Epilogue

The year is 2012. 3 years ago, the American Privatization scandal caused a near collapse in the private sector, yet thanks to the dissipation of SSC, the colossus of Private Military Corporations, the market remained unsaturated. At the time, the largest and most profitable of these organizations was 'Trans World Operations', led by Elliot Salem and Tyson Rios, which was founded in the wake of SSC's collapse, and at first enjoyed h

After the success of TWO, the Black Mountain Corporation, which had merged with SSC in 2001 began operating again, and was soon a prime contender for the PMC top-spot, held by TWO. Some questioned their ethics and their less-than-exceptional track record, but they often took jobs that the other PMCs wouldn't touch.

After the last US troops were pulled out of Iraq in 2011, many of the PMCs began accepting contracts from anyone they could find, cauing fierce competition for any of said contracts. Whoever did the job the fastest was the one who got paid, and an unpaid mercenary is a violent person- a full-on war nearly began when a disgruntled Black Mountain employee fired on TWO operatives in Cyprus after losing a contract to them. A sizable settlement was payed to TWO after the incident, but relations between the two companies began to deteriorate just as quickly as the ties in the Easter European community, which had seemed on the brink of full-out war since Kosovo's declared independence.

The match that would light the cannon came in 2012, when a Black Mountain transport helicopter was shot down near Kosovo's border with Serbia. In response, a sizable Black Mountain force was sent to investigate. By the time they arrived, the Kosovo military had dispatched an expeditionary force to meet the same ends, and ordered the contractors to leave immediately, in hopes of keeping order in the strained region. The contractors, however, intent on retrieving their downed hardware, refused to budge, and, after a lengthy wait, resorted to violence. It wasn't long into the fight that Serbian troops began pouring over the border into Kosovo, and the surviving Black Mountain contractors pulled out, hoping to avoid blame for the mess they had created.

Soon, the entire Balkans would become the hub for the greatest conflict yet of the 21st century, as troops from all over the world arrived to support their allies in the region, leading to a war fought by proxy. The United States, still licking its hurt pride from the Iraq conflict, remained neutral, further distorting the already blurred line between friend and foe, allowing contractors in the field to fight each other without risking legal action at home.

The sun had not appeared over the horizon, but light lit up the country side. Bombed out buildings on top of a hill would be the first thing anyone would see in the area.

"Don't worry about a thing,
cause every little thing is gonna be alright.
Don't worry about a thing,
cause every little thing is gonna be alright!

Rise up this mornin',
Smiled with the risin' sun,
Three little birds"

The soldier jerked awake, grabbing the small PDA and clicking it off. His unifrom was clean, something that actually allowed him to sleep till his alarm clock. The man turned over in the bed, climbing out withing a few seconds.

He rubbed his eyes, silently thanking God for the nights sleep. He hadnt got more than 3 or 4 hours of it the past week, last night he was lucky enough to find a warm building, and not be in the middle of a war zone. He even washed his uniform, which had been soaked in blood, mud, and sweat.

A TV in the corner made this even more great, he flicked it on as he walked by to his guns.

"Today Serbian forces have announced that they will be willing to attack any allies of Kosovo, Americans were among the called out, prompting many to reconsider their stance on the war, but many still hope to stay out of it."

He sighed, of course they wouldn't. After Iraq all forigen policy was changed, and America had basically not wanted to get involved anywhere now. He forgot this as he picked up his SCAR, smiling as he ran his hand along the black metal of the weapon.

He gathered up the rest of his stuff, heading outside. He walked down to the woods, hopping over a small creek. A pile of brush blocked his way. However, it was concealing his transportation, a 2009 Chevy Avalanche.

{{ Not finished, but this is all i finished : P }}

The Black Mountain transport copter sounded loudly, and sent the civilians at the work site scattering, as was taught them to do when the faint sounds of an incoming helicopter could be heard during war. Gilead took a deep breath from his pipe and blew the smoke back out quickly, stuffing it in his front pocket before returning his hand to the handle of his FAMAS. Vladimir's voice over his radio calmed him as much as was possible before an aerial deployment, when his mind would wander to such disturbing thoughts as a defective parachute or a few stray bullets tearing up a working one. He couldn't help but look over the edge at the ground, so far away below them as he sat on the edge of the passenger cabin, ready to push himself into the clouds.

