"Missile!"
On the helicopter, the machine gunner couldn't be bothered to continue firing. He turned back towards the cockpit and shouted in terror.
The co-pilot swiftly pressed the button to release the flares, while the main pilot jerked the joystick, causing the helicopter to frantically ascend and veer to the right in a steep maneuver, attempting to evade the impending deadly threat.
Unfortunately, the altitude was too low, and the distance was too short.
Everything was too late!
The man-portable air-defense missile traced a decisive and deadly arc in the sky, completely ignoring the crazy barrage of hot flares released by the Black Hawk Helicopter at the last moment.
Burning magnesium strips drew brief, enticing spots of light in the air but they were like stones cast into an abyss, failing to stir even the slightest ripple.
The missile resolutely headed towards the "Quick Blade 1-1", which had just completed a dive strafing and was in its most vulnerable turning posture!
Everyone who witnessed this scene, whether they were the mercenaries at the checkpoint desperately holding out behind crumbling walls or the swarming 1515 members on the ground, paused in unison for a split second.
The sound of gunfire seemed to momentarily thin out.
Every pair of eyes was fixed on that trajectory in the sky that foretold destruction.
The next second—
"Boom!!!"
A massive red fireball suddenly exploded near the junction of the tail boom and main rotor of "Quick Blade 1-1"!
The explosion mercilessly tore apart the relatively fragile fuselage structure of the Black Hawk Helicopter!
Visible shockwaves rapidly expanded in the night sky!
Having lost the stabilizing force provided by the tail rotor, the main rotor immediately lost control, and "Quick Blade 1-1," like a giant bird with broken wings, howled with immense inertia, spinning wildly into the pitch-black night sky!
The fuselage spun violently in the air, burning aviation fuel gushed from the ruptured fuel tank and lines, trailing long streaks of fire in the sky.
"No—!"
Inside the checkpoint, someone managed to squeeze out a desperate, distorted howl from their throat.
Under everybody's gaze, the burning helicopter wreckage, possibly still containing conscious pilots and machine gunners, brutally crashed toward a relatively open sandy patch less than a hundred meters outside the checkpoint!
"Boom rumble——!!!"
The impact sound and subsequent explosion were even more intense than when the missile hit!
An even brighter fireball soared into the sky from the crash site, instantly engulfing everything around it.
In the firelight reaching for the sky, the helicopter wreckage could be clearly seen shattering completely under the violent impact, larger fragments tossed around like toys, while smaller parts quickly melted and deformed in the extreme heat beyond melting point.
The Black Hawk, had fallen.
Time seemed to freeze.
The checkpoint was plunged into deathly silence.
Only the increasingly fervent howls of the distant enemy, after realizing what had happened, broke the stillness.
Another "Quick Blade 1-2" rose in panic, turning and desperately fleeing this dangerous airspace.
"There are anti-air missiles on the ground, we must retreat, good luck to you all!"
The people on the helicopter no longer concerned themselves with their comrades on the ground, a brief farewell transmitted over the radio, and the helicopter vanished into the distant darkness.
Sanders stood frozen in place, his hand holding the binoculars dropped weakly.
"Shit! It's over!"
There was no expression on his face, only his pupils contracted violently.
A chilling coldness suddenly swept through his entire body from the soles of his feet, more deadly than any bullet or shrapnel wound.
Hope had arrived so fiercely; yet disappeared just as swiftly and cruelly.
In the sound of an explosion, everything turned to nothing.
Seconds later, Sanders grabbed the radio communicator:
"Thunder Command Center! Thunder Command Center! This is checkpoint number four! Emergency call! 'Quick Blade 1-1' has been shot down! Repeating, 'Quick Blade 1-1' has been shot down by a surface-to-air missile! Crashed approximately 100 meters southeast of our position! Personnel onboard... presumed all perished! 'Quick Blade 1-2' has exited the battlefield! We've lost air support! Repeating, we have lost air support! The situation is extremely critical! We urgently need immediate, effective support! Any form of support!"
He paused, almost through gritted teeth, spat out the ominous military phrase:
"——Black Hawk down, repeat, Black Hawk down."
There was a brief silence on the other side of the radio, with only the weak "zzz" sound of static to be heard.
Obviously, the staff on duty at the Thunder Defense Command in distant Baghdad were also shocked by this sudden bad news.
After a long while, a reply finally came through the radio:
"…Checkpoint Four, received. Confirming… 'Black Hawk down'." Eventually, the voice coming through the radio lost its previous calm and composure, carrying a hint of barely noticeable tremor as if being choked, "Hold on, the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) is on the way. We'll do our best to coordinate... all available resources..."
A few minutes later, at the Hulmatu Command Center.
The calm here was unexpectedly in stark contrast to the inferno-like scene dozens of kilometers away.
Only the occasional scattered battle report transmitted over the radio served as a reminder of the fierce battle raging afar.
The sharp ringing of the dedicated line for the satellite phone abruptly pierced this tranquility.