[i]Echo White[/i]

The RHIB slowly drifted onto the rocky shore, he moved quickly, LSAT in one hand, gently stepping off the boat as he took a hand and began to help pushing it in, off the rocks, and into a depression, a rock-pool of sorts that sat beneath the view of the encampment above, and most of the village. A quiet point, and a good point to insert from. Merlin looked over his men, as well as the two ladies that were following along. 

The village was close, as he moved up, LSAT confident in both hands, as he looked over the team. It was good to be operating again, not doing fucking wetwork, Merlin said to himself. No holds barred. He put his gloved Mechanix hands over his GPNVGs, dropping them over his eyes, the quad-lensed night vision goggles offering a wide arc of view, that worked rather nicely over regular NV. Four eyes, maybe, but it worked wonders.
"Right. On my lead. Keep a swept arrowhead for now, nice spread till we're closer. Two, or three on an alley each, overlap arcs, don't get sloppy." He quietly, yet harshly added into his throat mic, giving the impression that he was in your ear, yelling, yet the voice didn't really project to be heard by fucking everyone in the village.

Merlin kept the point, as he went prone behind a pile of trawler nets, watching a trio of soldiers leave a building, headed up towards the main encampment, watching, waiting, as he looked over at the others, moving up from his cover behind the nets, moving up to a wooden shack, as he peeked again.
"Empress, Czech, you're up, get a fix on that first building on the outside. We'll establish a view from there on out. I'll follow." Merlin said to the other two members, letting Aleksandra cover their rear for the moment, as he let those pair move first. LSAT readied, he waited till they were in position, before moving across low, moving down the escarpment a little to the first of the isolated sandstone buildings. He guessed that Jarek would take to what Merlin was calling him, hopefully, at least.

Moving up on the two, he gave a gentle pat on Olivia's back, as he looked to the door. Drawing his dive knife, he slowly pushed through the door, and saw the man, asleep on a chair, leant over onto a desk, his AK by his side, another on the floor. The knife entered the man's throat, before Merlin let Jarek, or Olivia have the pleasure of the other inside this small one-roomed sandstone hut, the kill utterly silent.
"First structure is clear. Wolf, Blacktail, bound to the next isolated building, 11 O'Clock, 40m, and clear it out. I'll establish an overwatch with a Nano." He added, as he looked back at the other two, the bearded SBS operator barely fazed, his LSAT back in his hands once more, as he looked over. Taking a small Nano from his chestplate, he gently flicked it on, and using the TOS that quickly connected to it's camera, threw it out of the small window that the man slept near.

The tiny palm-width rotary drone took flight, as he used a small touch-pad on his wrist-mounted GPS, his gloved finger having a small pad that would allow him to at least gently control the drone, as he engaged it's FLIR. The IR strobes on his team were a gentle light for each one, as well as the HUD identification for each one. Drones were not his tool of choice, but it gave him an unprecedented ability to view the battlefield from above, and along the area. It had a limited range, and wasn't perfect, not in high winds like this, but it would allow him to see into the area.

"Echo Black, this is Actual, I read your last. We'll stay weary, recommend you move to a position where you can neutralise it when the shit hits the fan. Nano's picking up a loose assortment of hostiles in the village proper, I see around eight on patrol, in pairs, one trio. I would suggest you do the same for the encampment, but make sure you don't have it compromised, or we are fucked before we want to even bring it to these goatfucking shits." Merlin's voice over the radio had this presence, his voice gravelly and as on point as the man himself was on an operation, a different human being altogether from what he was like back at Chievnor. It may have been hushed, but it was still as full of his usual wroth as it was. The drone was doing a good job, as he flicked his hand on the pad, the drone beginning it's return path, as he saw it come in. He was walking outside, as it gently buzzed past his head, already aware of where it was going to go.

The Nano dropped back into his hand, as he looked over at the fireteam that had moved on the next isolated building, the last before the village became dense, no longer a set of isolated fisherman's buildings, but a small, overlapping, network of short alleys and low buildings. Due to the nature of the cliff, it was mostly out of sight from the top of the ruins, but parts were exposed. Looking at the Czech and Chinese-English pair of operators by his side, he gave a simple nod.
"On me, you two.. Wolf, Blacktail, take up the right flank, I see an entry point into the village proper that you can manipulate if you want to take another flank. Should place you behind a small cache, could be an armoury, or a barrack, IR looks like it could be both." Merlin simply said into his comms, as he looked back towards his two fellow operators, moving slowly but surely down the escarpment, the village made up of sandstone structures, some falling apart, some higher than others, all seeming to bunch up in this particular area. There was a small marina of boats, though it appeared nobody was close to that, not at this time of night. Visibility was difficult, but Merlin had the layout mostly memorised in his head, the Nano only giving him a prompter for a second of it's use, as he kept his profile low, the LMG pushed tight against his shoulder.

