Master of Council Puppets

Here we go again. Another very important person to the Council - General Van Doorn - got lost somewhere in burning Baltimore, Maryland of the US of A. Since we had spare time from alien abductions, terror jobs and whatnot, it was an easy choice between yes and yes for an answer to this call. Aliens had bombarded a bridge halfway down and the general was pinned somewhere within. The team did not waste time and brought two snipers to go with. Snake Catcher needed field missions as well and this seemed the perfect job for that.

On the upper end things stayed relatively easy, and another military person knew as much as the general being in a tough spot somewhere within the collapsed middle part. Yet, he was easily located by Snake Catcher and quickly secured by Broden and Ironside.

[TACTICAL COMMS TRANSCRIPT]

Broden: Got him, securing the route back to the extraction point.

XCOM Central: Affirmative. Bring him in.

Broden: Sir! You have to reach that plateau, we will cover these thin men over here.

Van Doorn: Check that, on the move.

Broden: Sir! The high plateau, not the one in the open!

Van Doorn: What do you mea--

Sureshot: Popping smoke, cover him!

[TRANSCRIPT ENDS]

Sureshot covered the general with a smoke, but the thin man from far ahead and from higher ground did not miss. Van Doorn collapsed in the middle of the smoke and the mission changed from escort to extraction. A few thin men proved no resistance to the seasoned team, but getting back alive from Baltimore still meant answering to some of the Council's less attractive questions.

Council report for the month proved much more promising, however. European panic level had decreased , but the next hot area would inevitably be North America.