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The helicopter they took out refused to land anywhere near the RedZone until it was fully cleared, not an unusual situation since too many had been attacked by a variety of monsters, terrified survivors looking for an escape, or even by the growing undead hordes. Leaving Haksoo's group to make a jump down to their landing zone.
Just a few miles from the city limits, the team of ten soldiers hit the ground ball running. Moving from a small open field to a nearby wooded area. The elite group of soldiers didn't waste a moment as they spread out, guns raised as they set to ensuring the safety of their landing zone. The team had trained together for years and knew what to do without Haksoo having to give direct orders anymore, their movements fluid as if they had one mind, though they keep an eye out just the same, as they all did. Watching each other's back so nothing could slip through.
The undead lured in by the loud noises of their landing shot down without hesitation and dragged aside as the group moved in unison to create a small barrier that would surround their camp. It took about three hours, gathering what they could from the surrounding area, including falling logs, old signposts, and abandoned down cars as a wall with an outside perimeter of traps in case something unwelcoming still tried to wiggle its way in. They wouldn't be spending much time here, but it was always good to have even a semi-secure base to fall back and for their flying companions to feel better about landing to retrieve them.
Haksoo glanced down to his watch before giving a sharp whistle to gather his men back together, and signal that it was time to move off. They had two days to find Jaeseong and the others and get out before this area would meet the firey fate as the other cities that had been bombed.
48 hours remaining.
They had already plotted out the most direct path and it was nothing short of desperate, but with a short time frame, Haksoo was not going to bank on the fact that maybe his friend Chen would wait for a little longer if they happened to be late.
They started into the city, guard up as there seemed to be very few undead even wandering the area and no animals or even birds scurrying about. The unusual situation made Haksoo more uneasy, as a lack of undead in a RedZone typically meant there was something much worse lurking around and while he was already pissed off for even having to be here in the first place, there were better ways to get out of his anger then picking a fight with a big bad monster.
The team continued to secure the path as they moved through the city, moving cars to block off side streets and alleyways. A double string trap of two colors set every few blocks that would alert them if anything, animal or bigger, was blocking their way back.
They found more undead as they reached the second district. A frightening fresh group that looked better dressed than anyone from this area should have been, only seemed to assure Haksoo that whatever was propelling these big outbreaks was nowhere near ending. This was the most dangerous part of their trek as the group of soldiers headed up onto the open section of highway that would lead them directly to their goal. Using the discarded cars left scattered across the highway for whatever cover they could still be more uncovered than he would have liked.
The highway bridge that connected the Second and Third Districts of Triste was just ahead of them, though the small group of IST they were here to find was hidden from view, wisely having taken cover underneath the bridge. The sounds of gunfire every few minutes coming from two different sides drawing his curiosity even more as Haksoo called his team to a halt along the side of the highway.
"Someone's having fun without us," Haksoo smirked as he came up alongside one of his fellow soldiers, a skilled sniper, and tapped one of the other soldiers on the shoulder. "Can you see anything up there?"
The other soldier was already looking through his scoop even before Haksoo had finished his question. Scanning the area ahead with hawklike precision.
"There's a group of Leemans and even more undead." An exact headcount was given of each group, as well as the direction the undead seemed to be approaching from. "Between us and the bridge. They don't seem to have noticed us as their attention is on the approaching undead."
"Anyone, we know?" There was a shoot on sight order for all Leemans, regardless of who they were, however, there were a few important high-ranking targets that Chen specifically wanted to be taken down more than others.
There were a few moments of silence, followed by a click as the sniper set their gun down on the hood of the car they were presently resting behind and shifted into a stiffened pose, finger poised on the trigger. "Target sighted. Alison Goh. "
"Is that so..."
"I have a clear shot."
"Hold.."
"That's not our soldiers, they're Leemans."
"I said, hold. We don't have the ammo to waste." Headhunting was not the reason that they were called out, and Haksoo was not about to waste ammo or their limited time here. "If our buddies haven't shot them down already, there's a reason for it and I want to know why."
"Where the hell did I put it," Haksoo muttered under his breath as set his gun down at his side and tugged off his pack, and rummaged around in it. Luckily for Alison, this small group was more loyal to him than they were to Chen. Haksoo was known for breaking orders and often going against the crazy brainwashing drills and rules they had learned in training, and they were used to Haksoo's sometimes crazy antics. At the end of the day, he got the job done and got them home alive and that's what counted.
After a minute of struggle and almost losing his hand to the depth of his backpack, he pulled out a can of iced coffee he had hidden away as a treat and some paper. He scribbled out a quick message before using some string to tie it tight around the can. He hoped Alison would appreciate that he was about to waste the single personal item he had stashed away sending a message to her.
He set a hand on the sniper's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze.
"Watch my back. I'm going to send a love letter."
After getting a nod, Haksoo scooped up his gun and snuck forward several more cars until he came what he hoped was close enough. Standing and hurling the small can forward so that he would land just a few feet behind where the Leemans were setup. As he heard the can hit the hard pavement and crack open, Haksoo set back down and hoped that the spray of coffee wouldn't soak the note too much that it would become unreadable.
You owe me a drink. Let's chat. - Haksoo
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