Action Man II: Attack of the Skullmen

[Sundance]

In the weeks that followed the defeat of the Russian Nuclear Bomb Plot, as the Press dubbed it, the Action Man unit began a programme of hard training. Alex left the group and headed for Yemen, posing as a mercenary helicopter pilot. In the meantime, Mack led the group through an intense course in frogman training, including learning to use close-circuit underwater breathing apparatus or C-CUBA. The C-CUBA gear didn’t generate bubbles like normal SCUBA gear, making it much more stealthy. They also trained in lock in/lock out procedures to enter and exist submerged submarines.

Following that, John, Joe and Kul were put through a rapid course of parachute training to become HALO, HAHO, freefall and static-line qualified.

Once that training was over, the group was deployed to Australia for desert warfare and advanced survival training with a member of the 1st Commando Regiment, known as ‘Dingo’ because of his ability to survive the Outback with little equipment and no support.

Now they were deployed to Canada for Arctic Warfare training with a four-man team from Joint Task Force 2, Canada’s elite Special Forces unit.

Somewhere in Northern Canada

The four skidoos streaked from out of the setting sun, racing across the hard-packed snow. Each was a modified military version of the popular civilian vehicle. Their engines were more powerful, but also quieter.

Mack was riding the lead skidoo with Mark on the back. Tom was riding the second with Joe, whilst John and Natalie rode the fourth. Kul brought up the rear on his own.

Ahead of them was a convoy of trucks, escorted by four Humvees and a pair of Land Rover type jeeps.

The skidoos raced along the right side of the convoy, snow spraying up from their rear tracks. Mark fired his M249 SAW at the Humvees and jeeps as they raced past, whilst Natalie and Joe fired their Colt C8 carbines at the truck cabs.

The skidoos cut across the front of the convoy and sped down the left side, with the three commandos firing once more. Mack led the four skidoos around in a turn to the right and pulled up in front of a wooden platform several feet above the snow.

As the other skidoos slid to a halt, Mack raised his goggles and looked up at the watching soldiers.

“So, how’d we do?” he asked.

“Thirty seconds faster,” replied the squad leader, Sergeant Eric Prince. “You were also better at targeting the jeep gunners first and the trucks second.”

Prince was the main instructor for the exercise. An expert cross-country skier, he also knew how to handle a skidoo.

“Good.” Before Mack could say anything more, a warbling tone sounded from his jacket.

Pulling out a satellite phone, he looked up at Prince, “’Scuse me.”

Mack walked away from the others to stand in the middle of the wooden target vehicles before answering the phone.

“Hello.”

“Mack? It’s me. We’re pulling you out of Canada. Trev and Ed’ll be along to pick you up soon. Jim and Fiona should be warming up the Herky-bird as well.”

Mack recognised the voice of Jack Cooper, the team’s communications and computers expert back in London.

“What’s up?” Mack asked. “We’re supposed to be here another fortnight, yet.”

“Priority tasking. The Yemenis want Alex pulled out stat. They seem bent on putting down the Skullmen hard and fast,” Jack answered. “And no, the irony’s not lost on Smith or me.”

Mack laughed, guessing Jack meant the irony of the team being sent to Canada on exercise before being sent on a mission to the Mid-East desert.

“Catch you soon, bud,” Mack replied. “Out.”

The former SBS commando strode back to the waiting group.

“We’re leaving,” he announced. “Priority mission.”

Eric jumped down from the wooden platform and shook hands with the soldiers.

“Good luck to you. Make sure you come back soon and we’ll see if we can’t get you trained up properly.”

“Chopper,” called one of the other JTF-2 soldiers. The others turned to see a small black blob resolve into a Canadian Forces CH-146 Griffon helicopter.

Joe snorted. “Eagle-eyes again.”

The soldier, a large, muscular blonde-haired man, had impressed the British team with his keen eyesight, leading Joe to call him ‘Eagle-eyes’.

The Griffon touched down and the commandos quickly boarded, leaving their local counterparts behind. The helicopter lifted off and headed for the Canadian Forces base outside Whitehorse.

After a brief stop at Whitehorse to collect the soldiers’ gear, Trevor and Ed raced the utility helicopter south toward Alberta.

The helicopter finally reached Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Ontario after a refuelling stop at a base in Alberta.

After leaving the Griffon with a Canadian ground crew, the British team headed over to a waiting RAF Hercules transport. Paul Grey the helicopter loadmaster was standing at the foot of the plane’s cargo ramp.

Mack paused as the others headed into the plane’s belly.

“How come you weren’t with the helo?” he asked.

“They wanted to fly without me,” Paul replied. “I’m not a qualified flight engineer anyway. Figured I’d help load the kit on the Herc with Jim. We’re ready to go.”

Mack boarded the plane and Paul followed, raising the ramp.

Mack sat down opposite Natalie.

“You can stop worrying, now,” he informed her.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“We’re going to Yemen,” Mack informed her. “The Yemenis want Alex pulled out and we’re going to do it.”

Natalie didn’t answer, instead she lent back in her seat as the engines roared into life and closed her eyes. She genuinely didn’t know how she felt about Alex. She’d been fretting about him since he’d left, even though she’d barely had a chance to get to know him in the time the unit had been together before he’d been sent on his undercover mission. She also couldn’t explain why she’d been so irrationally jealous of him kissing his ex when the team had been passing through Brize Norton on their way to the Somalia mission. Yes, the young sergeant was good looking, but she barely knew the guy. She sighed. Maybe with him back in Britain she’d have a chance to work things out.

