Rainbow Six: Swordbreaker (IC)

[Dayganistan]

Tahmina had a plan formulated. They would capture the HVI as she left her workplace. Theoretically, a quick and easy, if high profile, snatch and grab. The office was located in a busy commercial area of central Yerevan, civilian presence would be heavy. There was potential for hostile contact. Armenian police would have to be informed so they don't fire on the Rainbow operatives, and doubtlessly some of the cops would be sympathetic to Petrosian's cause. There was also the possibility that Petrosian could have put some armed thugs in the area as protection for his wife. The plan would have to be executed flawlessly, civilian casualties would have to be avoided if Rainbow wanted the Armenian government to remain cooperative. Tahmina sighed, her team was probably up to it but it would be a tough one if someone took hostile action against the team.

As she was preparing files to hand out to her team members, the satellite phone rang. She answered, and was greeted with the voice of Rainbow's commander.

"I spoke to the Armenians," the British man said through the phone. "They tried to insist that their cops bring her in and they pass whatever they find on to us. I insisted we do it because their police force probably has terrorist sympathizers. I gave them hell over Stepanakert as well, said it was their fault Petrosian got away in the first place and we will not cooperate if he goes after targets in Armenia unless they cooperate with us. I spoke to their head of police and head of their intelligence agency who were more willing to cooperate than their elected officials were. They pulled some strings and we've been giving a green light for the operation. Go about it how you see fit."

"Thank you. I have a plan and we'll execute to the best of our abilities," Tahmina said.

"Don't let me down, Captain. I've put a lot of trust in you," The commander said, and then hung up his phone.

She finished up assembling the files and then went to look for her team. She assumed that they had gone to eat and found three of her operatives, Tiedemann, Mueller, and McBryde in what passed as a mess hall for the Russian and Turkish peacekeepers. She went to sit down at their table.

"My apologies for interrupting," she said. "The op has been greenlit. We're wheels up for Yerevan tomorrow morning, 0700."

She handed out folders to the three operatives present. "Mission details, read these on your own time. I'll give a more thorough briefing when we're all together in the air. Most of these Russians and Turks probably can't speak English but I'm not going to risk blowing OPSEC." She placed a photo on the table. It was of a woman who appeared to be in her late 20s or early 30s with black hair, blue eyes and glasses. "This is our HVI. Lusine Petrosian, wife of Tigran Petrosian. Aged 30. You all have photos of her in your files too so we should all know exactly who we're looking for. We're running civilian clothing for this op and no nationally identifying flags or insignia."

---

Yerevan, Armenian
March 18th, 2023
For the operation in Yerevan, Rainbow had managed to provide the operatives with three Kia Stingers. A fast and agile car, but relatively low profile due to the make itself, and some shared styling cues with some of Kia's more budget friendly sedans. Tahmina drove one of the cars through the streets of Yerevan, her battle buddy for the mission, Thakurta, in the passenger seat. Her other two teams, Tiedemann and Mueller, and Novikov and McBryde, respectively, would be on the move somewhere else in the city. They had all planned to take different routes through the city to arrive at the objective location.

"You know, we can almost pass as Armenian," she said to Thakurta. "It's all going to go out the window once we started yelling commands at the HVI in English or horrible, mispronounced and broken Armenian though."

After making its way through the street, the car stopped about 100 meters from the HVI's workplace. "Team one, in position," Tahmina said into a small radio handset. "We might be here a while, Thakurta. Eyes peeled though she could leave work early."

A Dodge Charger bearing Armenian police markings drove by. There were no noticeable officers on foot patrol at the moment, but Tahmina was sure some were in the area. Any one of them could be sympathetic to Petrosian. Any of the other parked cars could have some of Petrosian's ultranationalist thugs in them, either to protect the HVI or capture her themselves. I really hope we don't have to use our weapons, she thought.

[Purusapura]

Date: March 18th 2023
Location: Yerevan, capital of Armenia

Yuri was in Yerevan, driving the Kia stinger which he will use to get to the observation point, this time it was a fairly good observation point unlike the warehouse in Stepanakert, a new team member Johnathan Mcbryde was also with him in the vehicle, Yuri was wearing a black windbreaker jacket with a maroon shirt, he was wearing sneakers with some skinny cargo pants and a beanie which will be used to hide his earpiece.

Yuri didn't talk with Mcbryde after the warehouse mission but quickly picked up some food at the mess hall and went away before anyone else, Yuri mostly eats by himself and almost never reveals his face, there isn't a known reason why Yuri hides his face but he does it, even now he is wearing a facemask barely revealing his face, Yuri wants to reach the observation point fast so he could at least see freedom square from the view before the mission starts, there is a guitar case in the trunk with some ammo and his sniper rifle, he also has brought a backpack which has his Lebedev pistol, extra ammunition and ear protectors, subsonic ammunition and a suppressor will make it a lot more quiet but still not enough, he might not need a suppressor or subsonic ammunition as the extra noise will scare away more civilians from the danger area in case of a shootout as for how they're going to get in the building? Well Yuri has an easy idea, they stroll in to the top floor of the building and in case there is a lock on the door to the roof a suppressed pistol shot will break the lock though subsonic 9mm ammunition will be required to draw even less attention that's why Yuri has brought some 165 grain 9mm rounds (10.69 grams)

Yuri to while driving the car said in his Russian accent "so uh I haven't introduced myself to you... I'm Yuri Novikov, refer to me by my first name and leave the sniping to me"

[Tayner]

"Johannes Mueller, KSK." His tone was pleasant, but his regional accent was very clipped and sometimes made him sound angry, which he rarely was.

Stepanakert International Airport
Armenian controlled Nagorno-Karabakh
March 17th, 2023
Johnathan McBryde

"Nice to meet you, Mueller." Johnathan said, accepting the handshake, before sipping at his coffee. The hot beverage wasn't to be confused as good, but it was far better than the instant coffee that came in MREs.

“I don’t expect people will look at you too funny unless you put on your cowboy hat and your gunbelt sheriff.” Tiedemann joked.

"Well, maybe I will. I did bring a hat and I doubt it'll be too difficult to get my hands on a six shooter." He replied, before the trio continued some conversation. The Germans seemed alright, friendly enough, and hailing from SOF unit's who's acronyms he didn't know, but they were quick to inform him of what their American counterparts were.

He felt a little low-speed next to them, himself only being a Ranger once upon a time. He'd been to Sapper School, Airborne School, Air Assault, among other things, and he was attached to the Rangers for a very long time before being selected to join Rainbow. He never understood why, there were probably dozens of Navy Seals or Green Berets that could've taken his place. Maybe it was because he spoke Russian, or simply that they needed someone with a wide experience in advanced military demolitions, or maybe the bigwigs didn't want to give up all their best operators. But Johnathan was here, an older soldier with a wide range of experience that he could bring forward to the team.

Soon after their commander sat down and gave them details of the next mission tomorrow. John would take his folder back to his bunk and study up before lights out.

---

"so uh I haven't introduced myself to you... I'm Yuri Novikov, refer to me by my first name and leave the sniping to me

Yerevan, Armenia
March 18th, 2023
Johnathan McBryde

"Sure tovarishch, call me McBryde and leave the demolitions to me." Johnathan replied as they drove through the city streets. He was wearing a simple red and white flannel shirt, some blue jeans, and combat boots under his kit, which he was happy to follow orders and leave the flags and nametapes behind. Yuri had been happy enough to bring along a guitar case to hide his weapons, and Johnathan had brought a bass guitar case for himself. If anyone asked, they were in a band. He was lugging some bolt cutters in case they ran into any padlocks, a M4 Carbine, a M17, (both with suppressors at the ready,) and had some zip ties and duct tape at the ready. They pulled up to their destination soon enough, and Johnathan got out, allowing Yuri to lead the way.

[Theyra]

Yerevan, Armenian
March 18th, 2023
Bihari Thakurta

"Yeah, almost pass for Armenians," he responded back. True that they would be seen as ordinary citizens or maybe tourists to anyone else. Which will help with blending while they wait for their target. Like with what Tahmina said, they will bark orders at Lusine in English or very bad Armenian. It made him chuckle at the thought of speaking that poorly to someone, even at a target. Though getting embarrassed is the least of their concerns and something that he will not dwell on. More important things to focus on once the HVI shows up.

