The White
Approaching The Outpost June 18, 2008, 1120 hours It had taken them over two hours to make their way here in the snowmobiles, but part of that was due to the fact that they had to take every possible action to avoid detection. That was not so easy when the environment was, more or less, a uniform colour and relatively quiet. Sound could travel a fair distance in the current climate, and despite the quietness of the electric engines there was still a chance that they could be heard by the enemy. The snowmobiles were left a mile behind them. They were now on foot, slowly and carefully making their way to the outpost, which was a single tent hidden in a small ice cavern according to the intelligence, and seeing as the source of the intelligence had been the two men they were searching for he decided to trust it. Their pace was a product of their wish to make as little noise as possible, hoping that their camouflaged uniforms would make invisible to any eyes that may be looking for them. It was tough going, but Innokentiy didn't even complain in the confines of his own mind. Instead he pushed on, leading by example even though he didn't have to. His team were so well tuned that they could read each other's minds, and so without being bidden they had adopted a defensive formation for the trek. He motioned for Morazov to join him at the front, and as his deputy took place at his side he said quietly, "I want Charmer to escort Iceman to observe from there," pointing to an area a couple of hundred yards opposite from where he adjudged the cavern to be, "whilst the rest of us prepare to enter. Myself and Fighter will enter from the left, and you from the right." Morazov nodded at him. "Very well." "Lets get moving then." His plan was simple, and simple meant that there were fewer things to go wrong. Belov (Iceman) was his sniper and would be covering the entrance with his rifle with Savin (Charmer) as his backup. If things looked clear then he and Fighter (Lukin) would enter from one side whilst Morazov (Cocktail) would enter from the other. It was an improvised pincer movement, but he was confident that it was the correct action for the current tactical situation. After all, the objective was only small, and it would contain one of four things: the two young officers, the enemy, booby-traps, or nothing. He knew that he couldn't discount the possibility of there being booby-traps placed inside, but he didn't believe there would be. All indications had been that the target building had been situated so that noone knew it was there. If there were booby-traps then it would be quite obvious that there were individuals nearby who were not your average law-abiding citizens. So, it would be counterproductive, and therefore unlikely. Like the trained soldier that he was, he would still not discount it. He watched as Belov moved off with Savin close behind him, offering protection in the time-honoured fashion. He waited until he got the call from Belov to say he was in position, then motioned to Morazov to head off. Lukin stayed close to him, the two of them covering each other as they made their way towards the cavern entrance. The progress was necessarily slow, just as it had been all the way from Magadan. They did not deviate from procedure though, staying in covering positions all the way up to the entrance to the cavern. It was about six metres across, he judged, from where he was to where Morazov was crouched down. Innokentiy held his hand up, not wishing to make any unnecessary noise including using the radio (he still thought of it as such), and waited for the signal. "Iceman, no movement. Advise go," was all he heard from Belov. It still faintly amused him that they were using these call signs exclusively in the field, but he did have to bend to Nikolai's logic that it denied the enemy knowledge, and that was always a positive. Still, he had to chuckle when his counterpart and young Kirill had suggested Morazov's call sign be Cocktail, a play on words from Molotov (Morazov) Cocktail. It also allowed the duo to shorten it further to `Cock', something that hadn't gone done to well with his deputy. Still, he'd decided to keep it, probably to shut those two up. He gestured across to Cocktail, and a second later they began to move inside, not quite running but still moving at pace. Innokentiy's eyes swept over the interior, first looking for enemies, then for tripwires. He found neither, but kept his weapon up and aimed as he proceeded further inside. It was surprisingly dark. He had planned for that of course, and activated the light- intensifier that had been thoughtfully built into the ski goggles the team wore. He would have to find out just who created these pieces of technological wonderment and buy them a bottle of Starka vodka, he thought briefly. He eyes flicked to something. It was the tent. He approached it slowly with Fighter flanking round the back, ever alert. He truly admired the youngster in situations such as these, so skilful he was when there were tight spaces with dangerous eyes lurking. The pair reached the tent. Cocktail was now standing behind Innokentiy, providing fire support. Eagle-Eye entered with his weapon raised but found nothing but ripped clothing scattered inside, with what looked like some blood. He had already formed an opinion when he saw the condition of the tent, with the long slash marks down the side and front, and this only served to confirm it. The perpetrator of this crime was not a bear, as he was meant to deduce, but the inhabitants of the target building. His reasoning, including his previous thoughts on the subject, now included the fact that no bear on earth had serrated claws. A simple mistake, but one which his years of creating and viewing death had left him wise to. "Clear," he finally said, and loudly. There was noone here, so he could make some noise now. "Let's clear up our footprints and head back." They would stay the night at their little base camp just outside Magadan, then travel to the target building tomorrow for some of their own reconnaissance. He tried to shake the feeling in his stomach but he couldn't. Something just didn't feel right about this mission. It wouldn't stop him from completing it, but it did make him think about things, as all good leaders do. Return