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

attack the train here, and they were waiting for us. I'll bet that story of taking on fuel in Irkutsk was just an excuse for their troops to detrain and come up behind us. Those passenger coaches are all empty. We've been wasting our time and ammunition on nothing."
    He left the MP to think on that while he crawled away to redeploy the men. They’d done everything possible to face the new threat, and he saw no sign they'd taken any casualties. Yet. But the fight was ferocious, and arcs of bullets, some tracers, cut through the night sky, chewing up the frozen ground around them. The North Korean positions were maybe two hundred meters away, and they'd prepared well. The enemy troops were firing from behind what looked like a steep bank, well defended against return fire. Echo Six had burrowed into shallow niches, ruts, and gullies in the snow. They were reasonably safe from the incoming fire, but the enemy weren't fools, and they would have a plan to overwhelm and kill them all. He estimated they’d use mortars, followed by a full-scale frontal attack when they considered Echo Six to be weakened. It was no time for them to be split into two small units, and he called Guy.
    "Echo Two, this is One. How are things down there?"
    "This is Two. We're holding them, but they caught us with our pants down. We can see what you're up against from here. I’d guess most of the hostiles are facing you."
    "I concur. We both need to disengage and join our forces. It's our only chance to fight them off. We'll give them a few more bursts, then cross the line behind the train and work our way down to come up behind your attackers. I'll call you when we’re near."
    "Roger that. Good luck."
    He looked around for Barrington, ducking as two bursts of machine gun fire drilled into the snow next to him, churning up clouds of freezing powder into a white fog. He cursed himself for putting his head up. The Major was several meters away, aiming and firing single shots at the attackers. Presumably to conserve his ammunition, but it wasn't likely to frighten them too much. He crawled out over to him and explained what he'd planned with Guy. The MP glared at him.
    "That's not the plan, Commander. Our job is here. We have to secure those warheads."
    Before he could explain the reality of the situation, Rovere slid up next to them.
    "It's getting too hot here, Boss. I reckon it won't be long before they hit us with a full-scale frontal attack. We can't defend it, no way. They’ll hit us with combined mortar and rocket fire before long, and then they’ll come."
    "We have to fight them off," Barrington shouted. "Otherwise we lose the warheads."
    The Italian looked at him incredulously. "Are you for real? There are no fucking warheads in those wagons. They set up an ambush. Do you think they'd be so stupid as to leave them in front of us, where there is even a slight risk we could take them? They’ve won this round, Barrington. It’s time to move on and plan the next one."
    Before he could reply, Talley stepped in to end the discussion, "Get the men together, Dom. We'll stay out of sight and cross the line, underneath the train. When we're the other side, we'll use the train to shield us and work our way down to hit the men who are attacking Guy's squad."
    "And then?"
    "We'll worry about that later. We haven’t got there yet. Obviously, we can't stay here. We need to retreat and regroup. Get going, and I'll cover you. I'll join you as soon as you reach the train."
    Rovere nodded and snaked away.
    "I don't like it," Barrington complained. "I'm not happy about abandoning those wagons. Remember, I'm in charge here, Commander, and I say we should stay here and finish the job."
    "There is no job, you damned fool!" Talley explained. He needed to shock the man, to make him see sense, "The warheads will be somewhere else on the train. The only thing I can guarantee is they’re nowhere near where they’re supposed to be."
    He could see Rovere and the other men