On the ground, he heard what sounded like gunfire. This zone wasn't hot- or wasn't supposed to be, at least. Which meant something had happened that he probably wasn't prepared for. He began to pull himself slowly back in when the entire helicopter jolted, tipping his balance. Gilead tried to right himself, but it was too late, and within moments he was hurtling at breakneck speeds towards the Earth.

He panicked for a second, but quickly regained his composure, as he always did- once he was in the air, he was fine. Now, he was deployed, he was on a mission, which meant he had to be professional at all times, even if it meant silently accepting your death as your main and backup parachutes failed to deploy properly.

Luckily, his parachute was fine, and he remained confident that he still might manage to remain undetected as he drifted slowly towards construction site's highest point, which was currently a big wooden platform that would serve as a heli-pad when the thing was finished. His training allowed Gilead to land on the pad directly, and as soon as he had unlatched the parachute from his back, he scanned the area. It appeared Kovac didn't see the point in guarding an unfinished heli-pad, a fact that made Gilead's job quite a bit simpler.

Chase was driving along the country road, searching for his next place of refuge. Serbian and Kosovar forces moved through these areas, and both of them would have a hard time understanding why a US Soldier was in there territory.

He stopped as he heard a chopper, probably about a click from his location. He looked up, spotting the black dot hovering in the sky. He slammed on the brake, turning the truck around and down a road towards where it was.

He drove past a few fleeing workers, noticing they were from the construction site. He stopped the truck on the side of the road, hiding it behind a small foremans office. He carried his SCAR, his HK416 on a sling behind his shoulder.

He moved though the trees, not wanting to attract attention. He felt obligated to help them, they were civilians. At the tree line he found the construction site, deciding to move though it. He noticed a platform near him, but only checked it for a sniper while moving though some earth moving machines.

Gilead looked over the edge of the platform. It was quite a way's above the ground, and the nearest beam he could jump down to was at least 8 feet below, and considering the entire tower was shaking with the wind, a leap of faith was too much of a risk. There was, of course, an elevator to the ground, but it was loud, and offered little to no cover inside if he was ambushed. The beams the elevator followed were only a few feet a part, so Gilead grabbed the top beam, swung his legs between the two vertical beams the elevator followed, and pressed outwards against both. He slowly slid down, alternating shifting his feet and hands, until he was on top of the elevator.

A gun went off from near the front of the complex, and a few bullets whizzed by Gilead as he flipped over the back of the grounded elevator.

So much for a quiet job. Gilead thought, as lights flickered on in the bunkhouse also near the front of the complex. He recognized the gun being used against him from the sound, and the muzzle flash- Kalishnakov. AK47, probably. It's accuracy beyond the first bullet was less-than-spot-on, so he decided to take a chance, and made a quick sprint across the yard, under the skeleton of what would eventually be a tower, and wasn't surprised that he made it without getting hit.

He was now hiding behind a large, rectangular building that was not quite as bare-bones as the tower at the back, but was still unfinished. The wall, here, was cement, and with a quick sprint, Gilead managed to run up the side to the 2nd story, through the open side of the building, surely designed to feature a row of windows. The other side was similarly open, though the side of the mountains the compound was tucked away inside of wouldn't provide much of a view.

Revelling in the momentary reprieve, Gilead took out his GPS. Kovac would probably holed up in the top of the building, and the overzealous guard's warning shots would surely have provided him with enough of a warning to secure a weapon. The compound didn't have any active guards, however, which meant this one had to have been awoken by something in the night. The helicopter's faint noise had barely been enough to scatter the civilians building the compound, and Gilead hadn't made any noise on his entrance, so whatever awoke him was currently unaccounted-for.

Chase ducked behind one of the bulldozers, becoming completely silent as he waited to see if the shots continued. He let out a very quiet sigh, then peeked around the corner. He brought his SCAR up, the ACOG providing some magnification if he needed it, but didnt hamper the aim in CQB.

He then moved, pivoting his body around the corner and staying low. He saw movement near a small building, probably the source of the shot. He stopped, knealing behind a concrete barrier. He screwed on his rifles silencer, then got up and continued moving.

He rounded the corner quickly, but found nothing. He looked at the small building, seeing that it was probably the on site office. Then the door latch flipped, making just enough sound for his well tuned hearing to catch it. He moved his rifle, looking at the windows.

He saw movement through the small holes in the blind, then suddenly two shots rung out. The glass shattered, the projectiles missing him by only inches. He responded within the second, squezzing the trigger and sending the armed man crashing to the floor.

