High Seas Hijack

**Action Force Operations Base**

**Australia**

**November, 1995**

The six SAS Force commandos sat in the briefing room,
waiting for the secure link to Britain to become active. They’d been deployed
to Australia as part of a training exercise when they’d been notified of an
urgent mission.

Finally Beaver, the Canadian swimmer/canoeist, saw the
screen was showing an animated rotating SAS Force insignia.

“Comms are up, gentlemen,” he said just before the logo was
replaced by Eagle in AFHQ, Birmingham.

*“Good day, gentlemen,”* Eagle began. “*I’m sure you won’t mind curtailing your training for a real mission. We’ve received disturbing intelligence from GCHQ and an MI6 asset in North Korea. Before I get to that, I’ll fill you in on some brief back-story.”*

Beaver heard Wraith, a Norwegian member of his squad,
snigger and turned to glare at him.

“*Last month, an SAS Force team assaulted a camp in Somalia belonging to the mercenaries known as Skull Squad. The camp was a transhipment point for chemical weapons smuggled out of Iraq and destined for Europe. The Coil planned to use them in some kind of attack. You all know about the Coil, right?”*

“Yes sir,” Beaver replied as Stakeout, the Liverpudlian
leader of Boat Patrol, simultaneously said, “Sure do, boss.”

“*Good. Saves time. Last week, we were notified by the Oktober Guard they had thwarted an attempt to hijack nuclear warheads by the Skull Squad mercs. Russian intelligence and the presence of Coil FANG helicopters supporting the mercs confirmed the warheads were meant for the Coil. GCHQ intercepted a radio conversation between Overlord and another man at the end of last week. Overlord was mobile, somewhere in Eastern Europe, so they couldn’t pin down his location. The other party was harder to track, the signals boffins reported the message was bouncing off multiple satellites and ground relays. We do know who it was, however, if not where they were. The man was the commander of another, older, mercenary organisation known as the Black Dragons. They’re a cadre of saboteurs and spies who little has been confirmed about, beyond their existence when Action Force captured four of their number in 1991. Overlord’s conversation with the Black Dragon commander consisted largely of a request for ‘supplies’. Said supplies were not elaborated upon, but they agreed to meet in Pyongyang four days ago,”* Eagle explained.

Beaver glanced around. The others were all listening
intently.

“*An MI6 asset in North Korea relayed a message to London. He saw sixty men, mostly Westerners loading an Iranian-flagged freighter with chemical barrels. He believed the barrels to contain chemicals used as precursors to chemicals weapons. Your mission is to intercept the freighter at sea, confirm the presence of said chemicals and ensure they are removed from the vessel or destroyed.”*

“What are our rules of engagement?” Stakeout asked.

“*Crew expendable,”* Eagle replied. *“You’ll be flown out to the ship by helicopter and extract via same. The freighter’s underway, two days out of Nampho, in the East China Sea.”*

“It’ll take time to get that far from here, sir,” Beaver
pointed out.

“That’s fine. Try to reach it before it enters the South
China Sea. Should give you a few more days. Information is being forward to you
via fax on the ship’s layout and so on for mission planning. Eagle out.”

The communication link was cut off.

**Four days later**

**Luzon Strait, 200 miles south of Taiwan**

A severe thunderstorm was raging across the Luzon Strait as
the Iranian freighter slowly rumbled its way south toward the South China Sea.
Lightning flashed around the skies as rain poured down. The black MH-60K Black
Hawk helicopter was nearly invisible in the darkness as it approached the
wallowing freighter from the stern. None of its formation lights were on, the
flight crew were using image-intensifying night-vision goggles to see, no cabin
lights were on.

The Black Hawk was part of a trial into its use by SAS
Force. Four had been transferred to the unit from the US Army. This was its
first combat deployment.

Evac from Z Force was flying the helicopter, since he was
trained in its use. Sitting along side him was Rose, the British Tomahawk
pilot.

“Sixty seconds to target,” Rose called across the intercom.
“Stand by.”

Stakeout was sitting on the floor of the helicopter cabin,
feet dangling out the door. He was studying the freighter through his own
night-vision goggles.

“Stick to the plan, guys,” he said over his own intercom
headset. “Drop me, Beaver and Wraith at the rear. Frog, Archer and Barracuda
drop in once we’ve secured the bridge.”

“*Copy*,” Evac replied.

The MH-60K hovered above and behind the ship’s
superstructure. Stakeout tossed the rope he had on his lap out the door,
allowing it to swing free from the anchor-point above his head on the side of
the helicopter. He pulled off his headset and plugged in one of the earpieces
from his personal radio.

“You’re clear to drop!” Evac shouted.

Stakeout slid down the rope first. Wraith and Beaver
followed him down.

“Weapons free,” Stakeout said.

The three commandos moved around the superstructure to the
front of the walkway outside the bridge. The three crewmembers on the bridge
were clearly visible in the bridge’s lights. The three commandos fired through
the glass, killing the three crewmembers.