Yemen
The next day

Alex walked from the small bathroom of his quarters to the main room and picked up his helmet. He glowered at the blue helmet, with its skull motif, before shoving it on. It was standing orders in the terrorist group known as the Skullmen that helmets were to be worn at all times outside of quarters. The only exceptions being the mess halls and the communal showers the lower ranks used. Alex picked up his Sterling sub-machine gun and slung it across his chest. He conscientiously tidied his bed after picking up his weapon before leaving.

The skull helmets were the only uniform thing about the outfits the Skullmen wore. The remainder of any given Skullman’s uniform was dependent on their own choices. Some wore military camouflage, or at least military issue clothing. A lot, particularly the recruits from the poorer African and Mid-East nations wore whatever clothes they had. The uniforms had, however, enabled Alex to determine that the Skullmen included Americans, Russians, Canadians, Poles, Lithuanians, Chinese, Iranians and Georgian members. Most of whom were mercenaries, like he was pretending to be. Others were Yemenis from the native rebel groups or al-Qaeda defectors. Many more were simply thugs and gunmen who were only motivated by wanting to fight; not for money or for the cause, just for the sake of fighting.

As Alex turned away from his door, he froze as he spotted the one person he didn’t want to see.

Ursula.

She was a former member of Germany’s Bundesnachrichtendienst, the Federal Intelligence Service who’d unfortunately taken a shine to Alex on his fourth day. He’d spent the eighty-two days since trying to avoid her amourous intentions.

He would admit, though, she was attractive. Her habit of wearing a tight-fitting jumpsuit emphasised her curvaceous physique. Ursula turned and saw Alex. She removed her helmet, breaking protocol once more.

Her blue eyes stared at Alex as he remained rooted to the spot. She tucked her silver skull helmet under her arm as she walked toward him. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun that defied expectations, by not making her appear severe.

“Well, well,” she said in accented English. “I seem to have cornered you at last, Alex.”

He remained silent.

“Take your helmet off, Specialist.”

Alex knew better than to argue. He pulled the helmet from his head. She stared at him, her lust for him written in her face.

“So, what excuse will you give me today, for not joining me tonight?”

Alex stared at her expressionlessly. “I have to go, I’m due in a briefing for today’s operation in fifteen minutes and I’d like some breakfast.”

Ursula grabbed him and kissed him. Alex allowed himself five seconds to enjoy it before pushing her away.

“I’m sorry, I have to go,” Alex said before walking out the building.

As he crossed the camp toward the mess hall, Alex mused to himself that at any other time, he would probably have enjoyed a one-night stand or a brief fling with Ursula, but he was too nervous about maintaining his cover to want to risk it. He pulled out the satellite phone he carried and turned it on. After a few seconds a text message arrived. The number was an anonymous one, but the message was far more important.

You will be extracted on 4/10. Details to follow.

Alex deleted the message. That was four days from now. He still had no idea what the Skullmen had that would guarentee the Americans wouldn’t interfere in their plot to over-run the Arabian peninsula, but he had amassed a lot of useful intelligence.

An hour later, the undercover commando was standing next to the Super Puma helicopter he’d been assigned to fly, finishing off the pre-flight check. Nearby eight Skullmen infantry troops were waiting to board the helicopter. Once Alex was satisfied, he waved the soldiers into the helicopter, while another two Skullmen took positions to man the pintle-mounted door guns.

Alex took the pilot’s seat and began flicking switches to start the helicopter up. Further off, a Russian-built MiL-8 Hip was starting its rotors whilst two UH-1 Hueys were getting ready to start their engines.

Alex watched the MiL lift off before taking off. The chief pilot was flying the Hip and he was an alcoholic Lithuanian who’d been kicked out of their Army for flying whilst drunk. Alex preferred to stay away from him as much as he could. Once his Super Puma had lifted off, the two Hueys followed.

The four helicopters were soon speeding across the Yemeni mountains toward the northern deserts.

Their target was an al-Qaeda camp. According to the briefing Alex had sat through, run by one of Ursula’s deputies, the terrorists in the camp had been causing trouble for local villagers and since the government had done nothing, the Skullmen were going to.

The four helicopters sped low toward the camp and Alex glanced back to shout, “Get ready!”

The two door-gunners opened fire once the camp was in range. Door gunners on the other helicopters opened fire as well. The al-Qaeda terrorists were scurrying for cover as the helicopters settled into circular orbits over head.

After several minutes circling, the four helicopters dropped into the camp and the Skullmen on board leaped from the helicopter and began the assault. The four helicopters then lifted from the ground and began hovering over the camp.

Alex watched as the Skullmen on the ground ran around fighting the al-Qaeda terrorists. He checked his fuel gauges. He had enough left for another twenty minutes of hovering and the journey back. He hoped it would be enough.

Twenty minutes later, the Skullman officer commanding the ground force called the helicopters for extraction. The four helicopters quickly landed and collected the troops before heading back.

Alex pondered the mission as he flew the helicopter. So far, he’d largely avoided flying the Skullmen’s missions attacking government bases. Most of the time he’d been a high-powered chauffeur flying the Skull Leader or other senior members to other bases around the region. Alex decided it didn’t bother him; it was an al-Qaeda base after all.