As they got into position and started to wait for the HVT. Bihari looking around to spot her or any sign of trouble. The last thing they need is for the local police to intervene when their team springs into action. Well, those policemen loyal to Petrosian that is. Not to mention if Petrosian has some security around to protect his wife lying in wait. Nothing is known for sure, and that is something he did not like. But, that is something that he can not control, and perhaps this will be an easy grab and run. At the same time, he is prepared with having his pistol hidden on him if things go south. The last thing he wants is for a civilian to get hurt during a potential crossfire. They just need to grab her and get out without any trouble, and that is what Bihari hopes will happen. They lost their first mission, and they will not fail their second. Not if Bihari has a say about it.

[Hastur]

OR-6 Charlotte 'Tig' Tiedemann
Stepanakert International Airport
Armenian controlled Nagorno-Karabakh
March 17th, 2023

---

The conversation between the trio on their respective special forces units and their stupid jokes was cut short with the appearance of the captain. She bore a brown folder, one for each of the operatives present.

The mission had been effectively green-lit, with the commander receiving the authorisation fast. The mission was simple like Tahmina had proposed, snatch the HVI, Lusine Petrosian, from her workplace. She just hoped that it wouldn’t provoke Tigran into doing something that would cost more innocent lives. She didn’t like the thought of that being on her conscience.

Grabbing her file, charlotte struggled not to think about it as she finished the dreadful coffee, discharging a short-lived frown at the first representative of the mess staff she could find. She headed off to hit the rack, contemplating on everything that had occured tonight.

---

OR-6 Charlotte 'Tig' Tiedemann
Yerevan
Armenia
March 18th, 2023

---

Charlotte poured over the document on the fly in. The ingress, the area in which they had to operate in, the target herself and the proposed egress out later once it all came to a head. She had studied it meticulously, and made sure she knew everything, and had committed the wife’s face to memory. In a vacuum, Charlotte knew the briefing was good, they had the go ahead from the government to execute it. In a vacuum, it would work flawlessly.

But they weren’t operating in a vacuum, it was the external factors concerning her. Charlotte remembered what the captain had mentioned. The police and watchers that followed Petrosian’s ideological viewpoints could operate in the area, and they posed a significant threat to the operation. Her concerns lay less with physical threat posed by them, she knew they’d be able to handle them, but the political ramifications of local police and veterans getting killed by foreign operators might upset their future operating here. Which would give certain parties what they wanted.

Charlotte knew if they came under attack it wasn’t something they could avoid, they’d have to shoot back, It wasn’t something that she could work around. The aftermath of their actions was something that upper management would have to deal with, she’d be reliant on them if the mission went anything other than perfect. She packed carefully for these external factors, packing a small arsenal of equipment into the Kia which she rode shotgun in to tackle these problems.

Charlotte had switched out her full sized P12 for a much more compact sidearm, A P2000. She had it within a concealed holster along with a two spare magazine in her jeans waistband located near her appendix, both covered by a slightly baggy tee shirt. They’d have to be shooting from the car if things started going off, with the appendix just more comfortable and practical, especially with the seatbelt on.

Her MP7A2 remained packed on her right-hand side, in between the seat and the centre console, completely within grasp at a moment’s notice. Anything that made the gun too bulky being cleared away, with the designator and suppressor being left behind at base. Without the suppressor it’d be deafeningly loud, specifically within the restricted spaces of the car. But she desired the maneuverability, with Charlotte hoping that her ear protection would do enough to not cause her permanent hearing loss. The weapons thirty-round magazine, along with the spare which was stuffed into her bomber jacket pocket, was packed with 4.6×30mm SFN 31 RAM cartridges. Copper plated steel bullets that would defeat the soft body armour worn by law enforcement or intervening ultra nationalists if the demand came up. Their ROE was to engage only if engaged, but she wasn’t going to take chances if they got shot at. She wanted them down quick given the metropolitan background, the chance of innocents being injured in the crossfire was very real.

If it did go off, getting shot was a possibility. The normal plate carrier she wore was too conspicuous while just sitting in the car, which called for soft armour which went under her shirt. The form fitting vest clung tightly to her vital areas, shielding her against small calibre weapons. She abhorred the fitted kevlar vest, the tight piece of flexible armour always made her sweaty and miserable. She’d considered rolling without one, but decided against it. Her momentary discomfort always being beat by not bleeding out on the pavement from a wholly avoidable sucking chest wound any day of the week.

Detecting threats and communicating would help against that. She had a small radio within her interior bomber jackets pocket, which was linked to a small, discreet earpiece in her right ear along with a small microphone attached to her jacket’s lapel. A small Nikon rangefinder with a good magnification and range finding capability was kept company by a notepad and a red pen, which sat in the vehicle’s centre console well within arms reach.

Most of the regular equipment lay on the back foot rest of their provided Kia. Her plate carrier and helmet, smoke grenades, trauma kit and Haenel MK 556 sat ready to go. The conspicuous gear lay covered with a heavy duty woolen blanket to obscure them. The equipment for things if they grew hot and heavy during their attempt to abduct the HVI. It’d take time to get it into play, but was within reach of the seat if charlotte bent over to grab it. If they got stuck into a deadlock, the additional firepower would help them unblock it. The blanket kept it concealed from anyone walking past, but on a extended key visual inspection, it would be seen as suspicious. She’d have to monitor anyone coming close to the vehicle itself.

She sat patiently as the automobile rolled out of Zvartnots International Airport, the car driving towards the capital where the target location laid. The car’s radio was tuned to one of the local channels, the volume was low but a set of voices were still distinct from it. She peered towards the dash as the car continued on the M5 into the city, following into the early morning traffic. The display showed 105.6, News Radio Impulse. She had no notion about what they were speaking about, she didn't understand Armenian but she inferred it was some sort of local news. Charlotte found the discussion between what she understood to be a presenter and their guest calming, the leading man bearing a soothing tone. The grasp of normality helped her relax as the vehicle made it into the urban sectors.

She looked around, surveyed the surroundings, observing attentively as the city of one million went about their routine. She wanted to get a sense for the people and atmosphere; it was imperative to identify the subtleties later. Charlotte noticed that the architecture was a mix of contemporary and surviving soviet era buildings, the aging structure standing as a reminder of their occupation before the iron curtain collapsed. It reminded her slightly of home. She had grown up in eastern Germany, and while the GDR was before her time, she had seen relics of it in her youth, but the differences however outweighed the similarities. The city was much more pink than anything she’d seen in Germany, which had something to do with the stone they used to build much of the place.

The vehicle finally came to a stop at its designated location, parking 100 meters from the HVI’s workplace. The holding point having an excellent overview of the building and the street in front of it. “Team 2 in position and holding.” Charlotte stated, her tone calm as she activated the lapel microphone, boardcasting it over the net. Charlotte analysed the neighborhood, bringing the Nikon spotting scope up up to her left eye, scouring over the area, the reticle displaying a range for anything it landed on. She reviewed the local businesses and parked vehicles, primarily searching for anyone that could be a probable hazard or looked out of place, mainly ultranationalists goons that might be there to watch over her place of work.

She watched the police cruiser pass Team 1’s position, riding down the street towards them. Bringing the spotting scope over, she quickly dashed it towards the licence plate, mentally reading it before jotting it down onto the notepad. If she noticed the vehicle more than twice, it was presumably deliberate, she didn't believe in concidences. The sight of the police made her somewhat tense, the two germans being out-of-place enough as it was. Charlotte had believed she could pass for a very lost tourist, she looked the part in her very casual metropolitan civvies and clubmaster mirrored sunglasses, but that illusion might wither under scrutiny.

“The police got me thinking. If people ask questions. We’re lost tourists who took a wrong turn.” She explained in german, letting out a brief sigh as she thrusted her hair out of her face as she got set in for what would be a long stakeout. “We lost time, I got mad at you for it, we got into an argument, so we’re just sitting here fuming over it. Try to look a little dispirited.” She responded, executing a coy grin before retiring back to examining the surroundings. Hoping that their performance skills would serve efficiently enough if asked why they were parked here for a lengthy period.

[Bolslania]

Mueller hadn't had a lot of time to look over the folder. He after all was driving the Team 2 vehicle. All he'd had time to gather is that they were to provide security for Team 1's entry into the building, don't shoot unless shot at, and that it was Mcbryde and Novikov on the building 40 degrees left with the rifle. He pulled the Stinger to a curbside, reaching for his dossier. He had only packed a DFNDR QRC plate carrier, which while it promised rifle protection, probably wouldn't stop anything larger than a .223 rifle round. It was however lightweight and concealable under the greatcoat he was wearing. Some would consider the coat suspicious but many of the professionally dressed Armenians were wearing them, so it would probably not rouse too much suspicion.