Moving up towards the edge of a building down one of the alleys, noises could be heard, of a patrolling pair of guards. Merlin lowered his LSAT as he leaned in tight against the wall, knowing it was time for his bloodied knife to go to work again, knowing that they were moving up to the outskirts of the village perimeter. He looked back, to face Jarek.

"Two, moving on my corner. On my mark, Czech, shoot the rear of the pair, clean on the head...on my mark." He simply added, as he drew his trusty dive knife, the rubberised handle of the blade fitting fully in his hand, the end like a prison shank, a narrow, and shorter blade than a Bowie, yet even sharper, and for Merlin's uses, perfect. He looked back at Olivia, and with a subtle yet Merlin-like movement, he knew where the man would be. Right in front of him.

The men were following one behind the other, exactly as their foosteps had given them away, and their talking. He grappled him by his shirt and chest rig, pulling him around the corner, knowing Jarek had the other bewildered man, his AKS still pointing at the floor. Yet that didn't matter. Merlin's face said it all, as he felt the man try to resist, try to clutch his AKM in his hand, yet had it stumble from the tips of his fingers. 
"Mark."
Throwing him down, Merlin kicked him hard in the lower chest, winding him heavily, the sole of his boot connecting and likely breaking at least a couple of the poor fucker's ribs, as this wasn't an effort that was half suppressed. With a suitable bash of his head against the sandstone wall with his left hand, all in one seamless continued movement from the moment he'd pulled him round, he felt the blood begin to pour now, Merlin's physical strength one that he had retained his whole career, it's pure anger able to manifest itself into people like this, as he knew what to come next. 

The knife slid into his right eye socket, as he pushed the blade in as far as it would go, the noise quiet, but if you saw it, one that didn't make itself forgettable. It made short work of his eyeball, the question not even having to be asked of what the fuck just happened. The man should have screamed, if it wasn't for the fact that Merlin's left hand was over his mouth and locking his very jaw, pinning him against the wall, a muffled pant from his winded lungs all he could muster, as Merlin twisted the blade's handle as he pulled it back, and felt the life slowly drain from the man, as a simple slit against an artery on the right hand side of his throat poured the rest of the blood that the poor man had left. Lifelessly dropping to the floor in a bloody heap, Merlin staggered back up, spitting on him.
"Right, that's my theatrics for the night. Feel free to join in. Blacktail, Wolf, head to the upper side of the village, and get me a recon on the hill path up to the main encampment on the mount, sweep and clear for any hostiles you see, and keep an eye open for any intel or information."

"Empress, Czech, you're up on point with me, we'll continue sweeping buildings through the village. Minimise exposure, use cover, and only fire when you know you have the sound dampening for it. We don't want to attract attention needlessly." Merlin added, shaking his head a little, as he dragged the body behind a pair of crates, semi-hidden from sight, difficult to see unless you put a torch directly behind the stacked boxes.
"Though I must admit, I'd like to see someone come see what I did to that piece of work." He looked back at the other two operators, the village a little brighter than the rest, the occasional gas lamps and floodlights around the village making difficult to use his NODs. He flicked them back up, and nodding, gave a gentle "Move Up" motion with his hand, clearing the corner, his stance lowered, his LSAT raised gently.
"Easy. I expect another few more, but we'll sweep buildings one by one. Czech, you lead on any you see activity on, Empress, you follow him in. I'll retain cover outside. There's a one I saw on the Nano up ahead that look interesting. We should be coming round." Merlin added, the grizzled Captain moving quiet, his eyes adapting quick to the darkened corners, as he kept his head on a swivel, and his ears sharp. Around the corner, a slightly larger sandstone house, with walls knocked down inside it was the structure Merlin was referring to, with the Nano unable to see inside of it when he got his overwatch. He'd guess that there were hostiles inside, and that his two members of his fireteam could give it a go, while he made sure nobody crept down the alleys outside.
"That one there. It's all yours. Remember, quietly. The element of surprise is still the ball in our court, more than it is in Andy fucking Murray's." 

