The Embassy of the United States, Valverde
1015

The Ambassador looked around, looking across at Lewis, the Marine clearly with a certain look on his face. The MSG was spread out, and on guard, clearly anticipating something. That something was the arrival of Presidente Ochoa, and both Lewis and Elizabeth knew the stakes here. Things would get very nasty, very quickly, if things were not sorted out properly. Hence why right here, Elizabeth had wanted to talk to Lewis, one on one, in her office. The windows were barricaded up, and only a tiny slit existed, barely letting a fraction of light into the beautiful room. Lewis wore his BDU, and had his Mk18 slung over his chest rig, Elizabeth wearing her vest and perhaps less-ambassadorial clothing. Things had gotten to a melting point in here, and that was without the sight of artillery now dropping into here.

Elizabeth sat up a little, breaking the silence.
"Well, Commander, it has come to this. Ochoa is coming over. You are to respect his presence and work with his security team in defending this embassy, that order is clear. But I want you to understand that we still have American citizens still taking shelter."
"I counted at least 15, every one of them civilian, Ambassador. Plus we've got two Canadians, at least three Australians and a German national here. It's a lot of people that we have to take care of. There's about half a dozen embassy staff, whoever chose to stay. They did a good job getting whoever we could out." Lewis simply replied, coughing a little as he cleared his throat.
"Agreed. So, brief me once more, you have prepared a defensive? These windows look tough." Elizabeth said, chuckling, looking out of the slit, before sitting back down in her chair, the Ambassador knowing that the metal reinforced windows were not enough in their own right, something Lewis looked to agree on.

"It won't be much if they bring heavy weaponry or artillery, but it keeps snipers from seeing into our every move. I have 28 men, excluding myself, on defensive. Armed with everything from M16s to M4s, a couple of marksman rifles and two M249s, some very light Anti-Tank weaponry. Ambassador, in a nutshell, we have quality but no number. We can't hold an army, but whatever you're planning, we can hold long enough. I promise that."
"Well, it better be good enough with what Ochoa is bringing. He has his own guard, plus his UN protection. You will be friendly with them. It will give me enough time to pursue the diplomatic channels that we need to break open, and save this country. Ochoa isn't falling from power today, and his men will assist you."
"Ambassador, if I may...they're mercenaries and thugs. The Estonians are great men, but they're only Blue Helmets. The people Ochoa surrounds himself with are liabilities.."
"I understand your concerns, Commander. But times are tough, and as you say, you can't hold an army. Let us be frank, 28 men against several thousand is not the best odd in the world. So if you can, make them the force that CAN hold an Army, Commander. You are the Commander of the Guard here, and they'll follow you, I shall tell Ochoa to make damn certain that they do, no matter who they are." She said, exhaling, looking over at Lewis once more.
"We haven't got much time, you should prepare for Ochoa's arrival. As should I, he's going to be shaken up when he sees me."

"Circumstances mean we have to go on, Ambassador. You look good." Lewis said, as he stood up, escorting Elizabeth towards the door, headed out back down to the lobby. The corridors were dark, the electricity out, and all in heaps of mess- paperwork was lying about, and it felt disorganized, trashed already, though no fighting had broken out. It had been a rush to get the most risky paperwork away from here, and now, they had to do something to protect the rest. Elizabeth turned her head, the blonde haired woman looking across at the grizzled Marine.

"Thank you for the compliment, but I fear it won't do me any good when I have to explain to Ochoa why I'm wearing a vest already, and am somehow still here to help him. Poor fellow, I do feel for him, having the country he loved torn from him. If Margret Thatcher was in my position, she would have done the same, done anything to help a bastion of some sort of Democracy. No U Turns, a Lady of Iron. Looks do not matter to me Commander, action does. Tell me, do you like Thatcher, Commander? Be honest, Lewis." She asked, perhaps her mind diverted from the frame of topic right now, as Lewis at first struggled to answer the question, leading the way down the corridor as they turned right, heading towards the lobby.