He was slightly concerned. At any moment a police car could come around a corner and some ultra-nationalist idiots come out with guns blazing, they get taken down, and then eventually you might get the whole Yerevan PD coming down on you because you killed one of their own. It was a tense situation, and that's when the cop car rolled down the street, he was reaching for the scope when he saw Tiedemann grab it and jot down the license number, taking the note and memorizing the license, he heard Tiedemann speak.

"Not a bad idea, and don't worry, I'm a Berliner we're always dispirited looking." He said, returning Tiedemann's small grin. He turned his head to face the street, he noted where Mcbryde and Novikov were supposed to be, access points to the compound where their HVT could come out, and the passing Armenians. He had his P12 on his hip under his coat, and his G36C under the wool blanket in the back. His ear protection was sitting at his feet, ready to be grabbed at a moments notice. His earpeice was subtly hidden behind the collar of his coat. He shifted his weight to adjust the position of his body armor, which was growing uncomfortable. He had adopted a sour expression, and was making as if to be looking pointedly away from Tiedemann. He looked out the rear view mirror as the police vehicle came around the corner towards Team 1. He transmitted to the two other teams.

"Teams one and overwatch, be advised, police vehicle rounding corner heading towards you, intent unknown over."

[Dayganistan]

Lusine Petrosian sat at her desk, waiting for the final minutes of her work day to be done. Her coworkers had noticed she was a little off today. When pressed about it she explained it away as marriage problems, her husband wasn't completely the same since coming back from Artsakh, he developed a drinking problem and wouldn't get help for PTSD. And she wasn't completely wrong on that front, she wouldn't disclose that he had run off to terrorize Azerbaijani civilians.

The truth of the matter was she wasn't even sure if she loved her husband anymore. He wasn't the same after coming back from the war. It was natural for soldiers to develop mental health issues of course. But not to the point where they become a terrorist to get revenge on their enemy. She was probably going to file for divorce soon, she couldn't handle being the wife of a terrorist. Her husband, in his delusions that brought him to terrorism in the first place, thought she still loved him and had called her the night before. Apparently someone tried to kill him and he was going to go to Baku. Usually she didn't care what he had to say, but today she was going to go the police, surprised they had not come to her already given she would have been listed as a spouse on her husband's military records. Enough was enough, she may not want to be married to him anymore, but she didn't want him to be killed either. He needed help, not an Azerbaijani counter terror operator putting a bullet through his head.

With about a half hour left, her boss came to her desk. "I know you've been having problems with your husband and it seems like it's really bad today," he said. "If you're having trouble with work just go home and take a few days off and do what you need to do to make things right. We'll be fine without you."

"Thank you," she said. "I don't think he'll be a problem for me much longer." She put on her coat and went to leave the office. She was going to go right to the police headquarters and give them any information she possibly could on her husband.

---

Tahmina had been waiting patiently in the car. Her plate carrier, a Perroz Designs LPSC, was starting to get uncomfortable. She wore this under a loose fitting coat, which was long enough to accommodate hiding a battle belt which held three spare magazines for her rifle, her handgun and two spare magazines. She'd have to unbutton it before leaving the car, quicker access to magazines in case of a fight and their cover was blown at that point anyway. Her rifle was stashed beside the center console, the ten and a half inch barrel and Maxim Defense CQB stock in its fully retracted position ensuring it was small enough to not be noticed by passers by.

She had been observing the surroundings as well as the target building. Another Armenian police vehicle drove by. Not unexpected, the Armenian police knew about their operation. An officer on a foot patrol walked by as well. He was only armed with a Grach pistol, not a major threat if he happened to be a terrorist sympathizer. She had also noticed a black BMW with tinted windows which had remained parked in the area since before they had worked there. Possibly someone who works at a nearby business, but similar vehicles may as well be a sign saying "I'm a member of the mafia" in the former Soviet Union. Or it could have been an ultranationalist. It was certainly a vehicle worth taking note of, and she had radioed her team to pay attention to it.

Soon, she noticed something on the sidewalk. Their HVI. She radioed to her team.

"Eyes on target. Female, late 20s to early 30s, wearing blue coat and black skirt. Overwatch team, observe. Team one and two, move to intercept."

Tahmina slowly pulled the car forward, to within a few meters of where the HVI was currently. She stopped, unbuttoned her coat, and then grabbed her C8 and extended the stock.

"Initiating takedown," she said into her radio as she stepped out of the car. She raised her weapon, pointed it at the target and started to move towards her.

She commanded the target to get on the ground in Armenian, the words coming out heavily accented. The target complied and Tahmina moved closer.

"Hold security," she commanded to the others. Nobody had shot at them yet. Civilians were running and screaming. A police officer shouted over a megaphone in Armenian, likely telling the civilians that this is a police operation and to vacate the area. At least they had that much cooperation for the time being. She moved closer to the HVI and checked for weapons. With none found, she zip cuffed the target.

"You speak English, yes?" Tahmina asked. The woman nodded.

"We're not here to hurt you, Lusine. We just need you to cooperate," She helped the woman from the ground and escorted her to the car, putting her into the backseat and closing the door. She went back around to the driver's seat, waited for her teammate to get back in, and started to drive away towards the team's safehouse near the airport. While doing this, she noticed the black BMW had left. A little suspicious.

"All teams, rendezvous at safehouse. Black BMW drove off at some point during the takedown, possibly ultranationalists. Be on the lookout," Tahmina said into the radio.

"Who are you? You're not Armenian. Are you the CIA? Is this about whatever insanity Tigran is planning next?" The HVI asked from the back of the car.

"Not CIA, I'm Canadian," Tahmina responded. "This is about your husband, we need information and we can't trust there aren't sympathizers in the police and intelligence services. We'll have more questions when we get to our safehouse. And trust me, you're more safe with us than anywhere else in this country."

[Purusapura]

Yerevan, Armenia
March 18th, 2023
Johnathan McBryde

"Sure tovarishch, call me McBryde and leave the demolitions to me." Johnathan replied as they drove through the city streets. He was wearing a simple red and white flannel shirt, some blue jeans, and combat boots under his kit, which he was happy to follow orders and leave the flags and nametapes behind. Yuri had been happy enough to bring along a guitar case to hide his weapons, and Johnathan had brought a bass guitar case for himself. If anyone asked, they were in a band. He was lugging some bolt cutters in case they ran into any padlocks, a M4 Carbine, a M17, (both with suppressors at the ready,) and had some zip ties and duct tape at the ready. They pulled up to their destination soon enough, and Johnathan got out, allowing Yuri to lead the way.

Yuri got out of the car wearing his backpack, he then went to the trunk of the Kia Stinger pulled the two guitar cases which were heavier than he thought and quickly gave the bass guitar case to Mcbryde, he then proceeded to get to the elevator and go to the top floor, the door to the roof was luckily kept unlocked and he entered the roof, he set up his his equipment and went to the northern corner of the building with his binoculars to see the freedom square for himself and then observed the two teams from the observation point

"Eyes on target. Female, late 20s to early 30s, wearing blue coat and black skirt. Overwatch team, observe. Team one and two, move to intercept."

"All teams, rendezvous at safehouse. Black BMW drove off at some point during the takedown, possibly ultranationalists. Be on the lookout," Tahmina said into the radio.

Yuri was observing what had gone down with his binoculars, he also had noticed the black BMW and had his hand on his Dragunov SVDM sniper rifle he had by his side the whole time while he was on look out, his ear protectors were also there, after he heard about the rendezvous he packed up his equipment and went down the elevator to the Kia Stinger preparing to go to the safehouse and keep an eye out for that black BMW SUV....

[Bolslania]

Mueller smirked at Charlotte's scoff of Berliners when Azadi transmitted that the target had been acquired, he slammed down on the accelerator as Tiedemann got her rifle. He drifted around the corner, bringing the vehicle to a stop behind the HVT, letting Tiedemann get out. He exited the vehicle and covered the HVT's building, shooing off some of the HVT's colleagues who were coming to see what was going on.


"Gna՛ Herrats’ir aysteghits!" He shouted in broken and accented Armenian. Whatever the civvies didn't understand about his Armenian, they inferred from the rifle in his hands. As Azadi got the HVT in the vehicle, he got back into his, closing the door as Tiedemann got in.

"Yeah keep an eye out for it." He said to Tiedemann's comment on the BMV SUV.

"Team 1 advise, Team 2 will take lead vehicle slot over." He transmitted, pulling his vehicle in front of Azadi and

"Well so far so good." He said to Tiedemann.

