The grenade exploded in the courtyard like a thunderclap.
Shrapnel ripped through the militants clustered near the stairwell entrance, sending a few of them flying backward while the rest through a little injured immediately dove for cover behind sandbags and trucks.
Before the smoke had even cleared, Atlas stepped into the doorway.
The M249 SAW roared in his hands.
BRAAAAAAAP.
A wall of bullets tore across the entire courtyard, ripping through wooden barricades and punching through the thin metal doors of the pickup trucks outside the gate. The sheer volume of fire forced the militants outside to scatter in every possible direction.
"MOVE!" Atlas shouted.
Raven Team surged out of the stairwell immediately.
Tony led the charge, his HK416 barking controlled bursts as he continued to advanced. Every squeeze of the trigger dropped another one of the enemy scrambling across the courtyard.
Ghost sprinted ahead of the group, his MP7 rattling as he cleared the right flank.
"Two down!" Ghost yelled.
A militant appeared from behind a burned-out pickup truck and fired wildly towards the Raven Team.
Tony pivoted instantly.
Three rounds from the HK416 struck the man square in the chest.
The militant instantly collapsed without a sound.
"Left side clear!" Tony called again.
Behind him, Cipher moved quickly while clutching the hardened data case. Despite the chaos around him, the hacker kept his rifle ready, firing short bursts whenever an enemy tried to came too close.
Saint stayed beside him, covering their rear.
"Atlas, keep that gun hot!" Tony shouted.
"Always do!"
The machine gun thundered once again.
Atlas planted his foot against a chunk of concrete and leaned forward into the recoil, spraying a relentless stream of rounds across the compound entrance.
Militants trying to push forward were cut down instantly.
But there were just too many of them.
From the shattered outer wall, more fighters were flooding into the compound. Some carried AK-47 rifles, others dragged heavy ammunition crates toward the machine gun mounted on the technical truck.
Tony saw the gunner climbing back behind the 12.7mm heavy machine gun.
"Viper!" he barked into the comms.
The reply came a fraction of a second later.
THUMP.
The sniper rifle cracked from the rooftop.
The heavy machine gunner's head snapped backward and he fell off the vehicle instantly.
"Gun's down," Viper reported calmly.
"Good shot," Tony muttered.
Ghost had already reached the east gate.
The metal barrier had been blown apart by the earlier rocket strike, leaving a jagged opening leading to the dirt road outside the compound.
But the escape route was not yet clear.
Three militant pickup trucks screeched toward the compound entrance, engines roaring as fighters leaned out the windows firing their rifles.
Ghost ducked behind the gate and fired his MP7.
The compact weapon rattled violently as he stitched bullets across the windshield of the leading truck.
The driver slumped over the steering wheel.
The truck swerved violently and slammed into the broken fence.
"Vehicle disabled!" Ghost shouted.
But the two trucks behind it kept coming.
Tony sprinted toward the gate.
"Atlas!"
The machine gunner didn't even need the rest of the order.
Atlas stepped forward and opened fire once again.
The M249 SAW continued to spat a devastating stream of rounds directly into the approaching vehicles.
Glass shattered.
Radiators burst.
One truck skidded sideways and rolled onto its side in a cloud of dust.
The second vehicle managed to brake just short of the wreckage, militants pouring out of its doors with rifles blazing.
Gunfire erupted again at close range.
Tony dropped to one knee and fired a rapid series of shots from his HK416.
Two militants collapsed instantly.
Ghost tossed another frag grenade towards the truck.
The explosion threw dirt and bodies across the road.
For a brief moment, the path outside the compound entrance was clear of the militants
"GO NOW!" Tony shouted immediately.
The team instantly rushed through the destroyed gate.
But the battle was yet far from over.
Behind them, engines roared once again.
More trucks were about to arrive.
And somewhere in the distance, Tony heard another sound that made his stomach tighten.
Helicopter blades.
"Raven," Viper said through the comms.
"Bird inbound."
Tony looked up just in time to see the dark silhouette of a helicopter approaching them from the south, its searchlight cutting across the desert like a blade.
That was bad.
Really very bad.
Atlas heard it too.
"Well," the giant muttered, "looks like someone really wants us dead tonight."
Tony scanned the road ahead.
The team had made it outside the compound, but the terrain offered little cover for them. Ruined buildings stretched along both sides of the dirt road, their collapsed walls forming narrow alleyways that could either save them…
or might trap them.
He made a decision instantly.
"Left alley!" Tony ordered.
Raven Team sprinted toward the narrow street between two crumbling buildings.
Viper's sniper rifle cracked again from the rooftop behind them, covering their retreat.
Another militant dropped near the gate.
But the enemy was adapting very quickly.
A militant soldier lifted a rocket launcher and fired toward the alley entrance.
"RPG!" Ghost shouted.
Tony immediately dove sideways.
Everyone else knows what to do.
The rocket slammed into the road behind them.
BOOOOOM.
The explosion blasted chunks of debris across the alley entrance, momentarily cutting off the militants' line of sight.
Dust filled the air again.
Tony rolled to his feet and waved his team to move forward.
"Move! Move!"
The narrow alley twisted through the ruins like a maze.
Broken walls and abandoned vehicles provided temporary cover for them as Raven Team pushed deeper into the town.
Gunfire echoed behind them as militants pursued them.
Tony checked his magazine.
Half empty.
He slammed another mag into the rifle while continue to run.
"Status!" he called.
"Still alive!" Atlas replied.
"Data secure!" Cipher said.
''Good to go!" Ghost replied.
"Everyone still breathing," Saint added.
For now everything is ok.
Tony knew the enemy numbers were overwhelming.
They had only bought themselves some time.
Nothing more than that.
Behind them, the helicopter searchlight swept across the entire rooftops once again.
And the hunt was only the beginning.
Tony gritted his teeth.
The mission had turned into a nightmare.
But Raven Team still have to continue fighting.
And as long as they continue to fight…
there was still a chance to survive and they don't want to miss it.