In the last issue of Recoil Off-Grid magazine they did a what if involving you and your partner being trapped in Rio during an uprising. I read the three ideas in the magazine and decided as an exercise I would do on of my own, it goes as follows.
I was annoyed already, I hated coming to countries where the government had little power to begin with and Brazil was really going down hill. I had come down for a Security Convention and was anxious to get back home but Eden wanted to enjoy the beaches and some shopping so I had relented. It had been quite apparent that things had gone to shit around Rio and were only getting worse.
The fecal matter impacted the air turbine just as we returned to our hotel from a day of shopping. All around sounds of civil unrest echoed around the big city but the sounds of screams and the chatter of automatic weapons clinched it for me, it was time to go. I hustled Eden up to our hotel room where we quickly changed into our Canadian flag shirts and grabbed a few things.
I wore Under Armour tactical boots in desert tan and a pair of matching cargo pants. Eden wore flip flops and denim shorts as she refused to dress practically. We gathered up our passports and cash, I wasn't too worried about hiding them because I figured anyone willing to rob us would probably also kill us. The news said the rebels were after Americans so I hoped our Canadian shirts would help but wasn't confident.
Both around six foot tall with pale features and bright eyes, her's blue and mine green, there was no way Eden and I would be blending in. Instead I decided to grab the SOG Pentagon Elite 2 I liked to carry everywhere and just hope I didn't need it. I checked my phone and punched in directions for the Canadian Embassy, it was closer than the airport and probably our best bet.
My hopes to leave without a fight were quickly dashed as the sound of screams and gunfire came from just down the hall. I told Eden to lock herself in the bathroom and the hunker down in the tub while I got ready. I latched the door and braced the chair against the handle, they were in the next room now. I pressed my ear to the wall and closed my eyes, there were two of them, both most likely armed and confident about their power.
I crouched down on the right hand side of the door so the door would swing away from me. Without warning the door shook and one of the men outside uttered a stream of what I can only imagine were Portuguese curses. This was followed by the rapid boom of automatic weapons fire punching several holes in the door.
I knew what was coming and prepared myself mentally, I'd never had to kill anyone, hell I'd never been in a fight since High School but I had something these two didn't. I had promised to keep my wife safe no matter what and I wasn't about to let two punks hurt her. The door came flying into the room just as my mind cleared and adrenaline surged into my veins.
The two thugs came into the room right behind the door, missing me entirely as they went for the suitcases still on the bed. The first one in carried an AK47 while his partner had a pistol I couldn't immediately identify, they both wore balaclavas made from T-shirts.
Rising up behind them I stepped up and drove the Pentagon directly into the base of pistol guy's skull, he collapsed immediately without warning but it caught his friend's attention. He turned quickly but the AK was too long and he couldn't bring it to bear before I lunged the three feet between us and tackled him to the floor. At six feet and 230 pounds the little rebel didn't have a chance to stop me, the AK bouncing away on the carpeted floor.
His head bouncing of the bed from left my opponent a little dazed, and hating ground fighting I took the advantage by straddling my heavy frame over the little rebel's chest. Wrapping my left hand around his throat I squeezed, hard. My nails dug into the would be killer's flesh as his eyes bulged and he clawed at my wrist. Realizing I was short on time and his friends may have heard the scuffle I made the decision to finish things by stabbing him in the chest, the shark tooth blade piercing flesh and bone until the struggling stopped.
I looted the corpses for anything I could use, the pistol turned out to be a Glock, not my favourite but it would do. I left the AK but not before bending the barrel against the floor. Two extra mags for the Glock was all I found of use on the two.
I knocked on the bathroom and told Eden she could come out but to keep her eyes closed and I would lead her out of the room. The hotel had gone quiet and I assumed the two here had been the only ones in the hotel. Without a holster to store it in I put the Glock into my waistband between my belt and my pants. The magazines went into a cargo pocket and the knife back into my front right pocket.
Eden came out of the bathroom and we made our way down to the lobby, it was deserted except for the bodies of the staff and a few guests.
Out the main doors I saw a bright orange pickup idling with two more balaclava sporting rebels and told Eden we would head out the back. Once out in the alley we began making our way to the Embassy which my phone said was still eight block away, there was no cell service in the city but I had downloaded the map on the hotel's Wi-Fi. As we reached the edge of the alley I could hear the sounds of chanting and gunfire coming from the street.
Peering around the corner I witnessed a mob of gun toting rebels engaged in a firefight with the Police. I told Eden we would have to find another way, which meant going back down the alley and away from the Embassy. Running as quickly as Eden could in flip flops we headed for the other end of the alley.
A guy in a VW bus was at the end of the alley, he waved to us and called out "Americans?" I shook my head and replied "Canadians!" He nodded and motioned for us to get in, which we quickly obliged as another truck loaded with masked man came around the corner a few blocks down.
Eden sat behind the driver and I sat kitty corner to him as I pulled the door shut. Without prompting the driver took off and headed down the street. Showing the driver my phone I said "Embaixada do Canada."
He nodded and immediately took off in the opposite direction of the Embassy. I looked at Eden shook my head and pulled the Pentagon from my pocket, opening it as quietly as possible. The driver turned left into a park and stopped under a tree. The van wasn't completely stopped as his upper body turned, the left hand bringing the concealed pistol to bear on us.
Using my left hand I reached out and half cocked the pistol, jamming it, my right swung up and speared the knife through the driver's left wrist. I followed the swing all the way up until the knife pierced the van's roof, I pulled the pistol from his grasp as I did so. To my great surprise Eden cold cocked the driver, an audible crack followed by a steady stream blood from his nose.
I handed Eden the driver's Tokarev and pulled the Glock from my belt, the driver had begun screaming. As the tears from his broken nose cleared the driver realized he was staring down the barrel of my borrowed Glock and he became very silent. I pulled the Pentagon out of his wrist and told him to "get the fuck out." I don't know if he understood the words or the tone but he left the van in a hurry.
Eden and I climbed into the front seats of the van and I swung us around and headed back towards the Embassy. As we got closer to the road again I cleared the jammed Tokarev and handed it to Eden, who was usually pretty anti gun but she took it without question. The streets were choked with fires, vehicles, and bodies but I was able to find us a clear path to the Embassy without anymore trouble.
I rolled to stop and advised Eden to get out but leave the gun in the van as we approached the embassy.
We approached the embassy with our hands up and a big clean cut man carrying an MP5 approached and said "are you two Canadian?" I nodded and held out our passports. "Well you're just in time, everyone is leaving." We followed the Embassy guard to a waiting helicopter.
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