Echo Six: Black Ops 4 - Chechen Massacre by Eric Meyer Page A

with an unknown number of nuclear warheads, and their Chechen Muslim minders. The engine slowed as it approached the red signal. The iron brakes screeched like a tortured banshee, and then it halted fifty meters from their position. Exactly where they’d planned.
    X marks the fucking spot. Maybe we’re in with a chance.
    They could hear the dull beat of the enormous diesel engine as it idled, waiting for the signal to turn green. Borodin shouted to his men, "Fire! Kill the bastards!"
    The roar of exploding missiles was deafening. Explosions lit up the night with great gouts of flame, as a succession of RPGs ripped into the passenger coaches. The machine guns started, and the clatter of continuous fire mingled with the lighter note of the assault rifles as they added their weight to the fight, ripping targets to shreds.
    But it’s wrong, all wrong! Why is there no return fire? They’re supposed to be elite troops. They should be ready for anything.
    He heard more gunfire from the rear of the train, which told him Guy's squad and the rest of the Russians had begun systematically destroying their targets; the rear passenger coaches, carrying the rest of the all-important guard force. He turned his attention to the coaches in front of him. A large chunk of the bodywork of the rearmost coach was already ripped off, torn to shreds. As he watched, two more rockets flared and impacted on the stricken rolling stock. The barrage was almost continuous, and it was hard to imagine how anyone inside those coaches could survive. But there was still no return fire.
    Where are the North Koreans?
    He looked around for Barrington. The Major had stopped firing and was staring at the damage they'd inflicted; his face flushed with exultation.
    "Major! There's something wrong. No one’s returning fire."
    "What's wrong with that? They're probably all dead and wounded. Press on with the attack, Talley."
    Anyone who had experience of battle would know it was nonsense. Soldiers were notoriously hard to kill, as had been proved time and time again. When the Nazis tried to destroy the Russian defenders at Stalingrad, they pounded the rubble again and again with sledgehammer blows. Mortars, artillery, and bombs rained on the beleaguered Russians, yet the soldiers would crawl out to start fighting again once the bombardment stopped.
    "There's no way, Major. We've been…"
    Talley felt a heavy caliber round punch into his back, striking the ballistic plate in his vest. It was like being hit by a sledgehammer.
    Fired from behind!
    He dived to the ground, shouting, "Take cover! They're right behind us!"
    He swung around, satisfied that his men had reacted fast to the order and were hitting the dirt, turning to face the new threat. A new storm of gunfire tore the air overhead, as scores of machine guns and assault rifles fired at them in a massive fusillade. He saw three of Borodin’s men, slower to react, torn to bloody shreds, but the rest of the Russians took cover. They weren't wearing armored vests, and he knew they'd suffer badly from the enemy fire. He saw them beginning to melt away into the endless snowy wastes, and then a movement caught his eye. To his astonishment he saw Major Barrington was still on his feet, looking around as if to gauge the whereabouts of the opposing forces. He snaked toward him, grabbed his ankle, and tugged hard. The officer tumbled to the snow, and he dragged him away from the immediate line of fire and behind a heavy snowdrift.
    "What the hell? What are you doing?" Barrington spluttered.
    "You were standing in their direct line of fire, Major. I doubt you had another five seconds before they made you a target."
    He saw the MP’s eyes were dilated, and it was obvious the sudden onset of intense gunfire had shocked him to the core. He grunted an acknowledgement.
    "What the hell happened? Where did those people come from?"
    Haven't you worked it out yet?
    "It's a trap, Major. Somehow, they learned we were planning to