The firefight that began in the street didn’t end there unfortunately for Hammers team and many others like it. They lost their medic in the second engagement and by the third the Lt. had also taken a wound to the shoulder.

“Sergeant Hammurabi!” The young officer barked over the gun fire.

Hammer was helmetless now, preferring to hear than take the protection of the functionless helmet.

“I need you and Stick to get up into that apartment block and put down that opposing fire. It’ll kill us all before long.”

Hammer didn’t hesitate, and before he could tell Stick he found the CQB fighter on his heels. They were both primed and ready to help their wounded brothers. Under a hail of covering fire, the team of two crossed the street and held themselves up against the target building.

This fight has been all wrong since the beginning. They were called in to deal with an extremist cell. A cell that wasn’t supposed to be active in the streets. It was a setup from the very beginning. They could tell by the gear and advanced training of the opposing force. This was sponsored terrorism, most likely by another nation or a high powered corporation.

Hammer couldn’t guess the reason, and he didn’t care. He was going to put them all down.

Stick ran comms back with the rest of the team, and when the next burst of automatic fire went into the building, he and Hammer made their way to the first available entryway — a double door facing a side alley.

Hammer prepped the door for entry and placed a small charge on the locking mechanism. He began to countdown from ten and motioned for Stick to be ready. When the small charge began to burn a bright white, it quickly burned through the small metal lock, and Hammers big boot did the rest to take the door off its hinges.

Stick went left, and Hammer went right. Hammer saw no one in his area but heard two shots from Sticks silenced compact rifle.

“Clear,” Hammer said and made his way to the stairwell.

His clear was answered by Stick’s, and a tap on his shoulder told him he was good to approach the second level. With Stick covering his back, Hammer kept the large automatic blaster facing forward. As he cleared the top of the stairs, he fired a sustained burst into the first person he saw, and he could hear the continued chirp of Stick's weapon behind him. This was it. These were the men that were putting down his team. They cleared the rest of the floor and put six hostiles out of commission.

Stick reported back to Davies.

Activating his speaker, Stick repeated his instructions from the LT.

“We are to hold this point and check for intel sarge.”

Hammer nodded he was already checking the dead.  The next frantic communication relayed by Stick was a quick one.

“Take cover!”

Before the explosions started, Hammer saw a red snake wrapped around a trident.