When the helicopters were back on the ground, Alex pulled out his satellite phone once more and received another text message.

Extraction will happen under cover of Yemeni government assault on camp. Be ready.

There were no other details. Alex frowned at the message. He quickly deleted it and headed off for the debriefing he was required to attend after a mission. He wondered if he should warn Ursula. She wasn’t as psychotic as some of the senior Skullmen or as evil. She simply seemed misguided.

That evening, as Alex entered the building where his quarters were, he saw Ursula’s door was open. He knocked on the door and went in, closing the door.

Ursula came out of her bathroom, naked save a towel. She’d clearly just been in the shower.

“Well, this is a surprise, Alex.” Ursula smiled. “Finally changed your mind?”

Alex took off his helmet and stared at her face.

“Ursula, I’ve got to tell you something important,” he began.

Ursula frowned. “Don’t tell me,” she interrupted. “You’re gay.”

Alex laughed. “Hell no. I need to tell you something that could save your life.”

Ursula let the towel drop to the floor, revealing her naked body.

Alex closed his eyes. “You might want to pick that up or get dressed before we continue.”

He heard her footsteps as she walked over to him. Her body pressed against his. She kissed him.

Alex gave up and let her. He didn’t stop her doing what followed. He figured it might make her more inclined to listen to him when he told her what he needed to tell her.

The following morning, as dawn broke, Alex was standing by the window in Ursula’s quarters. He heard her roll over in bed, mutter his name and then sit up.

He turned from the window, silhouetted against the sun.

“My name is not Alex Mannering. I’m not a mercenary. I’m a British operative.”

Ursula got out of bed as he spoke.

“You’re in danger. I’m being extracted in three days. My extraction will be under the cover of a Yemeni raid on this camp.”

Ursula stood in front of Alex. She stared into his eyes for a moment. Then she slapped him.

“You bastard,” she whispered.

Alex turned and walked to the door. “I don’t think you’re a bad woman,” he said. “I think you’re just misguided. Don’t let yourself be killed.”

Alex left.

Three days later, the attack began as the sun rose. Alex was already dressed in his usual clothes, woodland camo trousers, a green 1970s issue ‘woolly pully’ jumper and a black beret. He grabbed his Sterling sub-machine gun and ran out the door, heading for the intelligence shack.

As Alex ran out the building, a pair of MiL-24 Hind helicopters were racing south away from the camp. The radio truck and the radar van were both on fire. So too were both Huey helicopters.

Alex sprinted across the camp as more helicopters swept in.

Leading the helicopter formation was another pair of Russian-built Hind-D helicopters.

The Hinds dropped to the ground and the troop doors slid open. Mack led the charge from one of the Hinds, the other Action Man team members close behind him.

The Hind, piloted by Trevor, with Ed in the gunner’s seat lifted off, as several MiL-17s dropped Yemeni troops off.

Four commandos from the second Hind ran up to the Action Man team. Leading the group was Lieutenant Colton, the Delta Force operator they’d rescued in Peru.

“So, where’s your man?” Colton asked Mack.

Mack looked around. “If I know Alex, he’s headed for the intel shed.”

Colton nodded, “I guess that makes sense.”

The group moved off.

Alex arrived at the sandbag-protected intelligence shed.

He paused next to the door, checked his Sterling, took two deep, cleansing breaths and then leaped in the door.

Two Skullmen were straight in front of him, at the main table. Neither stood a chance as Alex shot both with a three burst to the chest.

He pivoted left and saw two more Skullmen; one was starting to rise. Alex shot them both. He pivoted right.

A single Skullman remained. He had a Walther P99 aimed at Alex.

“Mannering?” he asked. “What the hell?”

“Where’s Ursula?” Alex asked.

The Skullman shrugged. “Beats me. No one’s seen her for two days.”

“I’m not Alex Mannering. I’m Action Man.”

“What are you talking about?” the Skullman asked.

Alex shot him, not bothering to explain. He quickly moved to the two desktop PCs on the left. He dragged out one of the towers, found a screwdriver and began undoing the PC.

The Action Man team and Lieutenant Colton’s Delta team were crouched behind sandbags around the landing pad for the Super Puma helicopter. Skullmen had started responding to the attack and they were being pinned down by a pair of BTR armoured personnel carriers.

The two APCs were firing their 14.5mm guns at the troops; Mark was attempting to return fire with his SAW, whilst avoiding being hit.

Joe finally pulled out his radio.

“Hawk, Alpha, do you copy, over?”

“Alpha, Hawk, copy, over,” Trevor replied.

“Hawk, we need air support over here,” Joe informed the helicopter pilot. Two BTRs have us pinned down.”

“Hawk copies, Alpha. Stand by,” Trevor replied.

Sitting in the back seat of the Hind-D, Trevor looked around until he spotted the two APCs firing toward the helipad.

“Ed, you think you can take out those to BTRs?” Trevor asked his gunner.

In the front seat, Ed frowned. “Move us a bit to the left and I’ll try the ‘Spirals’,” the gunner said, referring to the NATO name for the helicopter’s anti-tank missiles.

Trevor shifted the helicopter to the left, lining it up.

“Perfect,” Ed said, targeted the BTRs with the helicopter’s sighting system and then launched.

The missiles, guided by a radio link from the helicopter, streaked across the sky and detonated above the APCs, the high-explosive anti-tank warhead fired its stream of super-heated metal into the carriers.

