Chapter 14: The Crucible of Fire
Chapter 14: The Crucible of Fire
I kicked the steel side door with the flat of my boot, shattering the locking mechanism, and stepped into the warehouse.
"Hello, Elias," I called out, my voice booming across the cavernous space.
Thorne whipped around, his eyes narrowing as he recognized me. Four heavily armed Syndicate mercenaries immediately stepped out from the shadows, raising their weapons.
"Sarah," Thorne smiled, an unsettling, reptilian grin. "You saved me the trouble of hunting you down. How considerate."
"You shouldn't have sent your dogs to my house, Elias. You woke my daughter," I said, raising the HK416.
Before Thorne could issue an order, I squeezed the trigger. The suppressed rifle chattered in my hands. The two mercenaries on the left dropped before they could even aim, their body armor useless against armor-piercing rounds to the throat.
The warehouse erupted into chaos. The remaining mercenaries opened fire. The deafening roar of unsuppressed automatic weapons filled the air, sparking against the steel shipping containers I was using for cover.
"Flank her!" Thorne barked, diving behind a forklift.
I tossed a frag grenade over the top of the container. It detonated with a concussive boom, sending shrapnel tearing through the metal and taking out a third mercenary.
I sliced the corner, engaging the fourth man. We traded fire, his bullets sparking off the concrete inches from my face. I aimed low, taking out his knee, and finished him with a double-tap as he fell.
The warehouse fell eerily silent, save for the rhythmic pinging of hot brass on the concrete and Vance's ragged breathing.
I moved methodically toward the center of the room. Suddenly, a massive shadow lunged from atop a shipping container. It was Thorne’s lieutenant—a mountain of a man named Krueger, armed with a heavy combat shotgun.
I raised my rifle, but Krueger swung the butt of the shotgun, smashing the HK416 out of my hands. The impact sent a shock of pain up my arm. He lunged forward, grabbing me by the plate carrier, and hurled me across the floor. I skidded across the rough concrete, the breath knocked out of my lungs.
Krueger racked the shotgun, aiming it at my chest.
I rolled violently to the right as the blast pulverized the concrete where I had just been laying. Drawing the Glock from my holster, I fired three rounds into Krueger's chest. He stumbled, the Kevlar absorbing the hits, and charged like a wounded bear.
He tackled me, his massive hands wrapping around my throat, squeezing the life out of me. Black spots danced in my vision. I dropped the gun, reaching down to my thigh rig. I unsheathed my combat knife, gripped it with both hands, and drove it deep into the soft tissue of Krueger's armpit, bypassing his armor.
He roared in agony, releasing his grip. I twisted the blade, kicked him off me, and retrieved my Glock, putting a final round through his visor.
Gasping for air, I stood up and rushed over to Vance. I quickly sliced the heavy zip-ties binding him to the chair.
"You look like hell, Vance," I breathed, hauling his heavy arm over my shoulder.
"You shouldn't have come, Sarah," Vance coughed, blood spilling from his lips. "It's a trap."
"What do you mean?"
Before Vance could answer, Thorne's voice echoed through the warehouse public address system, dripping with malice.
"Did you really think I brought you here to kill you, Sarah? I know you're a creature of habit. I know JSOC protocols. I knew exactly which secure bunker you would stash your precious little girl in."
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My blood ran completely cold.
"While you were busy playing hero," Thorne's voice taunted, "my secondary team was busy cracking the bunker codes. I’m looking at her through the security feed right now. Beautiful child. Pity."