Stakeout led the team back to the bridge door, which he
opened. The trio moved in, pausing only to flip up the NVGs out of the way.

“Bridge secure,” Stakeout reported on his radio. “Team two,
clear to descend.”

Stakeout led the way to the door at the other side of the
bridge that lead to a stairway, then headed down it, his suppressed MP-5SWF up
and ready. Wraith was close on his heels, his own weapon at the ready.

On the next deck they moved along the corridor, weapons at
the ready. Reaching the crew quarters, Stakeout eased the door open slowly,
before they stepped in. NVGs back in place, they moved to each sleeping
crewmember and shot them.

“Crew quarters, secure,” Stakeout reported over the radio.

“*Team two on route to engine spaces*,” replied
Barracuda, his French accent contrasted with Stakeout’s Scouse.

“Team one, moving to secure radio room.”

As they descended to the next deck, they could hear someone
singing badly in Norwegian.

“Wraith, take point,” Stakeout ordered.

The other man moved to the front of the trio as they moved
along the passageway.

Wraith cocked his head as he listened to the slurred words.
He paused as he reached a corner and then leaned out. A crewman was stumbling
along the passage, clearly so drunk he could barely walk.

Stakeout stepped up to Wraith as he sighted on the crewman.

“Last call,” Stakeout muttered in Wraith’s ear.

Wraith fired a three round burst, dropping the crewman.
“Bottoms up,” he muttered back.

The three commandos moved along the passage to the radio
room, which was empty. Stakeout emptied his magazine into the radios before
reloading.

“Radio room secure,” Stakeout reported over his own radio.
“Moving to the cargo hold.”

“*Engine room secure,”* Barracuda replied. “*Moving to hold.”*

The six commandos linked up outside the door leading to the
walkway above the first cargo hold.

“Wraith, you’re on point. Frog, cover our six,” Stakeout
ordered.

“*Sierra Six, this is Blackbird. We’re at joker fuel. Returning to the ship. You’ve got about one hour until we return,”* Evac reported.

“Copy that, Blackbird.”

Wraith eased open the door to the walkway. The hold beyond
was lit by a pair of lights in the ceiling. Several Black Dragons were visible
below.

“Weapons free,” Stakeout said. Wraith, Archer and Stakeout
opened fire at the Black Dragons, killing six of them before they had a chance
to move. Frog, Barracuda and Beaver opened fire next as the others reloaded.

Two Black Dragons managed to grab AKM assault rifles, but
were hit by bursts from four of the commandos before they could even fire.

“Hold secure,” Stakeout announced. “Move up.”

The commandos moved along the walkway to the door to the
next cargo hold. Wraith opened the door and moved through. Two Black Dragons
were on the walkway in front of him. He dropped to one knee, firing as he did.
The lead Black Dragon fell backward into the second. Stakeout came through the
door behind Wraith and spotted three Black Dragons on the walkway opposite
them. He opened fire as Barracuda stepped through the door.

The second Black Dragon on the team’s walkway shoved aside
his dead comrade and struggled to free his AKM, as Wraith moved up and shot
him.

Bullets were now pinging off the hull-plates as Stakeout,
Barracuda and Archer exchanged fire at the ten Black Dragons below who’d been
sat around several fold-up tables, playing cards, chess and other games. Frog
and Beaver threw hand grenades at the mercenaries, which blasted apart the
tables and three of the Dragons. The others were rapidly cut down.

The doors at the end of each walkway, leading to the final
hold opened.

Wraith immediately opened fire, emptying his magazine in
several bursts as Black Dragons started to rush through the door.

“Movement right,” Archer reported as he fired at the Black
Dragons across from them.

Beaver and Frog shot several more of the mercenaries as the
others reloaded.

“Targets down,” reported Frog.

“Hold secure,” Beaver added.

“Tangos down,” agreed Wraith.

“Move up,” Stakeout ordered.

Wraith led the way to the still-open door. He slowed as he
approached it.

“Stand by,” Wraith said, pulling out a flash-bang.

“Ready,” the others chorused.

Wraith pulled the pin, threw the grenade and then slammed
the door shut.

The boom was still audible despite the closed door. Wraith
pulled the door open before dashing through.

Four Black Dragons were on the catwalk on their knees,
stunned by the flash-bang. Wraith immediately shot them.

Sitting in the middle of the hold was a pallet with six
cylindrical drums on it.

“Looks like our package,” Barracuda commented.

The team scrambled down a ladder to the floor of the hold.
Archer picked up a clipboard on the top of the crates.

“Korean, by the looks,” he said, before handing it to
Stakeout.

The Scouser stared at the ideograms and then said, “Sure as
hell, it’s not Cockney.”

Frog had bent down to examine the drums. “Chemical warning
notices in English and Korean,” he said pointing.

“Let me see,” Barracuda said, squatting next to him and
pulling a small notepad from his web-gear.

Barracuda examined the warning labels, checked three pages
of his notebook and then looked up.

“Bombardier gave me names of chemicals it was possible they
were shipping,” he explained to Stakeout.