"A great woman, truly uncompromising in her ways. But she fell down on that too. I don't know politics, Ambassador. That is your task, not mine I'm afraid. We won't let harm come to you or anyone taking refuge here." Lewis simply replied, just giving a straight answer, and a straighter assertion, one that he somehow hoped he could still do, despite the mercenaries and various UN forces that would add to fuck it all up. 

The MSG was spread through this building, all equipped fairly similarly to the First Sergeant, in MARPAT Woodland and armed with a variety of rifles and other weaponry, equipped for fighting a war on a limited scale, a defensive one at the very least. They were Marines, and Lewis knew that Marines did what Marines did. They didn't let go of embassies, and somehow, it was a nice fact to cling to, even if he knew realistically it would take something short of a miracle and or air strikes to repel any enemy advance, which was looking impossible in either case. Elizabeth had held hope, Lewis had seen, but the Ambassador perhaps ultimately knew that gett. In the lobby, a set up had already been made, of metal tables that were on the stairs, offering little to no cover for those entering the building and a suppressing point to fire down into it. It was a kill zone, no less, and Lewis knew that it was features such as these that would hold the line. Moving ahead of the Ambassador, he looked across to two men setting up a barricade at the top of the other arch, nodding as he yelled across.

"Sanderson, Bingham, get the bags up onto the balcony, get a couple of 249 boxes there and make it a nest! Harris, you got the wire up yet?" He yelled across, as Sanderson, a Marine armed with an M249, gave a simple "Aye, Aye" and followed his collegue, as Lewis looked back across at the rest of the lobby.
"We got the rest of the razor wire up at the rear entrances, Commander. It's not perfect, but it's going to take hell to take apart." He replied, the Corporal walking over, as Lewis stepped off the stairs, looking across to the two men, a little out of breath but still raring to go.
"Come with me, bring CPL Collins. We're doing front security, Ochoa's convoy is arriving. Phillips and Adams can pull back from the front gate as soon as our VIPs are in, it's hustle time once they are here, every fucking rebel on this face of the country will want to be here. Let's go." Lewis spoke with an authoritative, platonic voice, knowing this was how you addressed soldiers, even if it was in front of the Ambassador. She seemed hardly fazed, aware that perhaps normal diplomatic protocol broke down here, that you couldn't operate normally as you would. Things were different now, and the lobby even felt like it, despite being the marveling front entrance of an American embassy. The marble floor was covered in dust already as the team moved to the front, Lewis looking back towards Elizabeth, the ambassador clearly having some sort of mad resolve to hold this line. She had faith in Lewis, that much was visible, and Lewis had faith in her. It seemed mutual that in a situation like this, she could tell him honestly what was going to happen, and he could somehow improvise how it would. She seemed out of place, but Lewis knew that somehow, they'd figure this one out. Him and his team would make sure no harm came to this place.

----

1020

Out the front of the embassy, the cars pulled in, the guards that Lewis commanded letting the convoy through, the white UN lorry and the black Lincoln pulling in front of the Embassy's gleaming structure, as Lewis headed out, looking across at the men that were now clambering out. The Lincoln's doors opened, as Lewis stood in front of Elizabeth, looking on as the door opened. Lewis stepped slightly aside, looking across. At least six of his contingent were down here, the Main Gate abandoned but covered by a couple of his Marines on the roof, who swept the way that Ochoa and his contingent had taken in. The rest were still on either patrol or observation, posted up across various sight lines of the building.
"Augustin, it is good to see you, my dear." She said, smiling at him, the whole paradoxical nature of this situation clear to Lewis. Elizabeth had met him several times before, Lewis accompanying, and the man never seemed to lose his touch, though on today, that didn't seem the same. He was most definitely stressed, but somehow unaware of how royally fucked his regime was. Lewis could only guess that Elizabeth and him seemed to have connections that worked mutually, both in a diplomatic and personal sense. The rest of his men emerged, and he could see the Estonian detail clambering out of the truck, Lewis uncomfortable and ill about all of this. The Presidente was a man of great caliber, Lewis could tell that from afar. But his guards seemed scary, and the man that Lewis had heard much about, Avdeyev, stood closely by with his MP5K, almost eyeballing up Lewis. The Marine could tell that he was not a man to be fucked with, and was a bodyguard with a fairly standard lack of fucks to give about others. The man was intimidating, truly so. The stare was broken by a fairly confident response from Ochoa.

