Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) by Mitchell T. Jacobs Page A

mission.
    “We won’t run into an enemy patrol. They’re too focused on the area around Green Bay and Milwaukee.”
    “Ragnarok might not be a problem, but nature might be,” Miko reminded him. “This looks like an area with fen wolves or ryches. Might want to be careful.”
    “That’s why we brought you along,” Danny said in a jovial tone. “Don’t you want to do some big game hunting?”
    “Sure, that would be fun, but don’t you think that’ll interfere with our mission?”
    Danny shrugged. “Hey, as long as we can do our jobs anything extra should be fine.”
    “Depends that that extra is. Could be a little diversion, or it could be some ridiculous boss monster, like the things we seemed to like stumbling across in the past.”
    Danny shrugged. “Want to scout ahead to make sure we don’t run into something like that? Toward the Madison end?”
    Miko nodded. “Right. Don’t forget I’m here with you guys,” she said.
    “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied, but by then he was talking to thin air. Miko had disappeared into the forest in a flash.
    In the old World at War, snipers often made the best stealth troops, due to their quiet movement and camouflage abilities. But even after the new update, Miko’s stealth abilities remained head and shoulders above the rest of Black Wolf, capable of matching even Redd Foxx’s best. Her ability to fade in and out of an area was uncanny. Even in areas with sparse cover she could move relatively unobserved. If she had some form on concealment, no one except the very best were capable of finding her.
    Danny appreciated those abilities, and was even more thankful she had been attached to his unit for the mission. Miko operated outside of the regular chain of command, still going by the callsign Lone Wolf. Company command liked to use her as their wildcard, able to scout, infiltrate and eliminate specific enemy targets. But she wasn’t just a loner. She knew how to operate as part of a larger unit, tailoring her skills to best suit the comrades she was working with. If they were in a major battle she could pick off officers, disrupting the enemy’s chain of command. If they had artillery she could act as an effective spotter.
    And if they were in the middle of nowhere, she could help screen the main body, warning them of any possible dangers and suggesting how to avoid them.
    Danny checked in with the other two squads. “Xavier, Javy, how we coming?”
    “Fine here,” Xavier replied.
    “We’re good here as well,” Javy told him. “Looks like we’re nearing our target area.”
    Danny nodded. “Good to know. Let’s get that area secure, then get to work.”
    “Same plan as discussed?” Xavier asked.
    “Yup. Each of you, designate a fireteam to guard your end of the road. I sent Miko toward Madison, so that end should get some advanced warning if anyone comes our way. We’re not expecting anything, though.”
    “Never hurts to be sure,” Xavier commented, practical as always.
    “Right. See you guys at the highway.”
    Danny opened up his wrist menu and read through the mission parameters once more as he walked. Bravo Wolf had been assigned to interdiction duties for a while, raiding Ragnarok supply convoys far behind the front lines. They were well-suited for the job, having plenty of experience with this kind of mission over the course of several months. They knew how to set up deadly ambushes, knew how to stop a convoy, knew how to take out the most dangerous guards and leave the rest of the trucks at their mercy.
    But Ragnarok had not stood idle while Black Wolf went about their work. They had changed tactics in response to the frequent raids. In the past truck convoys had driven in a relatively loose line, but that left them extremely vulnerable to attack. Ambushing troops could pick off small sections of the convoy at a time, and the distance between vehicles mean they couldn’t effectively support each other, even if they had guards.
    As a