The early morning in Lionheart Town was very quiet, with no streetlights illuminating the village layout. It was so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face, a stark contrast to the bustling activity of the daytime.
The only constant was the sharp, pungent smell of burning rubber products lingering in the air.
The Snoopy van drove along the town's main road, the only one, and though a few houses on the street had dim yellow lights flickering in their windows, no one bothered to open their windows to check.
Clearly, the old, secondhand van failed to catch anyone's interest.
A few minutes later, the van arrived at its designated location, about 20 meters away from the target house, at an entrance to a small alley that led behind the building.
The rest of the way would be covered on foot to avoid disturbing anyone inside the target house.
*Shh—click!*
The van door opened.
The first person to step out was "Lei," who didn't wait for the others but immediately entered the alley, heading toward a previously scouted position.
As B-Team's communications officer and sniper, Lei needed to find an optimal spot.
The location had to allow his satellite communication equipment, which was strapped to his back, to maintain clear communication between B-Team members, as well as ensure a steady signal with the operation center.
Even if the two were half a planet apart.
Additionally, Lei's KAC Mk.11mod0 sniper rifle, designed by Knight's Armament Company for naval sniping, had to be positioned to provide fire support for B-Team from a distance.
It also needed to cover every intersection around the target building with 360-degree dynamic surveillance.
In this way, Lei would serve as B-Team's eyes on the outside.
Should anything unusual happen near the building, he could immediately relay the information to the team leader inside the house, allowing the leader to react quickly.
This would prevent the team from losing sight of the external environment once they entered the house, avoiding a surprise attack by the enemy.
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Each special forces soldier had their own task, none of which were more important than the others. Everyone had to perform their duty flawlessly.
The most important thing was…
Everyone had to trust their teammates, confident that each person could excellently fulfill their role.
Of course.
Normally, external observation and support would fall to A-Team, as B-Team, the assault team, would be fully engaged in the operation itself.
But since A-Team had to wait to avoid alerting the target, Lei was temporarily assigned to this task.
Lei moved ahead for the "position observation," while B-Team split into two groups.
Jason, Long Zhan, and Brock formed one group, while Sonny, Trent, and Clay made up the other. This division ensured each group had a heavy machine gunner and a medic to protect the team's safety.
Clay specialized in communications and intelligence, while Brock was a professional scout.
The separation of these two ensured that neither group would miss any valuable intelligence during the operation.
Since rescuing the hostage was the primary objective, while capturing Samir was secondary, the group with Jason and Long Zhan was tasked with using climbing hooks or ladders to access the second floor of the target house and search for the hostage, Marshall.
Sonny's group was responsible for clearing the first floor and checking for possible basements.
Both groups exited the van with their roles clearly assigned. The first group moved in front, while the second followed closely. They advanced along the wall, keeping to the shadows of the moonlight, moving as quietly as possible toward the back of the target building.
As the last of B-Team disembarked from the van, it began to return.
The van would not be needed for the withdrawal!
Brock led the first group as point man, with Jason, the team leader and commander, following second, and Long Zhan, the fire support and medic, bringing up the rear.
The second group followed behind in the same formation.
After advancing for about 30 seconds, Brock, who was leading the way, stopped. He raised his right arm to shoulder height, his fist clenched and held horizontally, signaling to stop.
He then pulled the leash attached to his waist, causing the military dog with him to halt as well.
As the point man, Brock stopped, and the entire team quickly and synchronously pressed up against the wall, hiding in the shadows of the moonlight.
Brock turned and signaled Jason.
He had reached the vicinity of the target building and spotted a male target holding a weapon, less than 5 meters around the corner.
Jason stepped forward a few paces, peered around the corner, and quickly withdrew.
The entire team wore advanced night vision goggles, so even though the alley was pitch dark with no lights, they could see clearly enough to spot a mouse scurrying by.
Although the world appeared green through the night vision lenses.
The soldier guarding the back door, armed only with an AK, had no other military gear, resembling an ordinary civilian more than a soldier.
His only source of light was a 10-watt incandescent bulb above, offering very limited visibility.
Most of the area was a blur of blackness.
More importantly, it was late, and the soldier, with nothing to do but sit by the door, had fallen asleep.
Jason activated his rifle's laser sight and signaled to Lei on the roof.
(The laser sight was invisible to the naked eye and could only be seen through night vision, ensuring their position remained undetected.)
He then made tactical hand signals to Brock, instructing him to eliminate the target.
Finally, he turned and signaled to the second group, informing them they were nearing the target building. They were to proceed according to the plan after the engagement.