He moved in, kicking down the door. The office was dark, but the light from the broken window allowed him to see the body. He checked the pulse, none. He took one hand off his rifle, unclipping the magazine and sliding it under a desk across the small room.

He then left, exiting the door watching for anyone that might fire on him. Chase hoped no one else saw him, seeing as he was from a nuetral country and had no business to be here besides the fact they didnt bother to tell him the evac chopper was taking off.

After a few minutes of searching, Gilead managed to locate a ladder to the third floor. As he got off, silently lifting his body up, he saw an armed guard standing at the window. Gilead slowly approached, stopping to peer around the corner to see if there were any more window guards on the floor. Another one was standing there, facing out as well, but he appeared weaponless.

In a quick, fluid movement, Gilead shoved the nearer guard out the window and shot the other twice in the chest with his silenced .45 1911 pistol. The man pulled out his own pistol and pulled the trigger twice, but the safety was on, and the gun didn't fire as the man fell to the ground with a quiet groan.

A patrol on the ground soon fired up at him after checking the pulse of the body he had flung- apparently he was dead. Quickly, Gilead moved away from the window, and pulled himself up the ladder there as quickly as he could.

Chase ducked as the report of weapons echoed through the compound. He scrambled though the compound, finding the area it was coming from. He looked around, seeing men firing up into a building. Who were they firing on? Were they friendly? Should i get involved? Questions ran though his mind. He decided that no Kosavar or Serbian soldier would be able to do this.

He lifted his rifle, firing on the ones standing in the open. Their friends reacted in seconds, turning from the building and firing on the new threat. He fired on a man rushing to the aid of his fallen comrade, killing him instantly with a shot through the neck.

He felt a round hit him, square in the chest. He didnt look down, he finished emptying his clip into the men. He ducked behind a pile of I Beams, checking himself for holes. His armor stopped the round, and the plate still felt solid. Hopefully it could take some more hits, he would need it.

He slid the new magizine into the weapon, then pulled a smoke grenade from his pack. He pulled the pin, dropping it about a foot from him. He smiled as he was enveloped in the grey smoke, getting up and sprinting across an open area.

He ducked behind a front end loader, staying quiet as the patrol fired on his previous position. He stood up in the cabin of the loader, firing his weapon. The rounds shot though the light glass, shattering the panel and sending shards crashing to the floor.

He cut down one, injuring the other before they caught on. He jumped out of the cabin onto the ground as the wounded man opened fire on him.

Gilead peered cautiously over the edge, and saw there was a firefight on the ground.

'That's what woke 'em, eh?', he thought to himself. 'Damn T.W.O. Better get this done quick.'

He turned around and found himself staring into the deep abyss of a gun-barrel. He took a small step back, the hell of his foot on the edge of the floor, and saw the gun was a Skorpion Auto-Pistol, and it was Kovac's thick, hairy hand holding it.

A big Russian man, strong as a bear, Kovac wasn't the kind of man you'd want to fight in a dark alley, or any alley at all. Truth be told, you didn't want to fight him unless large sums of money were involved, which, in this case, they were. There was a huge bounty on Kovac, one which would never have grown so large were the man not such a hard-to-kill beast. he was a member of the 'Plague-Bearers', a terror organization based here in Easter Europe. Their name came from their use of chemical weapons, as their actual name had not yet been determined by intel.

The fact that he hadn't already sprayed Gilead's brains into the air above the compound was the trade-off for his strength- he was as slow and stupid as he was big and strong, and Gilead managed, with a little strain on his back, to slide underneath Kovac on his back, and, moving his weight to his upper back, around the shoulders, kicked him with all his force. It didn't seem to move him, but it upset his balance slightly, and that was all it took. He fell to the ground, unable to react quickly enough to stay standing, and went over the edge, swinging around his arm to catch the ledge. He was about to pull himself up when Gilead put a few rounds through the man's hand. The bullets stuck into him, but didn't completely penetrate his outer layer of skin- regardless, the pain caused his hand to involuntarily open, and he let go. Kovac hurtled through the air roaring like the monster he was, until he hit the ground with a thud.