The front of the two armoured vehicles was blown off, destroying the gun turrets and the driver’s cabs.

Ed switched to the Hind’s gun turret and strafed the area around the APCs. After firing a few hundred rounds, he stopped.

Trevor clicked on his radio, “Alpha, Hawk, tangos down.”

“Hawk, Alpha, outstanding. Thanks. Out,” Joe replied.

As the team began to advance, the large MiL-8 helicopter lifted off. It pivoted around and the door-mounted machine gun opened fire, causing Trevor to slide the Hind sideways.

“Damn,” he muttered. The helicopter raced north toward the mountains. Trevor switched frequencies on his radio.

“Falcon, Hawk, do you copy, over?”

“Hawk, Falcon Lead, go ahead, over.”

“Falcon, we’ve got a Hip heading north out of the camp. Possible high-value targets are on board. Need you to intercept and disable, not kill. Repeat, intercept and do NOT kill.”

“Falcon Lead copies. We’re on it, out.”

Five miles south of the camp, two Yemeni Air Force F-5E Tiger II fighters were circling at ten thousand feet. Fiona was flying Falcon Lead, with Jim in Two.

“You copy that, Two?” Fiona asked Jim.

“Two.”

“Follow me,” Fiona ordered.

“Two.”

Fiona pulled her Tiger II into a tight turn and sped north, sliding her fighter into a shallow dive as she headed for the intercept. She checked her mirror; Jim was following in perfect fingertip formation off her right wing.

At least, it was perfect until he executed a barrel roll alongside her.

She couldn’t help smiling behind her oxygen mask. It was good to get back into the business of flying fighters, not transports, she had to admit.

The two single-seat fighters screamed into the mountains of central Yemen, tracking the Hip as it headed northwest.

The two fighters soon caught up to the helicopter. Fiona locked on to the MiL-8 with her machine gun and fired a short burst.

The bullets missed as the Hip dropped toward the mountains. Then it swung around, and a missile streaked from the troop-door.

Fiona and Jim reacted immediately. Jim banked right and climbed, while Fiona dropped away to the left. Both fired flares from their fighters. The missile was decoyed and detonated harmlessly.

The Hip was now flying sideways away from them and a machine gun opened fire. The two pilots broke off again. This time the Hip dropped lower into the mountains, disappearing into a low valley.

Fiona and Jim circled the valley, trying to spot the helicopter.

“Lead, Two. They’re probably sitting down there, waiting us out.”

“You’re probably right, Two.”

Fiona circled her F-5 around once more. She cursed.

“Two, we’re RTB. Nothing we can do now. We’re getting too close to bingo fuel,” Fiona said, referring to the minimum fuel needed to successfully return to base.

Back at the Skullmen’s camp, the Action Man commandos stacked up on either side of the intelligence shack’s doorway, then Mack and Natalie dived in first.

Alex calmly looked around at them as he pulled the hard drive from the fourth PC. “It’s ‘bout time you got here,” he commented.

Both commandos relaxed. Mack frowned as he watched Alex pull out the last lead from the PC.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Alex smiled, “Stealing their hard drives of course. Get the rest of the team in here would you? We need to move out quick.”

Mack went back out the door as Natalie walked over to Alex. She grabbed him into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said. “I’ve been so worried about you.”

“So have I,” Alex quipped. He saw her smile. He quickly realised there was genuine warmth and care in her expression.

Rather brusquely he said, “Come on, gimme your pack.”

As she shrugged off the lightweight backpack, Alex decided there and then, he would never tell Natalie about Ursula.

Mack came back in to the shack with the rest of the team. Alex quickly handed Mack two of the hard drives before telling Kul, Joe, John and Mark to pick up the four laptops and put them in their backpacks.

“Right then, let’s get to the command bunker and hope to hell they haven’t trashed the place already.”

Alex led the group out the shack and found Lt. Colton waiting with his squad.

“Colton! Nice to see you’re up and about,” Alex commented. “What are you doing here?”

“My team was here in Yemen helping train the local SF group. I insisted we come along when I heard about the raid,” Colton replied.

“Nice to know you care,” Alex answered. “Let’s move. And for God’s sake, check your corners.”

The group moved out, heading for the concrete bunker on the other side of the helipads.

Alex noticed the Hip was missing as they ran past the empty pad.

“Where’d the Hip go?” he asked Mack.

“Took off a few minutes back. Fiona and Jim went after it, they’re flying F-5s.”

“Damn, that was probably Skull Leader and his regiment and battalion commanders,” Alex said.

The group arrived at the bunker. Alex and Mack moved to enter the doorway first, but Alex noticed a tripwire. He held Mack back, then leaned in.

“John,” Alex said in a strangled sounding voice. “Can you come here?”

The Marine moved up next to Alex and leaned in.

Several C4 blocks were positioned around the room. A timer in the centre was ticking down from sixty seconds.

“No chance I can disarm that lot. Let’s get out of here.”

Alex cursed softly. “Right.”

The commandos headed over to where the Yemenis were collecting their prisoners. The bunker exploded as they walked across. An American soldier moved over to Colton.

“Lieutenant, the Yemenis have captured about thirty prisoners. The rest of them fought to the death.”

“Very good, Sergeant-Major, carry on,” Colton replied.

The Yemenis helicopters began landing and the prisoners were split among them before the commandos boarded and they left. Then the MiL-24s landed and the two Delta Force teams and the Action Man team boarded them.

