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Special shoutout to "Desertpunkdemon" on patreon for being my first patron with the tier "Luke Sullivan"! Look out for his part in this series as "Desmond Park"!
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 1,730)
~ With Fury ~
For the second time that day, Fury was once again interrupted by another call on his private line. Glancing at the caller ID, Fury answered, "Coulson, you've only just sent the report a few hours ago. Has something happened?"
Fury had sent Coulson, one of his trusted agents, which looks to be short in supply most recently, to monitor the situation with Tony Stark. Through the warning in the diary, Fury decided to send someone he trusted to report directly to him regarding any developments, as he feared he would be misled or fed the wrong information by the current teams he had placed on Tony.
However, listening to the other end of the line, Fury heard the sounds of gunfight and soldiers shouting. "Sir, Mr Stark's convoy has been attacked, and we are currently aiding in fending off the ambush!" Coulson reported. Fury had pulled a few strings to get a STRIKE unit disguised as security personnel to follow the convoy, under the excuse of 'protecting America's interest', as Tony Stark was a primary weapons developer for the United Stated Military. It also helped that the Secretary General of the World Security Council and former Director of SHIELD, Alexander Pierce, had seen the merit of such notion and supported Fury, earning him an appreciative nod.
"Report Coulson, how bad is it?" In the midst of the gunfight, Coulson took a quick sitrep, "It's bad sir. All the personnel provided by the military are K.I.A. They were too green to be on a high value detail like this one. The unit has suffered two fatalities, and we're running low on ammunition. Whoever these ambushers are, they are untrained, but they have vastly superior numbers and top of the line weaponry. It's highly possible that we will be surrounded in a couple of minutes, sir!"
Hearing Coulson's sitrep, Fury's gut was gnawing at him further. Something smelled fishy about this entire situation. Green soldiers, ambush, and not to mention the impressive firepower and vast manpower the enemy possessed. Something was definitely fishy. "And what of Stark?"
"Captured sir. His vehicle was hit by an explosive. As we tried to retrieve him, the gunfight intensified, and we could not push ahead any further. We could only watch as they took him away. He is believed to be alive as we heard them shouting in Arabic that the target was still breathing." Coulson reported, "It appears they came specifically for Stark, sir."
Taking a moment to weigh his options, Fury finally relayed his orders. "Full retreat, Coulson."
"Pardon sir? Did you just say full retreat?" Surprised, Coulson could not help but to ask for confirmation. Coulson was prepared to lay his life for his mission. Tony Stark was too high a value of target to leave behind in this mess.
"Indeed, get your men out of there now! Mark the location, I'll send for a drone to monitor the situation and figure out where they took Stark." Fury emphasized. He had decided to trust in the book for this time and attempt to save Coulson's life. Fury was not prepared to face the consequences of losing an Agent such as Coulson.
Hanging up the line, Fury pressed the button under his table, took out the diary and surveyed through the pages to see if there were any updates.
~ With Desmond Park, Captain of STRIKE Unit Omega. ~
Amidst the chaos surrounding their location, Desmond 'DP' Park, Captain of the Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies (STRIKE) unit Omega, was lamenting the situation that he had found his unit in. It had been an ordinary mission for the unit, a simple high value escort, only this time, the target was of extreme value, Tony Stark. Being selected as the unit to escort the target had brought great pride for his unit, they had been together for close to 5 years now with a mission completion rate of 100%. One of the best units STRIKE had in its arsenal.
However, reality had been wrong. First, he noticed that the security detail on the target was uncharacteristically minimal. Considering the value of the target, Desmond had expected there to be air support among the convoy. Instead, he had been dismayed by the sight of only a few ground vehicles and two dozen security personnel count. Secondly, when conversing with the person in charge of the convoy, he had been further confused by realizing how green the soldiers were, with the most experienced being the person in-charge who had served 4 tours in Afghanistan. And lastly, it was even more suspicious that he was informed that their convoy would leave later than the accompanying high-ranking officers of the United States Military and Government officials, as they had wanted to minimize the risk.