[Hastur]

OR-6 Charlotte 'Tig' Tiedemann
Yerevan
Armenia
March 18th, 2023

---

“Yeah. Berliners.” Charlotte scoffed at Mueller’s joke before hearing the captain alert them to a threat. A black BMW parked near the target area. She brought up the spotting scope, bringing it over to the car in question. She inspected it thoughtfully, recognizing the tinted windows and what looked like a normal license plate. An expensive automobile and a dubious one at that. “Copy. Eyes on Black BMW.” Charlotte stated over the net, noting the vehicle licence and model as she did as a precaution.

Promptly after that, the HVI departed the objective building, drifting out. The thirty-year-old women dressed in a blue coat and black skirt. The captain reported that it was the woman they were looking for, and that they were ready to proceed forward. "Showtime." Charlotte said, removing a neoprene half face mask from her pocket, securing it around her mouth and nose, pushing her glasses back up to her eyes. If anybody was observing, which was a genuine possibility, she had the motive to make it more difficult for her to be identified. She didn’t want to end up on any hit lists in the future.

Their car sped up, breaking out of the parked space. Charlotte drew her weapon into her hands, pulling the stock outwards as she prepared herself to continue. She maneuvered the PDW up into a low ready position as they drove forward. She scoured the environment one last time on the approach. Her heart racing as the feeling of raw anticipation hit her, charlotte senses going into overdrive as her military discipline kicked in. Team one car hauled up first, which was shortly followed by their Kia, hastening to a halt right next to the first.

”Moving!" charlotte declared rapidly. Leaping from the vehicle and closing in on team one, she drew up a defensive posture around the capture unit as they arrested their HVI, covering their blind spots. Just like her years of training had dictated.

Chaos took over as the average pedestrian panicking as they saw heavily armed soldiers descend on the wife. The ordinary daily ambiance shattered by rapid shrieks and exclaiming over a megaphone, the police announcing something she could not figure out. She observed the now rapidly clearing street as the commander arrested the woman. Charlotte moved up and began safeguarding the two with her body. The possibility of a sudden engagement being very real, she kept her gun up in a low ready stance, pointed in the direction of wherever she scanned.

The captain checked the woman over, before bringing her up to move. “Covering! Go!” She announced, following them along as she observed their blind spots, taking the HVI to the Kia. Once team one was secure, she pushed back to their own vehicle. “Moving! Cover!” Charlotte declared to her second, slipping backward to the car before quickly providing cover to Mueller so he could do the same. “Covering, go!” She maintained her eye on any remaining pedestrians, practically all rubberneckers and onlookers at this point.

Once he made it inside, Charlotte climbed into the passenger seat, holding her gun ready as the car proceeded. “Go, Go, Go!” she stated, clarifying that she was ready to go. She recognized that they weren’t out of it yet as they pulled into the lead element. She had noted that the BMW had run out during the chaos, disappearing elsewhere. Perhaps the inhabitants realising it was not a great time to stick around, or it was something more malicious. Like a spotter vehicle.

“Yeah, just got to make it back to safehouse now. But that BMW is bugging me.” She added, pressing the lapel microphone to broadcast over the net. “Team 2 to Team 1, Have we tossed all of her electronics? Don’t want any trackers.” She stated, keeping her eyes on the road for now, mainly focusing on the rear. Her biggest concern right now was a tail, or a spotter vehicle.

[Theyra]

Yerevan, Armenian
March 18th, 2023
Bihari Thakurta

Bihari was looking around for any sign of trouble, only note that a black BMW seems suspicious. However, it could just be a normal local. Still, better keep their eyes open and as he was looking at a group leaving the building. That as when he spotted the HVT, Tahmina spoke first, alerting the team. "Time to roll," Bihari said as he grabbed his rifle, which was hidden in the car. Wearing a plate carrier under his coat and moved out of the car. Following Tahmina and looked for any sign of trouble as Tahmina worked on the HVT. Noting that it was good that the HVT did not resist and choose to comply with orders. That makes this less difficult as people ran off screaming. At least the local police officer tried to calm the people, and it was good that he was on their side.

Choosing to stay silent as Tahmina did their thing, and would follow her and the HVT back to the car. Getting in, still looking around as he got in and motioned at Tahmina to go. Only noting that the black BMW was gone now. It might be a sign of something or nothing at all. They will see sooner or later as they drove towards the safehouse.

"Take her word Lusine," Bihari said while looking back at her. "We are not here to hurt you, only looking for answers, and you will be safe with us," Bihari said sincerely, and he turned his head back to the road. They needed her intact and unharmed. Still, so far, everything was going as plan. They got the HVT, and soon she would be safe at the safe house where they are hopefully got the answers they need. Or this trip is going to be another failure, and Bihari stayed vigilant. They were not in the clear yet, they just need to get back to the safe house, and maybe they will get the ball rolling in their favor.

[Tayner]

Yerevan, Armenia
March 18th, 2023
Johnathan McBryde

The two headed to the roof, setting up shop after uneventfully getting to their post. No one questioned them, no locks stood in their way, and finally the roof was cleared. Johnathan would take up security for Yuri, he wouldn’t do much with an M4 that his fellow operator could do better with their rifle on overwatch, and the idea of someone sneaking up behind them wasn’t one Johnathan liked. He listened intently to the radio, and soon enough it was go time.

The next thirty seconds were the longest, the comms buzzing as the team coordinated and executed, snatching the target and promptly bugging out. Not long after the two on overwatch reached the silent agreement that it was their turn to leave, and they packed up and returned to their own vehicle without any incident. Johnathan didn’t like it, taking a backseat in the mission, but he didn’t miss much. Hopefully they would get out of dodge without a hitch.

As they drove off, Johnathan scanned the sidewalks, alleyways, rooftops, side view mirrors, and oncoming traffic for potential threats. Gunmen, snipers, IEDs, the black BMW that had the other members of the team worried, and any other vehicle that followed them for more than a few turns. They weren’t out of the woods yet, and Johnathan had defaulted to his training on identifying threats. Trash bags on the side of the road could be IEDs, static onlookers in elevated positions could be triggermen or spotters, and dead zones could house any number of threats as they passed by.

Needless to say, McBryde had his hand resting on his concealed pistol, ready to draw down on any threat that presented itself, as well as call it out to the rest of the team.

[Dayganistan]

The German woman's voice came through Tahmina's radio, “Team 2 to Team 1, Have we tossed all of her electronics? Don’t want any trackers.”

"Team 1 stopping, tossing the phone," she replied, pulling the car to the side of the side street it was currently driving on. She turned back to the HVI.

"You need my phone? It's in a pocket on my coat," the woman in the back seat said. "Can you please take off the handcuffs? I'm not a threat, I have no weapons and I'm cooperating with you."

"The cuffs are standard operating procedure, unfortunately," Tahmina said as she reached back and searched around the woman's pockets until she found the phone. A Samsung phone, a couple years out of date. Tahmina felt bad that she would have to take it and throw it out on the street for some hoodlum to take if a car didn't crush it first, but it had to be done.

"You don't have to get rid of the phone. I'm not stupid, I worked in signals intelligence. I'm not going to leave the GPS on. Or is this 'standard operating procedure' too?" the woman said as Tahmina took the phone and turned on the screen. It was fingerprint locked, but she could still see that the phone had cellular service.

"You should know then if it's not in airplane mode people can track your location from cell towers if you get a call or text message," Tahmina said as she tossed the phone out of the window. "And yes this is standard operating procedure, I'm sorry. We'll cover the cost of a replacement phone." She pulled the car back out onto the road. "Phone tossed, Team 1 back on the move."

She continued to drive the car through the streets of Yerevan. For a while there was no sign of hostile action until she spotted something a few car lengths ahead. The same black BMW that had been parked near where the operation took place. Impossible for it to have known they were coming this way, the HVI's phone was dropped somewhere near where the takedown took place. This was sheer coincidence.

"Black BMW spotted on Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, near the Blue Mosque," she said into her radio before turning around to their captive in the back seat. "Stay down."

Through the tint of the window, Tahmina could faintly see some movement and what appeared to be a pump action shotgun. "Gun in the BMW, looks like a KS-23. Possible other weapons."

The BMW pulled off to a side street on the right of the road. This had ambush written all over it, if a little amateurish. She pulled the Kia into a parking stall on the side of the road, in between parked civilian vehicles. "We're in a bit of a stand off, converge on the Blue Mosque." She reached down for her C8, then pulled it up to her shoulder to aim towards where the BMW pulled off. She saw two men emerge from around the corner both armed. They were walking back down the street towards the Kia, pushing panicking civilians out of their way.

"Possible hostiles, two men. One armed with a Kalashnikov pattern rifle the other with a KS-23," she radioed to the other teams. A third and fourth rounded the corner behind them, "Four men, three Kalashnikovs, one KS-23. Need you guys here now they're going to be on top of us."