The helicopters headed back off to the Yemeni airfield outside the capital city San’aa.

San’aa Military Airfield
Several hours later

Alex sat across a table from Smith, a video camera running to cover the interview.

“One thing I want to know,” Smith said looking up from his notes. “The American team reported that the Skullmen wore different coloured skull helmets. What was that about?”

“The helmets signify your position in the Skullman hierarchy. White is the basic infantryman. Black is NCOs, the squad leaders, section leaders and platoon deputy leaders. Green is specialists. I wore green as a helicopter pilot, but the commo techs, computer whizzes and mechanics wore them too. Blue is junior officers, the platoon commanders and junior company officers. Silver was the company and battalion commanders. Senior line officers, basically. Gold was the regimental commanders and Skull Leader, the flag staff,” Alex explained. “According to one guy I spoke to, they had them made by some company out in the Far East, claimed they were for a movie or something.”

“Regimental commanders?” Smith asked. “I didn’t think there were that many at the camp.”

“That camp was one of three in Yemen. Not including the one the Yemenis and the sass took out three months ago, there was another operating base and a training camp besides that one I was extracted from,” Alex said. “They’ve got camps in Iraq, Pakistan, Armenia, Georgia, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria and I think there’s one in Iran. I’ve been to most of them in the last three months, ferrying around senior officers.”

“Jesus H Christ,” Smith muttered. “We had no idea.”

“Why’d you pull me? I was no closer to finding out what Skull Leader claimed he had that would guarantee the Yanks wouldn’t interfere when he made his play for the Mid East.”

“It wasn’t us,” Smith replied. “The Yemenis want the Skullmen stopped. They insisted you be extracted and the camp attacked.”

“They desperate to get rid of the Skullmen?” Alex asked.

“Pretty much, yes. They’ll want to know where the other two camps are,” Smith said.

“Not a problem, I memorised the coordinates. You might want to consider re-tasking our team to take out the others,” Alex said. “The Skullmen are well equipped.”

Before Smith could go on, the building was rocked by an explosion.

“What the hell was that?” Alex asked.

Another explosion rocked the building.

Both men raced from the room, along a corridor and out into the open air. Two Yemeni Air Force MiG-29s were on fire on the parking ramp.

A Yemeni soldier ran past screaming something in Arabic. Alex looked to Smith.

“He said, ‘They’ve bombed the antennae farm, we’re under attack!’,” Smith translated.

A siren was now wailing as more shells fell on the airfield.

“Enemy mortar attack! Dig in!” a voice bellowed in English over the speakers.

Alex and Smith exchanged looks. “I’m heading for the command bunker, under the ops building,” Smith said.

Alex nodded and ran toward where the Action Man team’s C-130 was parked in a nearby hangar.

As Alex ran, an F-5E was taxiing toward the runway. Another close behind it. The first made it to the runway and screamed away at full afterburner. The second was hit by a mortar shell and exploded.

Alex ran into the hangar and stopped as Kul and John span and aimed their C8 carbines at him. Both relaxed as they recognised him.

“What’s going on?” John asked.

“I’d bet it’s the Skullmen,” Alex answered. He ran across to the Hercules and climbed aboard.

Inside the cockpit, Fiona and Jim turned toward him.

“Are you listening in on the Yemenis?” Alex asked.

“No, we lost their command frequency when the antennae farm was bombed. Trying to find the alternate,” Fiona replied.

“They’ve got a Tiger up. It took off as I was coming over. We need to see if he can spot their positions,” Alex said.

Fiona nodded, turned to her radio and flipped it over to Guard, the international distress frequency.

“Yemeni F-5 over San’aa, this is British Special Flight One, do you copy, over?”

Fiona waited for a moment, before repeating herself.

“British Special Flight One, this is Scimitar One. San’aa is under attack; if you are on approach, contact Aden for clearance to land there. If you’re on the ground, shut up and clear this frequency!” the pilot sounded very angry.

“No help from him…” Alex muttered.

“Got it,” Jim announced. He flicked a switch so they could all listen. The pilot called Scimitar One was talking to the airbase now.

“Am orbiting one thousand feet above ground,” the pilot said. “I see smoke coming from the hill north-west of the base and from three positions west of the airfield. Request permission to engage with my guns.”

“Negative, Scimitar. They may have anti-air rockets. Remain at current altitude.”

Alex turned as he heard someone walk in to the cockpit behind him. He saw Natalie.

“What troops have the Yemenis got here?” he asked her.

“Not much,” she replied. “This is a civilian airfield as well as an airbase, remember. All they’ve got is a few security troops.”

Alex cursed. “Where’s the SAS and Delta teams?”

“They’re using a hangar on the other side of the parking ramp,” Natalie replied. “Dug in over there.”

“Someone give them a call. Let’s see if we can’t locate and take out these damn mortar teams.”

Natalie pulled out her radio and contacted Lieutenant Colton. In moments, Colton had told Natalie his team had three Humvees and a Stryker APC.

Alex took the radio from Natalie, “Colton, any chance you could be persuaded to allow us to borrow the Stryker to attack that hill northwest? We’d need an armoured vehicle just to get across all that open ground.”

“You want me and the SAS team to hit the mortar positions to the west using the Humvees?” Colton asked.

