We were in Moscow, and Moscow can be a pretty cold place, especially in the winter.
My team was rushing headlong through the soft and slush snow, and under the cover of darkness, shadows were everywhere and the new snow piling up gave us more camouflage.
My name is Captain Litton, and my team was comprised of these people: Max, heavy machine gunner and demolitions expert,
Caleb, assault rifleman/grenadier,
Seth, assault rifleman and team medic,
Zack, veteran sniper and reconnaissance expert,
Nel, shotgun and CQC (Close Quarters Combat) expert.
We were the 14th Special Ops, sent into Moscow for Recon and Intel gathering operations. It was supposed to be a simple mission. Boy, how wrong I was.
“Okay boys, get ready to move on my mark to Alpha! 1… 2… 3… MARK!” I said. In less than a minute the team had hustled through the snow and into the dusty and damp building. So far, so good.
I spoke quickly and precisely, “Max, Caleb, set up a defensive perimeter and then fall back to cover the entrances. Seth, you and Zack head up to the roof and provide covering fire for me and Nel, we’re going in.”
The team went off to fulfill their orders. Nel and I changed into Russian uniforms and holstered our guns. Ten minutes later, we strolled out into the snow and headed to the military base not far from their current position.
Fifteen minutes later, Nel and I split up as we entered the base; he headed for the barracks and the control tower, while I headed for the armory to scope out their firepower and plant some explosives.
Thirty minutes later, I was back outside, waiting on Nel when I heard the first gunshots, and the base heard them as well. I took off running, hoping to be mistaken by the Russians as one of their own.
As I the building came into my sights, the gunshots stopped abruptly, and silence filled the air. I entered the building silently taking off the disguise and heading up to the roof. Complete silence. Everywhere… Not a single sound.
Up on the roof my team was in disarray, most of them were hard-faced and Seth was kneeled next to two bodies, one was uncovered. “What the hell just happened here?” I exclaimed. Seth looked up and whispered the story.
“Captain, Nel came back to us, Caleb spotted him first and took him in, and he claimed that you had wanted to stay back and gather more information, we called Max up and Seth said that isn’t necessary and shot Caleb in the heart. Luckily Max had just gotten on the roof and shot him. He was a traitor, sir, he deserved his fate.”
I shook my head, thinking of all of the times that Nel saved our lives, and I shuddered, realizing everything was a fluke. I stood there, angry and frustrated, that’s when we heard the sirens and the purr of the engines.
An immediate wave of action followed, I yelled out, “Let’s give them something to think about boys, fire at will!” The team let loose all the pent up frustration, anger, and energy on the Russians, firing and letting all hell break loose.
Max let it rip with his heavy machine gun, spraying bullets all over the troops and trucks. A thunderous sound cracked through the air as Zack fired his sniper rifle, and for the Russians, God became a bullet. Many of the soldiers got cut down and one of the trucks burst into flames and blew to pieces.
Soon though there was too many for the team could handle, and as soon as I realized this, I thought maybe the Russians would like a distraction. I brought the remote detonator out and flipped the switch. In the armory and in the trucks, the explosives light turned green.
As soon as the fireworks started I yelled out, “Fall back, we need somewhere to hide!” Immediately Zack called out, “I found a place on the way up here, follow me sir!” The team sprinted into the building just as the first group of soldiers streamed into the building.

Zack led us quickly into the spot he found, looked almost like a secret storehouse. We rushed into the space and pointed at the door with our weapons as Zack shut it. The Russians were coming.

As they came up to our mysterious hiding place, the fear was everywhere. No one dared to move a muscle. You could heartbeats of the others. The Russians went on, but the fear was still there.

It took almost four hours before the Russians moved out and headed back to their base, and another two to make sure they hadn’t left anybody behind or any patrols. As soon as we got out of the building, we headed toward our rendezvous point where a Blackhawk was waiting for us.

Three days later we were at Caleb’s funeral. Yes it was a funeral, but everyone dies someday. I was furious, and sad, that he didn’t die a warriors dead, going into the battle, but killed by a traitor. In the back of my mind I thought silently, but the words were burned into my mind, “Revenge is a dish best served cold” and in this case, it was true.