Echo Six: Black Ops 5 - Strikeforce Syria by Eric Meyer Page A

troops mounting the ambush. But the real problem was the gun. They were nearing the end of the street, and he had to make a decision. Rovere was looking at him, waiting for an order.
    "We’ll abandon the truck, work our way through the buildings, and try to get out of here. We'll head for Aleppo. It's a big city and with any luck, we can lose ourselves there."
    “And then?”
    He stared back at Rebecca. “I don’t know.”
    Domenico jammed on the brakes, and they stopped a few meters short of the end of the street. Even before the wheels ceased to turn, the men were scrambling out. Talley led them into a nearby factory that looked derelict and abandoned. Before even making it to cover, the ZSU opened fire, and they were assaulted by the roar of the heavy shells slashing into the truck, reducing it to a pile of scrap metal. The gunner hadn't seen them get out, and they were able to crawl out of sight behind a concrete wall and work their way across to the empty building. There was no door. It had long been taken away. Probably by scavengers looking for scrap metal, but at least inside the building they'd be out of sight. The last of the men scrambled inside, and Talley peered out through a tiny opening that had once held a glass window; in time to see the four barrels of the ZSU aimed point blank at their position.
    "Flat on the floor! They’re about to hit the building."
    He dropped down and snaked across the floor. Rebecca was alongside him, moving silently. Behind her, Guy and Buchmann followed and then the rest of the men, but they were only partway through the building when the hurricane of heavy cannon shells smashed through the thin skin of the building. The noise was awesome, an incredible demonstration of the ferocious power of the heavy gun. Cannon shells burst around them. Only their helmets and ballistic vests saved them from serious injury, but they suffered casualties. Talley felt a sliver of steel stab through the lower part of his leg, and he knew most of them would be hit in some way. Suddenly the gunfire stopped, either jammed or out of ammunition. They had a chance.
    "Keep moving. We have to get out the other side before they start firing again. Run!"
    They jumped to their feet and sprinted for the other side of the building. They went out through a gap in the wall to the open space outside. They could hear shouted orders as soldiers rushed along the street outside the perimeter wall. It was obvious the Syrian commander was throwing a cordon around the entire area, as would any half competent commander. He led them away from the ZSU, just as the guns started firing again.
    The shells were penetrating the rear skin of the building, blasting huge holes in the fabric. They emerged at the rear of the derelict factory, but it wasn't entirely derelict. The yard was shrouded in pipes and tanks.
    An oil refinery!
    Talley looked around for an escape route, but their options were limited. Behind them, the ZSU was busy demolishing the building they’d just left. Ahead was the oil refinery, and almost certainly about to go up in flames at any moment. To their right, an unknown number of hostiles soldiers. There was only one option.
    "We're heading left, and keep away from the refinery. If they keep firing into the tanks, it'll blow."
    Guy caught up with him. "If we go left, we're heading right back to that ambush at the CX9 plant."
    He nodded. "There’s no choice. They’ll be calling for reinforcements from the guard around the CX9 facility. And the stupid bastards are about to blow themselves to hell if they keep hitting that oil refinery. It’s just a matter of timing."
    He glanced across to where the heavy cannon shells were ripping holes in the oil tanks. Pools of oil were already beginning to form on the concrete. Guy grinned.
    "I get it. When this place goes up, they’ll be incinerated."
    They kept racing toward a crumbling stonewall that divided the factory yard from the plant. As they ran, Rebecca came