The men were getting closer and closer. Soon they would see the Kia and have clear shots on all three occupants of the car. Tahmina knew she had orders to only fire if fired upon, but these gunmen were showing clear hostile intent. If this was Afghanistan or Syria, she would have no doubt had clearance to initiate contact at this point. She lined up a shot on one of the gunmen, the man with the KS-23. No ballistic plates of any sort would do much against a 23mm slug, and they wouldn't fare much better against buckshot out of the same weapon either.

"Thakurta, get out and prepare to engage," she said to her teammate in the car before keying her radio. "Initiating contact. Our location, Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, near the Blue Mosque." She squeezed the trigger on her rifle three times, putting three rounds into the torso of the man with the shotgun. His three buddies started firing back with fully automatic Kalashnikov fire, not caring if they hit civilians, and ran for cover behind other parked cars. Tahmina fired several rounds of suppressive fire towards the hostiles before leaving the car.

"Moving!" she shouted to her teammate as she left the car. Staying low behind the car parked beside the driver's side, she moved back to the rear door and opened it, then grabbed their captive and pulled her out.

"We might have to fight our way out of here. Stay behind cover and if I move, you're moving with me." Tahmina took cover behind the car's engine block, using the hood to stabilize her carbine as she kept her support hand on their captive, ready to move her when the time came. The captive was visibly afraid, probably her first time ever being on the receiving end of gunfire. She started firing rounds back towards the hostiles who were continuing their fire, this time in more controlled bursts of automatic fire.

"We have to assault these guys before they move on us, bound to the next car!" She shouted to her teammate. The other operatives would surely arrive soon, but the longer they stayed pinned in one position, the more likely it was a lucky 7.62 round could ruin the entire mission or the enemy could move on their flanks.

[Bolslania]

Mueller saw the men coming in with their rifles, when the firing opened up, he pulled the KIA to a stop in front of Team 1's vehicle, rounds plinking off the car.

"Let's party." He said, grabbing his rifle and extending the stock. He opened his door and fired a burst back at the men, having to duck before he could get a positive kill. He had angled the car perpendicular to the street, he figured Tiedemann could squeeze out through his side of the vehicle. He felt and heard rounds slamming into the Stinger, being absorbed by the engine block. He popped up and fired once, just missed his target, the man ducked behind another vehicle. Mueller took to cover again.

"Team 3 you better not have left yet." He transmitted. He saw Thakurta and Azadi returning fire as well.

[Hastur]

OR-6 Charlotte 'Tig' Tiedemann
Yerevan
Armenia
March 18th, 2023

---

Charlotte sense of alertness remaining high as the unit travelled through the streets to get to the safe house. She recognized that if it were to happen, it’d be when they were in transit, and the black BMW was pestering her. She kept her eyes peeled, observing the cars, watching for any hint of a spotter vehicle, but did not see one as the team came to a halt. The suspicious vehicle being on her mind as they tossed the phone. The vehicle being gone the second things went down irked her, but she realised she was likely being paranoid. Who would not run when they saw heavily armed goons bailing out of several automobiles? It was a wholly understandable attitude. It just did not feel like that to her. If they were planning something malicious, they would be running into a conflict that would not be on their own terms. Ambushes in streets like these often-produced casualties, and the vehicles they were in were not up armoured. All it took was one automatic weapon and some indiscriminate fire. Somebody would get hit.

As they turned back onto the road, it went silent again as that lurking sense of normalcy returned. The atmosphere of the broadcast radio playing gently, the sight of ordinary cars and street walkers, it all helped charlotte ease out of the grasp of hyperawareness. She remained alert, but the spirit of paranoia slowly diminished as nothing materialized from her troubles.

"Black BMW spotted on Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, near the Blue Mosque,"

“Was zum Teufel??” Charlotte uttered lowly as the captain observed that same black BMW. It now suddenly turning up on their route to the safe house. Her senses perked up as her mind flew with the possibilities. Had someone given up their route? Did they have a spotter vehicle following them? Charlotte quickly dismissed those theories, only they knew the minutiae and she was scrupulous, she thought she would not have missed them. It must have been the HVI, something on her they did not know about or had not detected. Hell, maybe she did not even know about it. There was no way in a metropolis of a million individuals that this was a fluke. She did not believe in those. This was an organized operation.

"Gun in the BMW, looks like a KS-23. Possible other weapons."

“Verpiss dich!” she spat. Wrenching her earpiece out as she immediately unbuckled her seatbelt, tossing her jacket to the floor as she reached into the back, seizing her plate carrier from the back passenger’s footwell. Charlotte did not feel like getting shot today, and her soft body armour would not do anything against a KS-23. She was not even certain if her level 4 plates would accomplish much, but it was stronger than what she had. She turned on her carrier’s radio and threw the carrier over her frame. Securing it to her venerable vitals and placing another earpiece in as she kept her eyes firmly down range. The feeling of discomfort now augmented by the factor she now was wearing a carrier rig over the already uncomfortable concealed soft body armour. She would have to deal with it; however, she didn’t have time to strip in the car.

She continued to grab the equipment, snatching up her rifle before the threat became clearer. Charlotte ditched the MP7 and wrapped the sling around her body as she brought her Haenel up, Mueller driving the car behind team 1’s vehicle.

"Possible hostiles, two men. One armed with a Kalashnikov pattern rifle the other with a KS-23," she radioed to the other teams. A third and fourth rounded the corner behind them, "Four men, three Kalashnikovs, one KS-23. Need you guys here now they're going to be on top of us."

She popped the door latch with her free hand, holding the door slightly ajar as she aimed the gun through the windshield and down the street. She could not see the targets yet, but there was an abundance of background buzz. Civilians going about their day and an active road. This was precisely what she had fretted about. One rogue round and someone innocent would get slaughtered. They would be completely useless in the country because the Armenians would not authorize them to operate because of that one clause. Frustration churned up in her rib cage as it clicked, recognizing that there was nothing she could do about it now other than do her best and defend herself and the HVI. It was a real rock and a hard place situation.

"Initiating contact. Our location, Mesrop Mashtots Avenue, near the Blue Mosque."

The sound of three rapid pops yelped out before the orchestra of automatic gunfire screamed through, overpowering the silent atmosphere that had calmed her minutes before. The sense of normalcy fading completely as bedlam reigned supreme now. Mueller pulled forward, darting the car in front of the captain’s vehicle, putting them directly in harm’s way. Charlotte's heart raced as the rounds came down range, smashing into the car’s front as her partner sought to get out of the vehicle.

She was not positive what his purpose was when he drove them right in, but the last place she wanted to be was in the front in the target vehicle. Cars were bullet magnets, and they were close. The hostiles would have a tough time missing at that range, but she was in it now. Charlotte spat obscenities as she returned fire to cover him. Firing rapid single fire bursts through the windshield, doing her best to watch the background of her shots as hostiles shot back. Spider web cracks appearing around the tiny exit and entry wounds. She realized she couldn’t wait inside the car; her face would have another hole to breathe out of if she did. But it’d take too long to clamber across centre console to get out the driver side to the more appropriate street side cover.

“Moving!” She shrieked, trying her finest to be perceptible over the powerful orchestra of thunder that was performing. She hurled the already unlocked passenger door wide and thrust herself outwards. Hearing the distinctive snap of bullets zipping past going past trying to find a victim, indiscriminate, as she sprang to the back of the Kia to get concealment. bullets rapidly slammed into it, tearing up the metal as it did. Charlotte breathed heavily as she made it to the back passenger door before feeling a sudden sharp pain in her left arm followed by another more stinging wound. Letting out a suppressed groan as she realized the pain but pushed backward anyway.

She knew they had hit her as she passed into concealment behind the trunk, quickly inspecting her arm with a sharp glance. A dull pain rushed up her left arm as she moved for scrutiny. Charlotte immediately identifying the tell-tale clues of blood as a substantial amount of plasma streamed down her arm, dripping onto the pavement. A grazing wound had ruptured the flesh of her outer forearm, along with what looked like peppering shrapnel from parts of the automobile.

“schwanzlutscher!” She sputtered, instinctively shaking her arm towards the ground in an ill attempt dilute the discomfort and get the blood off. She would need to dress it but she needed to get back into the fight. If the hostiles had any military training, they’d be moving up on them, If they got close, they’d be dead meat. They had to get fire superiority and repel them back rapidly. They had limited cover and were too close together, they would be pushed easily, and one grenade would kill them. She scoured her surroundings, observing other cars parked opposite them, that was her best shoot, but risky to move towards. "I'm gonna push left!" She shouted over the comms.