"Likewise, Elizabeth! It is a shame under these circumstances, but we must do what we can. Once this is over, we can enjoy some Champagne together, I am sure of it." He said, shaking hands with Liz while his heavily accented English came out clear. Her soft hand against his, it seemed like a meeting that could have occured in any other circumstance, no less the fact that this was a massive crisis for both parties involved. The Marines moving back from the front gate said it all, that this was no ordinary meeting, the front contingent on the roof covering as the gate was set to shut, the huge steel bars sealing the compound up, closing it off to the world outside. Apart from looking in, it would be difficult to go straight in, unless you happened to have something heavier than a lorry to go though, such was the design of most defenses for US Embassies. The concrete walls, tipped in razor wire, and general construction of the place would give a false sense of security, even Elizabeth prepared to admit that. It would be short-lived, once they brought heavier weaponry to the fight.
"Ambassador, Presidente, I hate to interrupt, but we're gonna have to get inside. We've abandoned the gate and the streets are no longer safe, I give us minutes till the outside becomes completely unsafe..."
"Fine, Commander. Augustin, my Commander is a tad paranoid, don't mind him. We should head to my office, I need to talk to you regardless. Commander, you should introduce yourself to the rest of these men, I am sure that Augustin would be willing to borrow their services to you." She simply asserted, as she headed inside with Ochoa, Lewis looking on as he nodded to two of the Marines out front with him, noting for them to cover the lobby and the men again. A good number of Ochoa's entourage followed, but the UN troops and some of his other questionable men were left behind, as Lewis looked over. He could tell that Elizabeth did not want to disappoint the Presidente, not today.
"Of course, he can have what he wants, but Avdeyev stays with me, as well as a few of the others. They are the best men I could find, all combat trained, lethal killers. We will make those bastards pay! Elizabeth, have you..."
The tailing voice of Ochoa could be heard, as Lewis looked back to the rest, as they unpacked their gear, as varied and mixed as it could get, as they slowly followed behind, Lewis rallying them up in the lobby, as he looked back at the rest of the lot he had.

"I'm First Sergeant Lewis Bastion, Commander of the Marine Security Guard in Valverde. You are now on United States territory, so congratulations, pop your fucking fireworks, you made it to the land of the free. We are not safe, however, and if anything, there is going to be even more heat here than before, so remember that you now have nowhere else to turn but us. So you're gonna follow our rules, being our guests. And the rules are simple, gentlemen. And that is that you don't fuck around with the civvies in there, and with the Ambassador. Steal shit, you think about stealing shit, you find yourself in a bad position, a very bad one. You follow my men, not command them. I hope that is clearly and loudly understood, or else there will be consequences." He simply added, as he headed up the stairs, sizing up the size of the contingent he had. He had interspersed bits of his first introduction in Spanish, making the point clear on "Stealing Shit" and "Bad Position", though he had mostly stuck to English throughout. Lewis knew it was a talent that meant he could do this job in the first place, but figuring out where and when to say certain things to those who didn't understand clear bits of English was a talent that came with this job in particular, to make clear fragments.
"Okay. As far as I know, I got told that Sgt Alvar is the man to speak to regarding the blue helmets (UN), Estonian fella. Which one are you, exactly?" Lewis asked, looking into the small crowd, barely a dozen numbered, at what he could use here.

"We have business to do, your Blue Helmets are going to work with the civvies, and on finishing up our perimeter defensive. You know your men best, so if you have marksmen or anything of specialty, send it where we need it, my Marines can help you in that. As for the rest of you, I assume you're Ochoa's detail, I hope you know how to point and shoot. Collins, Harris, grab four of these men each and reinforce the overlooks. Brief them on our situation, and check weaponry. The point goes most clear for you. Listen to my Corporals, and don't fuck around. Clear?" Lewis simply added, looking out, as he gave a simple nod, not even cracking a smile or a frown, his face cold and point blank in how it asserted what he needed to point out.
"Good. We have work to do then. Sergeant, what have we got outside the perimeter, how fucked are we exactly?"