Then he started screaming again. Gilead sighed, pulled his FAMAS from his back, and leaned over the edge just enough to pepper Kovac with bullets, 'til he fell on the ground. However, even with a good 20 bullets in him, he was still groaning. He pulled a grenade off of his belt and, after pulling the pin, and, holding it over the edge as if contemplating whether he should, he let go. Confidently, he turned and jumped up through an opening in the ceiling, pulled himself up, and looked to the horizon where a small black dot in the sky grew larger and larger.

David lay in the bushes not far off all the action... he had his L96 PM 7.62mm Sniper Rifle in his hands, scoping any movement in the area... he knew a Black Mountain mercenary was in the area... he intended to do his contract, hopefully not meeting this man.

David was startled as a stray bullet slammed into the ground next to him, he scoped in, looking at a man running across the conpound and jump into cabin. He looked like a US Soldier... David couldn't seem to fathem why the man would be here. He dissmissed these thoughts as he heard twigs crunching behind him. He moved his hand left, slowly grabbing his C8 Carbine and rolling over, looking up to see a soldier standing over him, yelling something in another language... David aimed down his Red Dot sighting on the top of his weapon, firing one shot into the mans forehead in a split second... the bullet was silent, the silencer was a handy tool in this situations... David never left without one.

He rolled back over, looking through the scope of the rifle again, all the soldiers in the compound were firing at the man in the shack. David didn't need to help, he was in a good mood though.

He fired a bullet out of the large sniper rifle, the end of the rifle slamming into his shoulder, short pain shot through his arm. Nothing serious. The barrel shook as he fired again, slamming the bullet into one of the enemies neck, sending him to the ground infront of another soldier, who suffered the same fate in a matter of seconds. The rifle clicked, announcing the clip was empty. David sighed, grabbing another clip off his belt and slamming it into the gun, tossing the other into the bushes. He fired again, taking out one of the few remaining Kosovar soldiers. He thought for a moment, looking over at the shack to see any movement, none came.

He fired another shot into a mans face, sending the head flying off from the force of the shot, sending his body back a little and landing in mud. He sighed again, looking down the scope at the remaining two soldiers in the area... he decided now was the time to move. He stood up, slinging the rifle of his back and pulling up his C8 Carbine, blind firing as he ran to a staircase leading inside... he hoped his targed wasn't dead yet. He heard a large explosion nearby, he looked over to see the body of this 'Kovac' person he was here to kill... of which exploded into a million pieces.

"Shit!" He yelled, looking up at the horizon to see a black dot becoming larger and larger.

"Damn Black Mountian." He mumbled, moving up the staircase to the roof, of wich he found the man. He raised his rifle, he wasn't sure if he was Black Mountain or not... but he intended to find out.

"Hands up, who are you...?" David said, moving up a little to the man.

Gilead reached into his breast pocket and put his pipe in his mouth, then turned around with his hands raised. There was a man there, aiming at him with an assault rifle. Judging from his dress, he looked to from one of the smaller contractors, which would make sense- rarely was there a contract that wasn't taken by both the big companies and some little struggling PMC, suffocating between the two giants of the industry, and it fit with the theory that the TWO operatives alerted the guards.

"That helicopter is a Black Mountain chopper, lad." he said, gesturing behind him. "Big, scary fellows with big, scary guns. I'd suggest you put that gun down and find your own evac before they get 'ere."

He was surprised as sniper fire silenced the men firing at him. He however had bigger things to worry about then find out who it was. The kosvar units in the area picked up on the fact there was a fire fight, and trucks started to appear.

He opened fire first with his grendade launcher. The 40mm projectile arched though the area, leaving the launcher with a distinct 'pop' sound. It exploded in the center of the truck, sending the vehicle and the squad inside into flames.

Before he could reach to open the breach of the launcher the others opened fire, scrambling out of their trucks. There were probably about 30 now, not good odds for him. He hoped the sniper would help, but none came, he would have to do this the old fashion way.

He opened up with SCAR, sending lead towards the enemy. He ducked behind a some sandbags, reloading the weapon as the bullets pelted the barrier. He reached down, switching on his radio.

"Come in USS Gerald Ford, come in Gerald Ford"

"This is CVN-78, who is this"

"Chase Lithum, US Special Forces" he yelled over the gunfire.

"Lithum, what do you need?" the operator asked.

He popped up from cover, firing his weapon at the soldiers.

"An Airstrike!" he yelled

"Hold on let me put you through to the Captian" she quickly said.

The clip ran dry, he let his legs give out and dropped behind the degrading cover.