Charlotte pushed her rifle upwards, stablising the stock on her left shoulder as she leaned out around the left side of the boot. She squeezed the trigger and began firing in short but accurate single fire bursts towards the resistance that had her side covered to force them into taking shelter. “Bounding left! Bounding left!” She exclaimed, keying her radio’s microphone. Giving it a second for the teammates to give her cover fire before breaking into a full-on dash. Going to the opposite side of the street and taking cover in front of the SUV.

She got down, arranging herself between the right-hand side of the SUV between the axle and the engine block, leaning out from her crouching posture. Charlotte making sure she had enough clearance in the now in a better position as she got ready to return fire once more. She quickly drew a bead on one target, who stood slightly above the hood of a car as he fired on the team. Squeezing the trigger three times in rapid succession, the shots smashed into his upper frame and collar, the man floundering and collapsing behind cover as he lost consciousness.

Once he was down, Charlotte pushed the advantage. ”Moving up left hand side! Left hand side!” She communicated over comms, moving around the side of the vehicle in a low crouch as she pushed towards the next car, staying street side on the left which gave her concealment from the shooters on the right.

[Theyra]

Yerevan, Armenian
March 18th, 2023
Bihari Thakurta

"Just our luck," Bihari said was unknown men were spotted and were walking towards them. Those men carrying weapons for no doubt hostile intent, and things were going so well. He had almost thought that this mission was going to be a clean and fast one. But, it looks like that is no longer the case, and now is the time to fight.

"Roger," was all Bihari said as he got out of the car. Quickly moving over to a nearby car for cover. Aiming his rifle towards the men and waited for the signal to engage. Which it was not long when Tahmina started shooting at the unknown men. Taking the one with a shotgun out first, and his companions started to open fire at them. "Covering," he said as Tahmina moved to get the HVT out of the car. Firing a careful burst of suppressive fire to cover her. Then taking cover behind the car as the men returned fire. They need to get rid of these guys soon, or this mission is going to go further downhill.

When Tahmina shouted about moving to the next car, Bihari replied. "Right," and he waited for a chance to move up. Then the team's two-car came out of nowhere and stopped in front of them. That was an odd move, and sure it meant that there was something in the way of them and the assailants, but it put team two directly in harm's way. When they could have flanked the assailants and put some pressure on them, guess that is not an option now, and this is when Bihari took the chance to move up. "Moving," he quickly said as he made his way to a nearby car and taking cover behind him. Peaking out, and saw that one of their assailants was shot by Charlotte. "Nice one and only two left now," he said as he took aim at the remaining assailants. Laying down some suppressive fire on the assailants in the chance that one of his teammates can get a kill shot on the last two assailants.

[Bolslania]

Mueller fired a burst to cover for Tiedemann's exit of the vehicle. He ducked down as rounds slammed into the engine block. He nodded at Tiedemann's notification that she was moving.

"I'll cover." He said to her, he popped up as she sprinted off, adopting a C-Grip around his rifle, flipping the fire selector to automatic. He fired a burst at a man with a Kalashnikov pattern rifle, he saw blood fly and watched the man fall down behind a minivan. He saw out of his peripheral vision a man advancing, he turned his rifle there, firing a burst into that direction.

A feeling like a sledgehammer hit him in the chest, he fell over with a grunt. he hit the asphalt. Looking down at his chest he opened up his greatcoat, feeling the still warm hole where the bullet hit, he revealed his body armor, feeling around for a puncture, feeling a lump where his body armor had stopped the bullet, it felt like something in the .32 or 9mm range of handguns. With a groan he got back up, picking up his rifle from where it had fallen from his hands. Breathing was a little difficult, either he had the wind knocked out of him or had injured a rib. He leaned around the front of the Stinger, firing some rounds downrange.

"Team 1, might I suggest you bug out with the HVT while Team 2 and Team 3 cover?" He said, it was standard procedure in a convoy for the high value vehicles to bolt as the defensive vehicles occupied the attackers.

[Dayganistan]

The enemy fire had slowed down as Team 2 arrived and began to fight. Her teammate and the two operatives of Team 2 were moving to push on the hostiles and keeping up fire of their own. This was not without injuries on their part, however. Both operators from Team 2 had taken hits. They continued to fight, but the fight would probably need to end quickly so they could check their injuries and get medical treatment.

The arrival of multiple heavily armed operators and a cascade of accurate gunfire had sent the hostiles into retreat, knowing this was a fight they couldn't win. One of the men broke from behind an old Lada and retreated further down the street, as the other attempted to suppress the Rainbow operatives with inaccurate, automatic Kalashnikov fire. It didn't work, Tahmina spotted the man moving from cover and fired at him, striking him in the back with three 5.56mm rounds and causing the target to fall face first onto the sidewalk. The other man screamed a string of mixed Armenian and Russian profanity.

"Team 2, you guys are both hit. I'm giving you Thakurta and he'll come back to the safehouse with you. Finish the assault, search the BMW." Tahmina shouted to her teammates. She then grabbed their captive, and put her back into the rear seat of her team's Kia. Moving to the driver's door, the single remaining enemy had begun to fire again. She tossed her rifle into the front passenger seat and entered the car, grabbing her pistol and firing a few rounds towards the hostile as she pushed car's ignition button. When the car started, she holstered her pistol and pulled out of the parking space she had pulled into, driving away from the gunfire. She would be a sitting duck if there was another attempted ambush, so she drove as fast as she safely could, weaving in and out of traffic. No point keeping a low profile anymore.

"I thought you said I would be safe with you!" the woman in the back shouted.

"You're alive right? That counts as safe to me," Tahmina responded. "We'll be at the safehouse soon. Just stay calm, you're doing better than most civilians I've had to escort under fire."

---

After a chaotic drive the Kia arrived at the safehouse. An old restaurant that had gone out of business a couple years ago and sat vacant ever since. The Rainbow operatives would park behind and use the rear door so as not to arouse too much suspicion. Tahmina retrieved her rifle from the passenger seat and slung it, before getting out to open the rear door and help the captive out. She then grabbed a folding knife from her belt, which she used to cut the captive's zip ties before starting to escort her inside. The other operatives would arrive soon, and enter the safehouse when they did.

"I took off the zip ties as a show of trust, now you have to trust us," Tahmina said to her captive, now free of cuffs. She escorted her to what was once the dining room of the restaurant and sat her near a table where a rugged military laptop and satellite phone sat. Tahmina checked the laptop, the intel guys back in Stepanakert had sent a message through their secure network. They found a lot of intel pointing to the attack Petrosian was planning, before Rainbow's raid. They were trying to work out a favorable price for more gas, which they would use to attack the Formula 1 Grand Prix set to take place in Baku in early June. A plot Rainbow had most likely foiled. She'd have to relay to her team that they had foiled his main plot, although they still had no idea what he might be planning now. The intel guys would continue to look for more information on a possible identity of the seller.

"Somehow you know my name, but who are you?" Lusine asked. "Your name, and who your group is."

"My name is Tahmina. We're a task force of special operators and intelligence operators tracking down a source of chemical weapons being sold to terrorists, including your husband which is why..."

"Soon to be ex-husband," Lusine interrupted with a somewhat angry tone. "I can't be married to a terrorist. I have nothing to do with any of his plans. He wasn't the same when he came back from the war. He started drinking, he was always angry, I would have left him a long time ago if I wasn't worried he would just shoot himself or drink himself to death in some back alley somewhere. And well, he's a mass murderer now so maybe he deserves to die. Maybe I should have left him, he would have shot himself and this wouldn't be happening."

"I understand, you're probably feeling a lot of strong emotions right now. We can talk about it later if you would like. But we need to get through why we're here. Have you had any contact with him recently?" Tahmina asked.

"Last night he called me. It was from an Azerbaijani phone number so I guess he's there now, or on his way there. He said some commandos showed up to kill him and he's going to Baku to carry out an attack." Lusine said. "Were you the commandos who went to kill him?"

Tahmina nodded. "Ideally we wanted to capture him but if he gave us no choice we would have done what had to be done. Our intel guys said he was planning to gas the Formula 1 race in Baku in a couple months, did he say anything about that?"

"No, he didn't tell me what he was doing other than he was on his way to Baku to carry out an attack. I don't know what his plans were. He doesn't tell me what his plans are and wants to keep me as far away from his deranged schemes as he can. I would love to help you more and I could if I was still doing my old job in the National Security Service but right now I'm useless."

