it should be. At the moment, I’m standing at the junction where the mission will start in front of the gate. Next to me is Schmid, both armed and ready to go. We await the final go signal once the follow-on team is prepared.

Giving the other operative a side-eye glance, I look over again, and my concerns from our first team meeting are still there. He is about 6 feet tall and well-built with brown hair and brown eyes. If we had met a few years ago, I suspect he would have presented as a stable and efficient zone operative. However, it was clear what the warning I received in the briefing was about. He was….twitchy.

His face was pale and gaunt, with a few days worth of stubble. He was constantly fidgeting when not actively engaged in something to keep his hands busy. Our mission was about to begin and we were standing waiting to go for the last few minutes. He had stopped fidgeting that whole time. But my main concern was his eyes. Calling them haunted would be an understatement on our level that I couldn’t even begin to describe. Our brief conversation in greeting each other clearly showed his mental state. He could even look us in the face while he spoke with his eyes firmly on the ground. It shows the desperation that has been forced to keep him on active service. This mission hasn’t even started and I’m already worried about how long he can keep it together. From personal experience, I know you don’t get a look like that without seeing some serious shit.

Around us, there was a mixture of European, French and British soldiers. They were manning the checkpoint here, mostly in towers overlooking the wall seeking hostiles. Mixed in were a few local police personnel and militia volunteers. All the non-British personnel were showing signs of exhaustion and strain. This was manifested in both their faces and their ragged appearance. Schmid’s equipment was an older issue and needed much more repair work. He was carrying his shield, equally banged up with a long sword.

Schmid was at least now looking around and seemed more present. I had expressed my concerns to Gregson, who agreed with me, but the local officers overrode us who were in command. The mission was going ahead as planned. I can do nothing but get my head into the mindset I need.

“We are opening the gates. The mission is a go!” Came the heavily accented English from one of the French officers. In response, the metal gates in front of us opened, showing the road we would be walking down. The Quai aux Fleurs was indeed clear of all abandoned civilian traffic. True, there were one or two vehicles on the left-hand side of the road as we looked down, but they would not cause any issues.

“First team, go!” Came the order. I nodded to the officer at the gate and stepped forward. Schmid hesitated for a few seconds but eventually followed. The soldiers along the wall faced the no man’s land between the barrier and zone, looking for dangers.

We quickly crossed the threshold and began walking down the road. Immediately to our left was some form of a recycling centre, I think and then we would walk next to fields. Some trees and shrubbery spread along the canal’s edge to our right. I saw signs of weapons fire that had struck the area all along the road. Looking to the right across the canal, I can make out several vehicles spread out along the bank all the way down with heavy weapons pointing at our side of the canal. They were our fire support until we reached the zone, which I could make out in the distance. I still felt a shiver down my spine in the heat of the day as I realised how open this area was.

“Let’s get this done.” I said to Schmid. He didn’t respond but just walked on. I realised this was the best I would get from him and matched his pace. I was to the left and he was to the right walking along the canal side of the road. Looking across the canal, the teams on the other side were also much more alert. The second team would be 20 minutes behind us, barring unforeseen circumstances.

Even though it was early in the morning, it would be a warm day. I was already sweating in my armour as the thermal lining and the matt black paint job did nothing to cool me. I didn’t bother conversing with Schmid but noticed looking around more than me. On the other hand, he was rapidly moving his head, trying to spot any dangers, but I feared he wasn’t actually looking. Now I keep my head on a swivel while in the zone, but I actually study the area around me. Another bad sign in my book was that my instincts told me this mission would suck hard.

Suddenly ahead of us, one of their support team opened fire into the fields. We both stopped and braced for combat. Whatever they were firing at was well ahead of us and we could make out figures moving. The heavy machine guns concentrated fire and quickly took down whatever was out there.

“Three targets eliminated. Continue.” A voice came over a bullhorn from across the canal. Schmid looked at me and I could see his eyes wide with near panic that was now receding.

“We carry on.” I said to him.

“Okay.” He replied. His English was excellent and he only carried a faint accent. However, the fear in his voice and the look on his face were almost enough for me to turn around and return to the gates. I didn’t know how long he could last out here. God, I wish he was actually in the second team and not out here with me. He was the most senior operative left in northern France; I had been told. If this was true, it showed just how bad things were. The operatives coming up with the support team were draftees with barely one or two missions under their belt.