This had raised flags for Desmond, who immediately reported his finding to his direct superior on the mission, Agent Coulson. Coulson could only include his finding in his report he was about to send to Fury, but the mission needed to be carried out, regardless of the situation they found themselves in as Tony Stark was free-spirited and had already declined any additional support, claiming he already had the best. A claim that would haunt Tony for the rest of his life.
As Desmond and his unit was holding their ground, albeit slowly losing, he had heard Coulson shouting for him. "Captain! Orders from up high, Full Retreat! Mark the area!"
Although he was prepared to give his life as well, Desmond had felt relieved that he was allowed to order a full retreat. "Understood!" He acknowledged before relaying his orders to his unit. "Evans, pop a smoke and send out the E Flare! Chase, Hobbs, grab our fallen brothers! We're making a full retreat!" He then tapped the shoulder of his second-in-command and said, "Mike, on me! We're providing cover fire while they fall back!"
Slowly making their retreat, the gunfight raged on. As gunfire echoed past the cover he and Mike was using, Desmond's heart was pounding. Seeing as the unit had retreated further away from the fight, he steeled his convictions as he looked towards Mike. "Mike, on my go, make your way to the team. You are now Team Captain of STRIKE unit Omega!"
Cutting off his Captain, Mike could only deny his order, "I can't do that DP, I can't leave you behind! We're in this together!" But Desmond was having none of it. Desmond grabbed Mike by his shoulder and said, "THIS IS AN ORDER MIKE! I've already lost two brothers here, I will not lose anyone else! Get them home safe, Mike. NOW GO!" Desmond commanded. With heavy reluctance, Mike turned and made his way to his unit under the cover fire of Desmond.
Seeing that he was alone now, Desmond had a faint smile on his lips, resigned to his fate. Without hesitation, he sprang into action. Bullets whizzed past him as he fired back with deadly accuracy, taking down enemy after enemy. Desmond ducked and weaved, his movements fluid and precise as he danced through the chaos of the battle.
As an enemy turned into his position with a gun pointed to his head, Desmond tilted his head to the side as the attacker shot the weapon, narrowly avoiding the bullet as it grazed his cheek. With lightning speed, Desmond grabbed the muzzle of the weapon and yanked it towards him, bringing the attacker along with it, followed by a powerful punch to the gut, sending his attacker staggering backwards. Seizing the opportunity, Desmond launched into a series of swift and brutal strikes, his fists a blur as he finished off the attacker.
Running out of ammo with the enemy closed in around him, Desmond knew he was losing time. With a determined grit, he threw his rifle to the ground and closed the distance between himself and who he believed the enemy leader was. With a roar of defiance, Desmond slammed into the enemy, wrapping his arms around him in a tight bear hug. With all his strength, he lifted the enemy off his feet, executing a flawless German suplex that sent the enemy crashing to the ground with bone-shattering force.
As the dust settled, Desmond panted with his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. Desmond had fought with everything he had, his body aching with exhaustion as he pushed himself to the limit. Blow after blow rained down, each strike fuelled by adrenaline and determination. But even through all his efforts, he had still found himself standing face to face with the remaining attackers, weapons aimed at him. With a primal growl, Desmond taunted, "Come on then you motherfu-".
Desmond was cut off by the barrage of bullets that pierced through his body, riddling him with holes. And as his world faded into obscurity, Desmond's spirit roared free, defiant in the face of his predicament. For even in death, his sacrifice ensured the survival of the rest of his team.
- End of Chapter 15 -
Next time in C16 - Third entry! Luke defeated in three moves?!
"What's wrong with that? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT? DID YOU FORGET THAT HE'S THE REASON OUR PARENTS DIED?! NOW WE'RE STUCK HERE AND HE'S STILL OUT THERE, FREE!" Wanda screamed at her brother.
E/d: What a chapter! There was no fight scene in the MTL, as in the MTL it was just Coulson saying he and his team (Not the STRIKE unit but a random ass team), were going to support the ambushed Tony. And then Fury saying not to engage but send someone to monitor where the ambushers were going. Afterwards it was Fury just monologuing again about how it would be good for Tony to be kidnapped and blah blah blah.
I changed that, obviously, because I could :P And with it came the introduction of my top patron DesertPunkDemon, now known as Desmond Park! I hope you enjoyed your inclusion in this story and once again, thanks for the support, Des and everyone else!