"You've helped us, don't worry about that. We'll go to Baku and work with the Azerbaijanis to find him. You'll come with us too, you're safer with us than in Yerevan right now." Tahmina reached down under the table to her 24 hour assault ruck. Lusine instinctively tensed up, only to see that Tahmina had produced a jar of instant coffee labelled as "Tim Hortons", some foreign brand Lusine had never seen, a water bottle, dry fuel stove, and some metal cups. When the water finished boiling Tahmina added the water to her cup with the coffee crystals. The smell and taste of the Canadian coffee chain was exactly what she needed after a stressful two days. She also offered a cup to Lusine, who accepted.

Tahmina continued to scroll through documents and messages on the laptop. She was looking to see if anything came up as to what Petrosian might be planning in Baku. Rainbow's commanders had alerted the Azerbaijani authorities, according to one message, so that could potentially make taking down Petrosian much easier.

[Bolslania]

Mueller came up to fire, he took aim at a man with a pistol.

"There you are." He muttered, he squeezed the trigger, a round flying out and hitting the man square in the chest, he fell over. Mueller dropped back behind cover, sliding out his magazine as the enemy began to retreat, he slapped in a new mag and pulled back on the charging handle, the sharp release of which meant he was able to fire. He was coming back up when Azadi shouted orders at them. He popped back up and fired more rounds downrange, it appeared that they had beaten back the attack. There was a last man that Mueller drew a bead on, but he ducked behind a car before Mueller could fire.

"Moving!" He shouted, he sprinted to the left, dropping behind a car, checking the road, he didn't see anything, checking the side walk, still nothing. He sprinted to the next car, taking cover behind it. He saw Tiedemann on the other side of the road, it appeared that she was also advancing. Looking back, he saw Thakurta moving up as Azadi sped away in the KIA. He came around the corner, moving up, as he reached his next cover, a man popped up, holding a large shotgun. Mueller threw himself under cover as the man fired. Just in time. Mueller blind-fired around the bumper of the car. It didn't sound like he hit anything. He heard the sound of a shotgun racking.

fuck He thought, that man was going to try and charge him. Mueller got on his feet, squatting down in preparation. He listened intently for footsteps, anything to notify him of the enemy coming. There, the scrap of a boot on concrete, he was coming along the sidewalk.

The man came around the corner, the barrel of the shotgun swinging around. Mueller sprang forward tackling the man as the shotgun went off, the slug slamming right where Mueller had been. The two went to the pavement, Mueller's G36 laying on the asphalt and the shotgun flying out of the man's hands. The man grunted under Mueller's weight, Mueller punched him in the face, the man's nose crunching under the impact. Having stunned the man, Mueller put his left arm over the mans upper chest and throat, pinning him to the ground, pulling out his pistol with his right hand Mueller shoved the barrel in the mans face.

The man shook his head and froze, his vision unblurring to reveal the pistol in his face. The shooting had stopped, Mueller looked around to see if Tiedemann and Thakurta were still engaging hostiles.

[Hastur]

OR-6 Charlotte 'Tig' Tiedemann
Yerevan
Armenia
March 18th, 2023

---

Charlotte continued her push along the flank, slipping alongside the cars for concealment. The thunder was dying down; the fight was ending. The attackers had screwed up their changes of completing whatever aim they had in mind today. Charlotte was right alongside the enemy now, directly on where their left flank was. In an optimal position, she got low and peaked around the engine block. Rifle up and pointed forward, ready to shoot anything hostile. Charlotte spotted the man that she had hit, who looked to be in his mid-thirties. His body sprawled in an inconvenient position, crimped on the floor, but he was moving. Riving on the floor as his hand seemed to reach for an object in his jacket.

Charlotte took aim as her training prescribed, discharging an additional two shots into him. One into his back where the vitals would be, and the second into his skull. His sputter cut short as his brain suffered critical damage. His body seizing its function suddenly, comparable to a power plug being ripped from an electronic device suddenly. “Moving up near the hostiles! I Repeat! Moving up near the hostiles! Watch your fire!” She spat on the comms, opening her advance.

She stood up for cover and started reviewing the butchery. Spotting what looked like three neutralised hostiles in what was civilian attire. She held her weapon on them as she progressed, putting finishing shots into any of the targets that were still moving. Reaching the man that she had killed, charlotte kicked his AK out of reach with her foot. Inspecting his hands closely to see what he had been drawing. His hand rested in the pool of his own blood, his lifeless fingers clenched tightly onto a closed leather bound wallet.

“Three targets down! one unaccounted for!” She stated over the net, moving past as she secured the rest of their weapons, All of them had passed off this mortal coil, a complete waste of human life. The pain in her arm was becoming clearer as she scanned for the hostile. The adrenaline brought on by the fight was wearing off. She didn’t have to look at it to know she was still bleeding. She could feel it flowing down her skin. It was probably serious. An AK cartridge, be it 5.45×39mm or 7.62x39mm, would rupture the skin and muscle enough to cause a serious bleed even with a skimming wound.

She’d need to implement a tourniquet soon. More gunfire exploded, however, bringing a hold on that plan. Charlotte snapping round to watch her partner being engaged. Mueller taking shelter near the corner from a road she didn’t have good eyes on. Charlotte began maneuvering to get an angle until a second shot followed. She identified the two wrestling for a shotgun as they before he was tackled to the floor by Meuller. She advanced upwards, keeping the gun trained on the tackled man as Mueller held his sidearm to his skull.

“You got him under control?” Charlotte asked, scanning the area for any more hostiles. She saw no more, but it didn’t mean there wouldn’t be more. “This is team 2, we have eliminated all hostile contacts, three dead, one in custody.” Charlotte stated, her voice calmer. The police would be here soon. She wasn’t sure it’d be a good idea to wait for them to show up.

“Thakurta, could you cover me? Got to apply first aid.” she asked. Pulling her tourniquet from her plate carrier and opening it up. She brought the life sustaining piece of equipment around her left arm, placing it just below her elbow, two inches from the wound. She twisted the handle, letting out a murmur of pain as the materiel stiffened around her arm. Inhibiting the stream of blood. She glanced at her watch, making a note of the time it was applied. "You guys good?"

[Theyra]

Yerevan, Armenian
March 18th, 2023
Bihari Thakurta

That was short, Bihari thought as the fighting died down and the last enemy fighter was taken down. He got up from his cover and looked around for more hostiles. None came and Bihari felt that they were secure after some time. Smiled that they were safe and walked over to Mueller to check on him. His weapon still at the ready, "You got that one?". Watching as the trapped man laid under Mueller did not move. The pistol barrel aimed point-blank at his head was enough to make the man reconsider trying to fight.

Seeing how it looked like Mueller had things under control. Bihari headed over to the wounded Tiedemann. Rifle raised just in case trouble comes though. Looking around before checking on Tiedemann and looking at her bleeding wound. "I am good Tiedemann but, you should get that wound looked at. Probably back at the safe house." Then Bihari looked back at Mueller, while he did want to get Tiedemann to the safe house so they properly fix her wound. There was the matter of the still alive hostile that Mueller has pinned. He did not want to leave Mueller alone on the off chance that the hostile got free. Though judging by the sirens the police are on their way and Bihari was not sure if they should stick around when the police arrive. But what to do with the hostile?

So he made a choice and spoke to Mueller. "Mueller, you think you can handle that guy until the police arrive while I take Tiedemann back to the safe house?"

[Bolslania]

Mueller kept his eyes fixed on the man he had pinned.

"Yeah I'll keep him here." He said simply.

"The police will probably want to take me as well so I'll probably be at the local police station." If the police were at all worth their salt they would grab Mueller and take him for questioning. He wasn't carrying any ID so Rainbow officials would have to come retrieve him from custody. He hadn't been in a police station for 20 years, ever since he got caught shoplifting when he was 14. He picked the man up, setting him against the front of a car. Mueller had all of the weapons near him, and the man didn't appear to have any interest in going for one. Mueller sat across the man, pistol casually pointed at him. The two looked at each other, the man tense, Mueller tired and aching.

[Hastur]

OR-6 Charlotte 'Tig' Tiedemann
Yerevan
Armenia
March 18th, 2023

---

With the situation under control and the police on the way, Charlotte thought it was a good time to leave. Bihari suggested Mueller stayed behind to hand off the attacker, which Mueller planned to go along with. A plan she was not so comfortable with, but time was running out. He would be arrested for sure, or shot at worse by the Armenian police, depending on where their allegiance lay. They would just have to count on rainbow could bail him out if it came to that, which it presumably would. The entire situation was less than ideal. It was growing into a reoccurring theme for her in this job.