“Turn around and go back, Schmid, if you can’t handle this.” He looked back to the gate and I thought he would actually go, but he shook his head. He looked at me, surprised that I would even suggest it. The hope on his face for those few seconds was all I needed to see to know that I’d been right. He was broken.

“Now we keep going.” In that moment, I understood that he was like me in some ways. He wanted desperately not to be there, not to go into the zone and see what was in there again. But, like me had a little voice in the back of his mind driving him on. In some way, I think he also understood me at that moment as well with the terribly sad smile he gave me. I truly felt sorry for the poor bastard right then because I knew, but for the grace of God, go I. We didn’t say any more but continued to walk down the road.

We were moving at a fair pace and passed the first checkpoints along the route. We can see ahead—an abandoned house with two cars out front. The house had shrapnel and bullet scars like the road. I couldn’t make out any bodies around the area. We kept moving, knowing that the second checkpoint was close and with that, the zone.

Looking to the last out into the field past a hedgerow that had been shredded by weapons fire, we could see a couple of figures lying in the dirt. I didn’t bother approaching them to identify what they were. I just accepted that they were hostiles and now that they had been terminated.

I remember from the map that there was a T-junction just ahead of us and then a road bridge at the next junction a short distance away. We could see the ruins of the bridge and the canal as they had been destroyed. Beyond that junction was a large wooded area with a château in it. The ruined Bridge junction marked the next checkpoint for us.

We made good time down the roadway and quickly reached several buildings that, like the house before us, were abandoned. We quickly passed them, keeping our attention on them in case something nasty popped out. But thankfully, nothing did and we reached the junction.

It looked like the road bridge had been bombed out by an airstrike. I wasn’t sure, but personal experience from Rome gave a strong indication. However, the wooded area with a château to our left was more concerning as it was an excellent ambush vector. Hostiles can move through the tree line and not be supported by support teams on the other side of the canal. I noticed in the sky a couple of low-level drones buzzing around, probably giving the support teams a warning in case there were hostiles. Behind us, the second team would be leaving about now. All in all, we have been doing quite well so far.

Ahead of us, there were some more fields and buildings. Then we reached the edge of the zone that cut across a graveyard. The zone and for some reason, did not cross the canal. No one was sure why, but it had made an effective barrier keeping whatever was lurking within it on this side of the canal.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the cemetery’s edge and we were only a short distance from the zone. We stopped here briefly to view the graveyard and drink some water. The cemetery was quite large; thankfully, we didn’t see any walking corpses. I was happy at how the mission was unfolding at the moment, but I’m a little paranoid voice in the back of my mind was getting concerned. For such an active zone, things were hushed.

“Is it me, or is it too quiet.” I decided to ask Schmid.

“It’s too quiet.” He confirmed my suspicions. “There’s no me a lot more activity out here in no man’s land.”

“That’s not good.” Just as I said it, we heard more weapons fire, this time from behind us and we both turned and looked back along the roadway. In the distance, we could make out the second team and whatever the support units were firing on was between us. The concentrated heavy weapons fire seemed to deal with whatever was out there. To the north of us, I noticed two attack helicopters also hovering. Whether they were acting as additional support or stalking something, I was unsure.

“Targets it eliminated. Continue.” Came the message over a bullhorn again.

“Attack helicopters up north.” I pointed this out to Schmid.

“I saw them.” He acknowledged.

As I put my water canteen away, they quickly turned and engaged something in the housing estates to the north. Heavy machine gun fire and even a few rockets were launched and we could see the smoke rising from the impacts.

“That’s not good.” Schmid said, sighing.

“No, it’s not.” It was my turn to agree with him. “Let’s get going. The faster we do this, the faster we get out here.” He didn’t say anything but just turned and followed me.

It was only a couple of metres now until the wall of grey fog that marked the edge of the zone. We looked to our left into the graveyard for anything we had missed. As this was recorded as a grave zone, this graveyard would usually be a significant hub of hostiles. The cemetery had also had in the past received some attention from the forces on the other side of the canal. A crater from what looked like a missile strike was nearby, with numerous partial remains scattered around it. Many headstones were smashed or scarred from bullet or shrapnel hits. I can also make out rotten figures spread around on the ground in different locations.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the fog and with a deep breath, I plunged into it. Schmid was mere seconds behind.