“Yeah?”

“Oui,” the Frenchman said. “I’ve got matches. Same names.”

“What’s the next step?” Frog asked as he stood back up.

Stakeout checked his watch. “We’ve got about twenty-five
minutes until Evac gets back. We need to get these drums up on deck, so they
can be loaded aboard the Black Hawk and got out of here.”

The team got to work, moving the pallet with the drums on
into the centre of the hold underneath the hatch in the deck, opening the hatch
and then using the ship’s crane to hoist the pallet up to the deck.

As the Black Hawk helicopter approached the freighter,
Stakeout contacted Evac on his personal radio.

“Chemicals are all secure, Evac. We need you to hoist them
aboard the helicopter, so we can get them back to the ship safely,” Stakeout
said.

“*Roger that,”* Evac replied. “*Stand by, there’s some bad crosswinds coming off the ship.”*

The Black Hawk was now pacing the freighter as it continued
to sail on through the storm-tossed sea. Evac had the helicopter in a near
hover just off the freighter’s port side.

Rose suddenly called out a warning, “Unidentified aircraft
inbound!”

Evac immediately pulled the helicopter up and away from the
freighter.

“Two fast movers, coming south at high speed,” Rose went on.
“We’re being illuminated by air-search radar!”

“Stakeout! Bogey fast movers inbound, we’re aborting the
pick-up,” Evac shouted into the radio. “Stand by!”

The two fighters screamed past over the helicopter and the
freighter.

Evac managed to keep the Black Hawk steady in the turbulence
from the fighters and the winds of the storm.

“Tracking fighters,” Rose reported, “They’ve still got their
radars on, ECM panel’s calling them Chinese Q-5 strike aircraft.”

Evac swore. “They may be carrying anti-ship missiles.”

Rose looked across at him, before hitting her mic, “Strike
team, we suspect fighters are Chinese jets with anti-ship weapons, stand by for
immediate pick-up!”

On the deck, Stakeout and the rest of the team were
straining to see the two fighters, which had looped around and were now
speeding in from the south.

The Black Hawk was drifting back toward the freighter when
Wraith suddenly saw two flashes of light in the sky.

“Shit! They’ve opened fire!” he yelled. “Get down!”

Evac pulled the Black Hawk away from the freighter as the
commandos ran toward the superstructure. Rose had warned him of the missile
launch as Wraith had yelled his warning.

The two anti-ship missiles slammed into the side of the
freighter, detonating above the waterline. The freighter heeled to the right,
before rocking back to the left. The commandos were thrown off their feet by
the explosion. The two Chinese fighters sped away to the north.

“*Sierra Six,* *this is Blackbird, come in!”*

“The ship’s sinking!” Barracuda yelled. “She’s taking on
water!”

“We need to get out of here now!” Archer yelled.

“*Sierra Six, come in dammit!”*

Stakeout hauled Wraith to his feet. “Blackbird, this is
Sierra Six, we need immediate evac, get down here now!”

The Scouser turned to Wraith who had dropped to his knees as
the ship rocked as something below decks exploded.

“On your feet, soldier! We are leaving!”

The Black Hawk began to drop toward the freighter’s deck
once more.

“Frog, get some C4 on those drums! Blow them up before we
go!” Stakeout shouted.

Beaver moved to help Frog as he pulled to small shaped
charges from his web-gear.

The Black Hawk hovered only a few feet off the deck; Archer
and Barracuda ran across the deck and scrambled aboard. Frog and Beaver soon
followed, with Stakeout and Wraith bringing up the rear. Barracuda hauled
Beaver aboard with little dignity, the pair crashing on to the helicopter’s
deck as Archer grabbed Frog’s arm and pulled him on to the helicopter.

Another explosion shook the ship as Stakeout and Wraith
reached the helicopter. Evac slid the helicopter forward to compensate and
Stakeout leaped on to the Black Hawk, before turning back to Archer.

The freighter rose up toward the helicopter as it hit
another swell. Wraith stepped easily into the Black Hawk.

“Frog, blow the charges!” Stakeout shouted. The SBS commando
hit his detonator and the drums exploded.

“Evac, we’re all aboard, go!” Barracuda called.

The MH-60K immediately pulled up and away from the freighter
as it began to break apart and slip beneath the waves.

“I guess the Coil are going to need another way to get their
chemical weapons,” Beaver commented as he flopped down into one of the seats at
the side of the helicopter.

Barracuda snorted. “Maybe they’ll give up and try something
else instead.”

Wraith slammed the door shut against the wind and the rain.
“Let’s just hope next time, we don’t have to board a bloody freighter in the
pouring rain and then get it blown apart under us, eh?”

“Too right, mate,” Frog agreed. “Let some other poor sod
deal with it.”

The Black Hawk flew on, rain lashing against it in the
darkness.

## Notes

This story’s adapted from the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare mission
‘Crew Expendable’, relocated to the South China Sea, with a freighter carrying
chemical weapons to Europe from North Korea.