"Lithum, your asking me to bomb a country were not at war with!" He said, acting like Chase was crazy.

"THERE IS 30 MEN FIRING ON ME, I NEED FUCKING HELP!" He yelled into the mic.

There was brief pause, Chase using this to blind fire a few rounds over the top. Sand was falling on him now, bullet blowing away his cover.

"There is a Recon Plane on the way" the capitan said calmly.

-----------------------------

5 minutes later the pilot radioed him, saying he was in the area. 'He must have been using the afterburners the whole way here' Chase thought to himself. The pilot also told him to mark his spot with a flare so he didnt hit him.

He did as he was told, pulling a flare and dropping it on the ground. He fired a few more shots, he was conserving ammo since a few more troops had arrived. He had taken down about 9 men that had tried to flank him, and another 4 shooting at them.

He spotted the plane, the F-35 opened up with its main gun. The heavy rounds tore up the trucks, sending dirt flying. The plane dived, then pulled up as he was seconds away from over shooting the sight

The pilot released the two 500 pound bombs he was equiped with,. Chase ducked as he saw them, the warheads detonating as they hit the ground in the middle of the enemy forces. The flames consumed the area around the front, killing almost all of the Kosavar troops that had shown up.

The plane circled above, scanning the area for any more threats to Chase.

"Sierra Foxtrot, forces in the area and heading your way, might wanna get out of there ASAP" the pilot said.

"Alright, you too" Chase replied, picking him self up and looking at the destruction.

Half of the compound was a chared ruin, fire spreading from vehicles and buildings to others. He shot a few survivors, they were busy trying to run away. He was impressed with the accuracy the pilot had.

"That helicopter is a Black Mountain chopper, lad. Big, scary fellows with big, scary guns. I'd suggest you put that gun down and find your own evac before they get 'ere."

"Fuck y--" David started, the sound of gunfire again cutting off his voice, he kept his gun raised at the man, looking into the sky as another black dot appeared on the horizon. He kept watching as it grew larger, revealing a F-35 US jet.

"Oh shit." He said, throwing himself to the floor as explosions went off all around the building, the gunshots ceased, leaving smoke and flames everywere. David looked up, noticing one of the powerful bullets from the jet had slammed into the concrete next to him. He looked at it for a moment, looking at the helicopter that was almost at them.

"I hate to miss the party but... cya round." David said, firing a few blind shots at a Kosvar man, who was holding an AK-47, he tumbled down the stairs, David running after him as a few shots from the chopper slammed around his feet. He leapt off the side of the staircase as a round slammed exactly were he would of been, he sored through the air, landing on the grass and doing a roll to not break bones. The shack that the man had been in was close by... he decided to move in, even if it meant killing the man. More rounds from the chopper slammed into ground around his feet as he leapt through the open doorway, a shot from the helicopter wizzing past his ear. He slammed into the wall, looking around for the man, who was crouched down, blind firing at the remaining Kosvar troops.

"Please don't tell me you're in Black Mountain..?" David said, drawing his sidearm and aiming it at the man, just incase the festivities began.

"Please don't tell me you're in Black Mountain..?"

He turned to see the man standing a couple feet from him. He turned quickly, bringing his leg up and kicking the mans pistol away.

He quickly brought it down, planting on the ground before pointing his SCAR at him.

"US Special Forces, who are you" he said calmly.

He knew doing this wasnt going to get him any allies most liekly, but he couldnt trust anyone. He waited for the answer, his finger on the trigger if he did anything.

David was a little shocked as the pistol was sent out of his hand, he hated it when people did this sort of stuff.

"US Special Forces, who are you"

"Trans World Operations Agent, I came down to kill some big russian guy... Black Mountain beat me too it." He said, a little tone of annoyance in his voice. He waited for the man to lower his gun, incase he didn't, David put his hand on his Carbine, of wich was by his side, he made it look like he was leaning on it, moving it to aim at the man on the floor, his finger on the trigger, he wouldn't shoot if this guy didn't shoot. It worked for him.

TWO was a pretty good organization, he could probably trust this guy. He lowered his rifle, thinking of what to do next. If that was his helicopter he could get out of this god forsaken warzone.

"Is that your chopper?" He asked.

He spotted a soldier trying to crawl away on the ground about 20 yards away. He turned his body, firing a single shot. The man went limp as the shot penetrated his back. The sounds of trucks in the distance was starting to get louder, probably a few klicks away.