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

[i]Echo Black[/i]

"Further than you, Duchess. Krakens can go swimming all day, but I heard little birds can't. Retract the periscope, and get your shit ready. It's a good day beneath the waves...and I think you're going to find my swimming hard to beat." Nikolaj's Danish accent stuck a little in his voice, as he chuckled, looking to his side, as he checked the LCD display once more. He moved his hand across the control panel, the "doors" of the SDV opening up, as he saw the distance closing in. The sea bed was closer and closer, as he began to ease off the engine, looking over at Dominique. 

"We can take those two in the boathouse, then set our trap. I like the sound of being invisible." 
The SDV gently began to stop, as he slowly unclipped himself from the karabiner holding him inside, sliding upwards as he saw the gentle moonlight reflect a little off the sea, the Danish diver beginning to swim forwards, as he looked back at the Parajumper, Nikolaj's Mk23 close by in his hand, able to fire off a round due to the nature that he had it stored in his holster on his wetsuit, and that would be all he needed of the pistol when they were in position.

Swimming along the seabead, he kept an eye on his fellow operator, his breathing rhythmical, his legs kicking hard, from the tips of his flippers to the gentle approach towards the shore. He slowly surfaced, to peek another look at the two men in the boathouse, as he plunged back under.
"I suggest we catch them off guard....let's head straight to the boathouse, if we're going to stay invisible, we might as well start early. Have your pistol ready, but we might be able to take them to the deep if we do this craftily." Nikolaj simply added, as he continued swimming, the Dane not as resolutely brutal as the British Captain, but acutely aware of what "crafty" meant. He looked back once more, the sea as black as could be, the occasional glimmer allowing him to see Dominique close by, Huscarl leading the way as he continued the swim.

The shore up to the boathouse began to look more artificial, the light growing from the lighting inside, as he peered towards the light. It was poor to see, but the two men were sitting on one of the wooden boats inside, both armed exactly as Dominique had said, and appeared to be arbitrary. He couldn't hear them talking, but Nikolaj could guess that this wasn't exactly total terrorist talk right now....but they were in the way.
"I've got the man on the left to give as a gift to the deep....we're pulling them in. Keep it smooth, don't stop when you have them. You can't ask for cleaner, if we're going to pull them out of sight." Nikolaj simply added, as he didn't even ready his knife, staying as deep in the boathouse's waters as he could, looking to Oakley. 

He gave a simple signal, a nod, the Danish diver aware that this wasn't something that was actively trained, but was simply enough to understand what was going to happen next. Nikolaj's man was the difficult one, the other was practically outfacing away from the sea, while the other looked out to sea.
"Go." With that, Nikolaj kicked hard, and using a sudden bit of buoyancy, lept upwards to grab the man, taking him by the whole of his shoulder, as he began to yell. It was too late, too little, and most of all, unheard, as he grabbed his neck whole, sinking back down into the black deep with the man, as he kicked hard, kicking against Nikolaj's legs, as Nikolaj pulled tighter. He tried to fumble for the Dane's mask, for his chest, for anything, but none of it made sense. It took almost half a minute, but the man stopped, his muffled drowning stopped, as he rolled him off, Nikolaj even aware he was breathing hard. Taking a life wasn't fun, not when it had to be like this, but sometimes, it had to be clean, it had to be simple, and it was from a position of their strength, not the enemy's.

"Tango down. We've got Claymores to point, and a climb to do. Up onto dry land we go." Nikolaj's voice was stern, yet not too hard, as he heard Merlin's message come in. He surfaced gently inside the boathouse, finding a wooden pontoon to slowly clamber onto. His SCAR raised, the long weapon in both hands, he swept the rest of the boathouse, checking for any new bodies that were in here, before taking a knee, waiting on Oakley. When she was ready, he took his mask off, sliding it past the top of the desert-coloured smock that covered the hood of his wetsuit, slinking it onto his shoulder, as he looked back over at Oakley.
"Put your claymores wherever you think they'll work, I'll set a few on the right near the base of the stairs, we'll use a detonator, and a wire on the door into this bloody place. Should buy us time if anyone arrives.....or leaves." Nikolaj slowly let the water drip from his weapon, before switching on the T1, a magazine chambered inside as he slowly swept the wooden boathouse, the rest of the boats here looking completely worse for wear.
"This is Echo White, we're setting M18s inside the boathouse, after that we are headed up, ETA ten mikes to overwatch." Nikolaj said into his regular radio, aware that Merlin would pick it up, as he gave a quick glance back over at Oakley, the net still over his face.

"Looks like when they said you'd be doing wetwork, this is what they meant, Duchess."