“Yeah,” Alex answered. “According to the pilot of the Tiger, the other three positions are behind those two building complexes to the west. If you head out that way in the jeeps you shouldn’t be as exposed as anyone going after the hill team. Although you will be seen by the hill team…”

“That team on the hill’s the biggest problem, I agree,” Colton said. “We’ll have to get that F-5 to strafe them to keep their heads down whilst we move out.”

“Agreed. Any word from the Yemenis about any support from elsewhere?”

“Negative,” Colton answered. “Yemeni Air Force ain’t up to rapid response.”

“Great.” Alex paused for a moment, “Alright, we’ll request the F-5 give us a strafing run on the hill once we head over. Send us the Stryker over and we’ll get set up. We’ll give you a call when we’re ready to move out.”

“Hooah,” Colton replied.

Minutes later, the Stryker APC pulled up outside the hangar and the Action Man commandos quickly climbed aboard. Tom Stone took the driver’s seat while Mark took the vehicle commander/gunner’s seat.

The APC raced across the airfield to the edge of the complex. The three Humvees carrying the two Delta Force teams and the SAS team were racing west.

As the Stryker raced across the rough, open ground toward the hill the F-5E Tiger II fighter screamed out of the sky, firing its 20mm guns.

The Tiger pulled up, firing flares to decoy any surface-to-air missiles fired at it before looping around and coming back toward the hill and firing another burst.

The Stryker raced up the shallow incline of the hill and Mark opened fire at the two flatbed trucks that were sitting atop the hill, with mortar tubes on the back.

Tom brought the APC to a halt as the Skullmen opened fire at the vehicle. As the bullets pinged off the vehicle’s armour, Alex threw the rear door open and leaped out, followed closely by Mack, Natalie and Joe.

They went left around the vehicle as Kul and John went around the right.

All six commandos opened fire with their C-8 carbines and cut down the Skullmen.

Further south, Colton and his team had raced west toward the building complex where another mortar team was positioned. Todd Reynolds was driving the jeep, while Colton’s right-hand man, Mike Power was manning the .50 calibre gun, whilst the fourth team member, David Jones was behind Colton in the passenger compartment.

Racing beside them was a second Humvee carrying Sergeant-Major Tanaka and his Delta team. Sergeant Harris was manning their gun.

The two vehicles split up and raced around the large building between the airport and the mortar teams.

There were four flatbed trucks sitting behind one wing of the building. Power needed no orders; he simply opened fire at the trucks and the mortar tubes mounted on the trucks.

The half-inch calibre rounds smashed the tubes apart, before Power sprayed more fire at the Skullmen manning the trucks, cutting them down. Todd skidded the Humvee to a halt, allowing Colton and Sergeant Jones to leap out, sprint forward, firing from the hip. They cut down another four Skullmen.

A technical – a pick-up truck with a machine gun mounted in the back – started to race away from behind the trucks.

Mike fired at the technical and hit the cab.

Colton and David quickly moved around the vehicles, checking everyone was dead.

Colton keyed his radio.

“Team two, report.”

“Two is under fire and needs back up,” replied Sergeant Lonetree, the other team’s sniper. “Tanaka and Wilson are down.”

“On it.”

Colton and David ran back to the Humvee and leaped back aboard as Colton ordered Todd to head around the building to back up the other Delta team.

A mile to their north, the SAS team had also come under attack from their targets. The Sergeant manning their gun, Doyle, was providing cover fire as Sergeant Evans and Sergeant Davis tried to reach Trooper MacTavish and Trooper Walsh who were both down.

Captain Sanderson was also providing cover fire, with his C-8 carbine.

Price, who had been driving the Humvee, was dead.

“I repeat, need back up. Two wounded and one dead. Do you copy, Alpha team?” Sanderson shouted into his radio as he fired again at the Skullman carrying an RPD machine gun who was proving hard to get a bead on.

“Alpha team copies,” Alex replied over the radio. “On route, hang in there.”

The Stryker APC barrelled across the rough ground toward the buildings. Alex was hanging on to the back of Tom’s seat as the former tank driver steered the vehicle.

“Make sure you put us between the Humvee and the mortar crew,” Alex said. “Let them shoot at us. Mark, pin them down.”

Alex turned to the rest of the team. “We need to get the injured on board as fast as we can so we can medivac them to the airfield.”

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Mack commented. “It’s been so hard to know what to do without you around to tell us.”

Alex ignored the sarcasm. “Let’s just do it, okay?”

The Stryker sped into the line of fire and slid to a halt, blocking the Humvee from view of the mortar team.

Mark immediately turned the gun turret toward the trucks and sprayed them with bullets as John threw the rear hatch open and leaped out. Joe and Alex followed close behind him.

The commandos ran toward the SAS troopers and helped pick them up and carry them across to the APC as Mark continued to fire at the Skullmen.

As soon as the two troopers were loaded into the APC and strapped in, Alex raised the ramp and turned to shout, “Move out!” to Tom.

Most of the Skullmen were now dead. Tom threw the Stryker into reverse, before executing a fast 180 and speeding away as Mack, Davis and Sanderson picked off the final Skullmen.

As the Stryker arrived at the airfield hospital minutes later, the radio crackled.

“This is Scimitar One, I see multiple BTR-80s headed this way on the main road. They’re not friendlies, I say again, multiple Bravo-Tango-Romeo Eight-Zero type vehicles. Not Yemenis.”

There was a brief pause, then a new voice came on, “This is Super Eight-One. We’re lifting off in sixty seconds. Give us a position and we’ll hit them.”