"We need to get out of here, that airstrike was a one time thing" He told the contractor.

"Is that your chopper?"

"The one that was shooting at me? No." David said in a smart-assy manner.

"My chopper isn't due for another twenty minutes, we better get confortable." He said, loading his Carbine and standing up as the man shot another soldier.

"So, whats you're name anyway? I'm David."

Gilead rolled out of the way of the helicopter's fire, hoping the man who had him might catch a bullet- during a break in the shooting he took a leap over the edge of the building, and narrowly avoided slipping backwards by grabbing the hand rail next to his head. He fought against gravity and the G's of the helicopter turning away as he pulled himself into the cabin.

He was surprised that TWO would have access to military jets, but he wasn't surprised they could afford them. Perhaps a bribed senator or two, and a few million-dollar jets might get unloaded at the wrong stop, presumed 'lost', and forgotten about.

It was a good plan too- have the jet take out the compound's main building and Kovac with it. Hell, the contract would more than make up for the cost of the bomb to do it, and had they not fucked their entry they might have smoked him first. Gilead, however, was the one who had his signature gun, and after that grenade, it was the only thing left of him that identifiable.

The Skorpion machine pistol Kovac had used, which Gilead analyzed on the trip back, was impressive. It had a huge clip that stuck out far beyond what was necessary, a front-mounted grip that Kovac probably never used, and was made out of a metal not usually used to make guns- it shone much brighter than an average gun should. He doubted a huge creature like Kovac had much of a use for subtlety.

"The hell was that explosion?", Kilen, his contact filer, said through the radio, despite sitting across from him in the cabin. They wouldn't be able to hear each other over the wind outside the chopper. "Serbians?"

"No. My guess is TWO wanted any easy kill on Kovac." Gilead replied. "Just blow his guts all over the fucking mountains and get out of there."

Kilen squinted his eyes in doubt, then looked up at the ceiling in thought, then sighed in frustration. "TWO doesn't have jets... they shouldn't. Shit."

"Doesn't matter. I got Kovac's gun, and I made sure there wasn't anything else left to identify his body by. I blew him up before TWO could."

Kilen seemed to lighten up a bit, but not completely, as they began the long ride to the Vienna Compound.

{{Gonna skip ahead to after the TWO chopper arrived}}

Curtis sat on the outside of the chopper, looking at the countryside. He was happy he was being extracted, hopefully from the TWO base of operations he could get home. But secretly he knew that wasnt going to happen, he was still dead.

He stopped, wanting to think about something else. He switched on his radio, checking the news channels.

"Today a US F-35 was spotted over the skys of wartorn Kosovo. Current sources indicate the jet was captured on home video by a kosavar citzen. Audio on the tapes indicate that two bombs were dropped by the fighter.

Analysts confirmed that the jet was from the USS Gerald Ford, a suppercarrier serving in the Adriatic Sea. US Reports state the the plane was merley on a recon mission, and the bombs were merley a considence of an attack on a terrorist compound made by Kosovo forces.

Serbia has responded with enthusiasm. saying that they would welcome the US as an ally. Kosovo has responded in anger, a demo crew tearing down the vacant US Embassy. Back to you Kerry.

Alright John, Im getting word now that the US Military has had a press statement saying they are looking into the matter. Weather this means they think the captian of CVN-79 has broken military law, or they are starting to get involved with the war is a big question right no..."

He cut it off, slumping back into his seat. Chase had just gotten America into a position it didnt want to be in, having to pick a side. Hopefully they could just deny it and stay out of it, but Kosovo was pissed off now.

He considered jumping out the door, just letting fate determine if he should hit the ground or land in a river, life or death. He felt horrible, he had talked the captian into this, and now it may cost the US even more men and women.

In a large penthouse apartment in Miami, a shirtless man lay asleep on a large, leather couch, the Television still across the room from him still on. His phone ring, and after two reptitions of the tone, he slammed a hand on the end table, searching for it. He knocked a cup down, which promptly rolled off the table and on to the floor.

"Whudizit?" he said, opening the phone, his eyes half-closed.

"Your flight leaves at 12." said a voice from the other end, intelligent and feminine.

"Whadyoutalkinabout?" he replied, sitting up wearily.

She sighed. "Put on the news, Elliot."