“Alright, let’s move. See you on the other side, Mueller.” Charlotte said, giving an abrupt nod as she began the dash back to the shot up vehicle they had rolled up in. It would be miracle l if it even worked. The thing had taken multiple shots to the engine block and other critical parts of machinery. That was the dilemma with rolling in unarmed vehicles. They broke when they got shot up. It wasn’t something they just take.

Climbing into the driver's seat of the car, she flung her weapon between the centre console, turning the key on the engine. It hummed to life for a second before stalling out. “Komm schon!” She hissed, trying it again. The engine puttering pitifully as it sought to start, despite its wounds, before giving out again. “Scheiße!” The police sirens that were mere background noise had now grown into a genuine threat. It’s baying scream ringing through the streets as they grew closer. She twisted the key, the engine again puttering once again before finally rumbling to life. Charlotte pulled the car out, driving out onto the street to make it back. “Alright. We’re going.” Charlotte confirmed, keying the comms to let Mueller and command know she had left.

---

OR-6 Charlotte 'Tig' Tiedemann
Yerevan, Rainbow Safehouse
Armenia
March 18th, 2023

---

Despite the police being no doubt on high alert now, charlotte made it back to the safe house without considerable issue. The shot up KIA had barely slithered back. The engine had been through a lot. Taken multiple rounds. She had taken it slow on the road. Not wanting to force the car over its limit. Last thing she wanted was to get stuck in an unfamiliar city with heavy ordinance and a shot up car. She wondered how much attention she’d drawn to herself driving here.

Photos had no doubt circulated on the internet of their actions today. I’d be a firestorm of attention from here on out. She’d imagine if Petrosian was at all clued in, he’d know she’d been taken for sure now. Geolocation was a genuine threat to the safe-house, especially when driving in a shot up car. Nothing she could do about it now, however. She’d just have to hope that there wasn’t a digital gingerbread trail leading there, and someone with malicious intent clever enough to follow it.

Her arm hurt. The tourniquet pressure was causing her nerves to ache. Her still fresh wound stung sharply. The pressure applied by the tool had largely brought it to a minor trickle. Hopefully, it's had clotted properly. She had a feeling that a proper aid station wasn’t an option at the moment. Charlotte would have to dress it once she got inside.

Grabbing her equipment, she headed inside. Slinging her rifle as she walked inside of the quaint building. Her eyes locked onto the captain and the HVI, who seemed to be having a conversation. The boss no doubt prying her for information on their primary target. They were drinking coffee, the pleasant aroma permeating the room as she made her way to find a seat. Placing her trauma kit on the table. “Evening.” Charlotte said lackadaisically. Flatly starting at the two as she removed the wipes, gauze and a tweezer. "Meuller stayed behind with the captured guy." Charlotte added, postioning herself to treat the wound. "Not sure what's going to happen to him but I thought you should know."

She scrutinized the wound. Her left forearm bearing a three inch large laceration from where the round had skimmed, with a peppering of shrapnel imbedded in above that. The wound was deep, but had luckily not made it to the bone. The damage being mostly relegated to the flesh and fat, with what looked like slight damage to the muscle. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, at least not majorly, stopping to a trickle at most. Treatable once they took the wife to wherever they planned on taking her, but for now she’d have to do patchwork.

Charlotte started with the biggest issue. Cleaning out the wound with an antiseptic wipe, getting any sort of contaminants clear before administering the gauze. Wrapping it securely around the wound. The stinging hit hard, Charlottes face twitching with discomfort as she polished up. Finally removing the tourniquet from her arm as she moved to the superficial shrapnel. Pulling out the foreign bodies with the tweezers and wrapping the wound, the splinters of the KIA would make an impressive conversationial piece on her first time getting shot.

She’d been hit with shrapnel before, had received other injuries in her service. But had never been shot. Rainbow was proving to be a first time for everything. Charlotte had contemplated going private after she’d got out of KSM. But she embraced this. She’d would have been making three times what she was earning now, and she probably wouldn’t have been shot. Charlotte knew she was doing some good here at least, that was what was important.

“So. Any updates?” Charlotte inquired. Peering over at the pair intently. Her eyes fatigued, her expression straight as she examined them. “You check her clothes?” She suggested, looking over at the HVI. She didn't really care too much for the HVI's reaction about it. She was past caring at this point. Charlotte hadn’t forgotten about how that BMW and where it had been. She realized it was odd and didn’t believe majorly in coincidences. They had been waiting at her place of work, had weapons that would do serious damage to body armour in an urban setting and somehow had got ahead of them. That meant they were prepared. If they were that serious, they would have no doubt put other precautions in place. “Just don't want no more of them showing up. Done enough killing for today quite frankly.” She said rather nonchalantly, leaning back in the chair, trying her best to get comfortable.

[Tayner]

Yerevan, Armenia
March 18th, 2023
Johnathan McBryde

Shit. Johnathan thought as he listened to the situation unfold over comms. The Kia they were in rode swiftly, but when they rounded a turn they came close to rear ending a car that had already gotten in a traffic accident. Shit. He echoed to himself. The traffic around them became congested and nearly un-traversable. Gunshots could be heard echoing through the streets, but the American-Russian duo were too far to make it by foot. Yuri tried his best to navigate the traffic jam that had developed around the accident that they had encountered, but they were moving too slow. Shit. Johnathan thought as reports of wounded came over the comms. Just as fast as it started, it ended, the team had escaped the firefight mostly intact, and the fact that he and Yuri got stuck unable to help them ate at Johnathan.

"Fuck this Yuri, get us to the safehouse." He spat, angry at everything.

Soon enough they pulled up, and Johnathan secured his weapons and entered. The CO had already taken to interviewing the HVT, and Tiedemann was patching up her wound. He simply nodded to the group, having nothing to say. Sorry we got stuck in traffic while you were literally being shot at. The thought of saying it sounded stupid, and he didn't want to talk about it. He simply took up watch by the front, peering through a window's blinds, scanning for anything out of place. Showing up late. Seems to be a reoccurring theme. He internally scoffed, before looking back in to the others once no threat made itself apparent. At least they weren't followed.

"I'm going to walk the perimeter, make sure everything's secure and clear." He stated, but in all honesty, it was an excuse to go on a smoke break. "Anyone want to come with?" He asked as he started to the door.

[Bolslania]

Mueller returned Tiedemann's nod as she turned to get into the KIA, she started it up and looked surprised when it coughed to life. He watched the KIA's drive off towards the safehouse, he was somewhat surprised when Team 2's Stinger drove off, he hadn't realized just how many bullets had hit it. The sirens in the distance, growing louder, brought either Mueller's inconvenience, or his death. Depending on the officers' personal beliefs. Mueller decided that it would be good to transmit that he was getting picked up.

"Rainbow Actual, this is Rainbow 2. Cops are here. I'll probably be at the police station in 10-15 minutes, over." That message was for Azadi, hopefully she still received it. The man he had captured had slowly reached for a cigarette, and after Mueller's close inspection to make sure it wasn't a suicide attempt, was allowed to smoke it. The man seemed uninterested in getting shot by Mueller, a situation Mueller was fine with. He was purposely ignoring the bodies strewn over the street. A police car slowly rolled up, two officers exiting. They had their pistols holstered. That was a good sign.

"Do you speak English?" Mueller asked, they stared blankly back at him.

"Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" Mueller asked again. One of the officer's nodded.

"Ein bischen." The cop said in heavily accented german.

"Der Mann hier ist ein Terrorist. Er hat mir angegriffen." Mueller said in simple German. The officer nodded.

"Ich verstehe. Aber beide sie kommen mit uns." The officer said. Mueller nodded.

"sehr wohl." Mueller said. He handed the weapons to the officer, who secured them while he and the man were handcuffed. Mueller was put in the back of the German speaking Armenian's car, while the man was put in the back of a second car which had shown up. An unmarked police car rolled up as police tapes were being deployed. Out came a professionally dressed man. Probably a detective. He and the German speaking officer had a quick discussion, after which the german speaking officer got back in the car, starting up the engine.

"Sie hat viel Manner getotet." The man said, surprise in his voice. He was clearly confused as to how Mueller, who at the moment appeared to be a single operator, killed upwards of 5 armed men and captured another.

"Alles deutlich gemacht werden." Mueller said, choosing to remain silent. He had noticed the lack of his rights being listed by the officer, who suddenly remembered it.

"Oh ja, und sie haben das Recht zu beharrlich schweigen, und alles sie sagen werd benutzen im ein Gericht. Verstehen Sie?" The officer said. Mueller nodded. Some of the German had been improperly used but the message had been made clear.

After 10 minutes of silent driving, the police car pulled into the station, being escorted into a holding cell, where his cuffs were removed, along with most of his belongings. He laid down on the cot and waited.