As Alex and Natalie lifted MacTavish onto a stretcher, Alex asked, “Who’s Super Eight One?”

“Black Hawk from the Night-Stalkers,” Natalie replied. “They’re here with the Delta teams.” The Night-Stalkers were the American Army’s elite Special Forces helicopter regiment.

Seconds later, the MH-60 helicopter roared overhead racing south.

The MH-60 raced along the right side of the convoy of APCs, allowing the soldier manning the helicopter’s M-134D machine gun to open fire at the vehicles. The six-barrelled rotary machine gun sprayed 7.62mm bullets at the BTRs, shredding their tires and crippling them.

As the Black Hawk looped around the tail of the convoy, the BTRs began to open fire with their own machine guns.

The Black Hawk pilot pulled up and away from the armoured vehicles to avoid being shot down.

“Super Eight One to base, we’re taking heavy fire from the BTRs, need some ground support out here,” the pilot radioed even as the gunner returned fire as best as he could.

At the airfield, Alex heard the message. He quickly called the rest of the Action Man team together and they boarded the Stryker APC and raced out to the convoy.

The Black Hawk was still hovering close to the convoy as the Stryker rolled up, the APCs concentrating their fire at the helicopter.

Mark opened fire at the lead BTR as the left side hatch opened on the APC and the Skullmen began leaping out.

As the Action Man team’s gunner continued to engage the troops with the APC’s gun, Alex opened the Stryker’s rear ramp and led the team in swiftly dismounting and taking the fight to the Skullmen.

The gunmen were now finding themselves caught in a cross-fire as Mark engaged them from the front of the convoy with the .50 calibre gun, Super Eight-One engaged them from above with the minigun and the commandos flanked them from the right of the convoy.

Alex laid down cover fire for John and Joe as the Royal Marines dashed forward to the tail APC. Natalie and Mack were suppressing the Skullmen between the middle APCs while Kul hung back, covering Alex’s back.

The Skullmen began to retreat from the front two BTRs, only to find Super Eight One’s gunner was shifting his aim to cut them off.

Several of the gunmen recognised the futility of their position and threw down their weapons before raising their hands in surrender.

Some continued to shoot back before being gunned down mercilessly.

The Yemeni security troops finally arrived, alongside Lt. Colton’s Delta Force team to take the Skullmen into custody.

The Action Man team returned to the hangar the SAS and Delta teams were using as their base of operations to find Smith waiting for them.

“You might as well go and get showers and make yourselves comfortable. We’re going to be stuck here for several hours until the runway and taxiway can be repaired enough for the transport to lift off,” he informed them. “Alex, the Yemenis want to speak to you. They want to know about those other two camps you mentioned.”

Alex nodded and followed Smith out of the hangar as they headed for the locals’ ops room.

Four hours later

Alex had returned to the hangar where the rest of the team were waiting. Joe, Mack and Tom were engaged in a game of poker with Paul and Ed. Natalie was attempting to teach Kul how to play chess, a game he’d never played before. John was using a laptop whilst Alex relaxed with a comic book.

One of the ‘Night-Stalker’ pilots wandered over. He took in the scene then asked, “What’s the comic?”

Alex glanced up then lifted the comic from his knees and showed the cover. It was Bulletman.

“That’s the issue from three months ago,” the pilot commented.

“I know. I’ve been undercover for three months,” Alex replied. “I made John, here, buy the comics and keep them for me to read.”

“Or he’d kill me,” John interjected with a distracted air as he used the computer.

“Oh.” The pilot considered and then said, “You lot don’t seem to bothered by two of your colleagues being in hospital.”

Alex closed the comic as he looked up at the pilot. “We’re not all SAS. I was, and so was Tom, but we’re not with them now and we didn’t know these guys. Of course, as brother soldiers, we’re concerned, but not as much as if they were from our squad or our friends.”

“I see,” the pilot commented neutrally.

Kul stood up and walked away from Natalie. “I give up,” he said. “I’ll never understand that game.”

The Ghurkha walked over to John. Looking over his shoulder, Kul asked, “What’s that?”

“Ebay,” John replied.

“No, I meant, ‘what’s a ‘Tommy Atkins 1987 Black Guard Trooper, MLC 100%’?”

Alex turned around and leaned in to look at the laptop. “You’re buying Tommy Atkins figures?” he asked. “I’ve still got mine from when I was a kid. They’re on display at me parents’ house.”

“Oh, yeah,” John said. “I don’t tend to admit to it, some people think it’s a bit sad, a bloke in his thirties collecting toys…”

“What’s Tommy Atkins?” Kul asked.

“It’s an old-fashioned nickname for British soldiers,” Alex explained. “But in this context, it’s a toy-line. It started in the 1960s as a series of generic British Army infantry soldiers, later including figures from the RAF and the Navy. Sales dropped off in the late ‘70s and in 1982 they relaunched the line with smaller 3 ¾ inch figures that were basically scaled down versions of the older 12-inch figures. In 1984, it was rebooted. Tommy Atkins was now the codename for a special Army taskforce hunting a band of international terrorists. In 1986, they relaunched the line anew, this time using figures with greater articulation. The line was at its height between ’86 and 1991.”

“During that period,” John added. “As well as figures, there was a lot of vehicles released, including scale model tanks, jets, helicopters, boats and even a C-130 Hercules.”