He pointed the remote at the screen and flipped to the news. It was a video of some dark place in the mountains. Suddenly an explosion tore through the peaceful night, illuminating the area. The faint end of something could be seen briefly on the left end of the screen. Quickly, Elliot turned up the volume on the television as the story's title appeared:

US Fighters Drop Bombs on Kosovan Construction Site
The Birth Pangs of World War III?

Elliot's eyes widened as he got up and began dressing.

David had closed his eyes whilst he was on the chopper... he hadn't slept in at least five days. He heard the sound of Chase's radio in his hand, of which buzzed to life with the news. David just sat listening.

"Today a US F-35 was spotted over the skys of wartorn Kosovo. Current sources indicate the jet was captured on home video by a kosavar citzen. Audio on the tapes indicate that two bombs were dropped by the fighter.

Analysts confirmed that the jet was from the USS Gerald Ford, a suppercarrier serving in the Adriatic Sea. US Reports state the the plane was merley on a recon mission, and the bombs were merley a considence of an attack on a terrorist compound made by Kosovo forces.

Serbia has responded with enthusiasm. saying that they would welcome the US as an ally. Kosovo has responded in anger, a demo crew tearing down the vacant US Embassy. Back to you Kerry.

Alright John, Im getting word now that the US Military has had a press statement saying they are looking into the matter. Weather this means they think the captian of CVN-79 has broken military law, or they are starting to get involved with the war is a big question right no..."

"You called in that Jet didn't you?" David said, he didn't mean any judging of the man, he would of prorably done the same in his situation... TWO did not have any Jets to his knoledge however.

"Yeah i did, and now i may have just started the next world war single handly" he told him, staring out the door.

He wondered what he would do, he could go home, fight the government about him being left behind, and mabey settle down. He could always bum around here, picking up odd jobs or trying to get EUROCOM to let him do recon. Hell, he could even join one of the contractors, he had the skills.

He sat thinking about it, trying to figure out what he would do.

{{ Sorry for the double }}

Several carriers and airbases around the Balkans had been put on alert. The sounds of active aircraft echoed around on the deck of the Gerald Ford. On CVN-079 this was the second time their planes would head off on a bombing run.

The US Congress had convened just an hour earlier, authorizing the carrier to bomb military targets across the balkans, no matter who controlled them.

17 Planes were airbourne in minutes, and would fly over the hot spot within 8 minutes. The pilots readied their weapons, armed their bombs, and prayed to God.

The US wanted to prove that they were willing to exercise their power, and would not condone either countires actions. They decided bombs would be the most effective way to tell the countires to basically go to hell.

The planes reached the war zone, the first wave dropping their bombs on target. Tanks, men, SAM, Radar, and supply depots were on the list, and all were hit. Among the hit were mercenary compounds.

They hit TWO, Black Mountian, Blackwater, and TMC compounds. Although the bombs wouldnt do much damage, and the affected compounds would be repaired within days, they were trying to send a message that Contractors would be considered hostile if they were fighting on the ground.

The planes returned to the carrier, the pilots had mixed feelings about the bombings, but they followed orders all the way through. The President hoped this would prove that they could easily beat both countries, even if they didnt want too.

"Yeah i did, and now i may have just started the next world war single handly"

David could tell the man had alot on his mind, he decided to leave him be for a while, also looking out the window at the water below them. The chopper had just flown out to sea, prorably heading to a TWO ship off the coast... i't didn't bother David... as long as there was a bed and hot food, he was set. He turned to the man again, moving in his seat to get comfortable.

"Hmm. Well, I'm no shrink... but TWO is always a good choise for military work Chase. And from what I last heard, you were supposedly dead." He said, remembering the news report he had seen a while back about the dead US soldier that had given his life defending the Evac chopper. He sighed, rubbing his neck, it hurt like hell.

"I dunno, i need to get up to Germany first, or atleast get intouch with s higher up there. Besides that, i dont know about joining a contractor. No offense, but i have seen some of the things companies like TWO does" He yelled over the wind.

He spotted the Carrier that had helped him, he also noticed that several planes were coming in and taking off. He wondered what happened, and why the planes were loaded down with weapons.

"I dunno, i need to get up to Germany first, or atleast get intouch with s higher up there. Besides that, i dont know about joining a contractor. No offense, but i have seen some of the things companies like TWO does"

"Well, everyone does some bad things in their lives... including TWO contractors." He said, also looking out at the large carrier as they flew over it.

"Our boat wont be far off, prorably another ten minutes flight."