Alex nodded, “I always wanted the Herc but couldn’t afford it.”

John looked smug. “I’ve got two.”

Alex looked enviously at him.

“Besides the British figures,” John explained, “There was also a few foreign allied figures; four French Foreign Legionnaires who were supposed to work with the team in Algeria; four American Marines from an operation in South East Asia, a team of Green Berets from a job in Guatemala, four Canadian Mounties and four Australian SAS guys. In the last year, 1992, as the line was dying off, they did a six-man Russian Army set. Kinda marked the end of the Cold War, y’know.”

Alex was staring at John with a faraway look on his face. “International team working against terrorists…” he muttered.

As Natalie walked over, Alex suddenly said, “I need to see Smith.”

Alex ran off. Natalie and Jack exchanged confused looks before the intelligence expert ran after him.

Alex found Smith coming out of the ops room a few minutes later.

“We need to talk,” Alex informed the older man.

“What about?” Smith asked.

“An idea I’ve just had.” Alex led Smith and Natalie outside to a parked van and they climbed inside.

“You’re planning on re-tasking us to go after the Skullmen, aren’t you?” Alex asked.

“It’s been discussed by me, the head of the SIS and the defence minister, yes.”

“Smith, eight commandos, a helo crew and two pilots may be enough to go after two lone nuts like No Face and Doctor X, but we can’t take on the Skullmen alone. Some of the camps are rather heavily defended.”

“What do you suggest then, Alex?” Smith asked.

“We form a larger force. A coalition of the willing if you want. Recruit in some people from abroad. Colton’s Delta team for one. D-Day Dawson too,” Alex answered.

“We could recruit Sergeant Prince’s squad as well,” Natalie put in. “His team were good.”

“Who’s Sergeant Prince?” Alex asked, confused.

“He’s the squad leader for a JTF 2 unit that we trained in mountain and arctic warfare with in Canada,” Natalie informed him. “We could try recruiting Dingo as well, he’s a damn good sniper.”

“As good as me?” Alex grinned.

“If he isn’t, he’s damn close,” Natalie said.

“Who is this ‘Dingo’, then?”

“Australian commando we worked with learning desert survival techniques.”

“Fine. Add him to. I knew a Dutch guy in Afghanistan a few years back, we could recruit him as well,” Alex said.

Smith looked thoughtful.

Action Man HQ, London
Four days later

The Action Man team took up one side of the briefing room. Alex was at the right-hand side of the head of the table where Smith sat. Mack, Natalie, Tom, Joe and John took the remaining seats. Behind them stood Fiona, Mark, Kul, Jim, Ed, Trevor and Paul.

Across the table, Steve ‘D-Day’ Dawson sat at the left-hand side of Smith. Down the rest of the side sat Lt. Colton, Sergeant-Major Mike Power, Sergeant David Jones and Staff Sergeant Todd Reynolds from Delta Force with Staff Sergeant Mark ‘Dingo’ Bedingfield last. Behind them were several other soldiers. Smith introduced them.

“For those of you who’ve just joined us today,” he began. “I’d like to welcome Sergeant First Class Jeroen DeBoer of the Dutch Korps Commandotroepen, the Dutch Special Forces. Next to him, we have Staff Sergeant Shane Clarke of the Australian Army’s 1st Commando Regiment. His colleague, Staff Sergeant Mark Bedingfield is seated at the end.”

Mark waved cheerily.

“Next are Sergeant Eric Prince of Canada’s Joint Task Force 2 and his squad, Master Corporal Aaron Black, Master Corporal Nick Tyler and Corporal Gary Noble. Next we have Master Chief Petty Officer Mitch Fraser and Chief Petty Officer Harry Olsen of the US Navy’s SEALs. They’re here at Lt. Colton’s recommendation.”

None of them did more than nod.

“Last we have Staff Sergeant Stansilaw Leski and Sergeant Miroslaw Leski of the Polish Army’s GROM unit. Both were recommended by Lieutenant Dawson.”

Smith next introduced the British soldiers and the Delta team.

“Now,” Smith shifted his attention to the whole group. “You might be wondering what this is all about. A little over three months ago, a new terrorist group was uncovered in Yemen. Known as the Skullmen, they were plotting to overthrow the Yemeni government prior to taking over the Mid-East.”

Smith paused to allow that to sink in.

“Alex spent three months undercover with them. He’s located bases they have across eastern Africa and the Mid East and southern Caucas region. The Yemeni government intend to tackle the bases remaining in their territory. However there’s no one capable of taking on the Skullmen in some of the countries where they have bases. In others, it’s entirely possible they’ve infiltrated the government.”

Smith looked around carefully.

“This unit, code-named ‘Task Force Six-Six’, is authorised by the governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States of America, Australia, the Netherlands and Poland to locate and destroy all Skullmen camps and to capture or eliminate all Skullmen personnel. Together, we will destroy them.”

To be concluded in:
Action Man: The Fall of Doctor X

[DAMartin]

I think I have heard about something similar to the Tommy Atkins toyline... or haven't I?
For a moment I thought Alex and Ursula's one-night stand could have some consequences, but later I noticed that would require a timeskip of nine months at least between parts II and III, so I guess it's a denied theory.

[Sundance]

the time-jump between 2 and 3 will only be 6 months and Ursula's not (currently) slated to appear.

it's certainly a possible outcome for a 4th story if i were ever to do one...