by Sara Schoen
“What about Rum and the others? If she’s alive she needs help! More agents came in to help us finish this mission and now I may have lost one of them!”
He grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look into his eyes. “You can’t think about that right now. They have a job to do, which they agreed to or they wouldn’t have come. If they are half as good as you claim them to be then they’ll be fine, but if they are out there risking their lives for our mission and we fail, then Rum just lost her life for nothing. So focus, and let’s get this done. Rum would want you to finish this! You can save more of them by moving and eliminating this cartel for good.”
I nodded and pulled my weapon from my side, forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. We had to eliminate the upper level members, prevent them from coming back, and end this cartel for good. I just had to focus. Can I do that knowing I may have gotten a friend killed just so I could have my revenge? I shook my head to get rid of that thought, I’d have plenty of time later to deal with the guilt. “Let’s finish this.”
He led the way to the compound and up to the top floor. Smoke began to fill the hallways, small fires cast a glow in the offices, and every once in a while a bomb exploded in the distance, inching it’s way closer and closer to us. It looked as if some of the offices had started to be destroyed, which meant some of the upper levels may have already began their escape routes, but I doubted they’d make it far with Sandstorm and I looking for them. He’s been here long enough to know the plan for an attack and where they would go in the event of one.
“Follow me,” he ordered, leading me down a few hallways and through the building.
As we passed a window, I noticed planes, a lot of them, coming in and looking to land. Stopping in my tracks, I turned to take it all in. Planes, at least fifteen of them, close by and more in the distance. I noted two helicopters thrown into the mix as I looked through the planes. My gaze fell onto a familiar symbol, a red star on the right wing of one of the medium-sized planes. I’d recognize that logo anywhere after riding with Maverick for so long. He’s come with reinforcements. Maybe he’s not so bad after all.
The planes must have come from CIRA. Sharp Shooter did more than send in backup, it looked like he sent the entire agency. Everyone available must have been pulled to need this many planes. I silently thanked Sharp Shooter for sending them, all of them. While I may have wanted to do this alone, it had become clear that I had bit off way more than I could chew. I wouldn’t have even made it this far if Rum and Siren hadn’t shown up, and Sandstorm and I would have no one to keep the distraction going outside. With this many agents, we actually had a fighting chance. A chance to finish this for good. I stood watching as a few figures leapt from the planes, their parachutes releasing a few seconds later. It wasn’t long until a wave of agents followed, jumping from the planes and falling toward the ground, speckling the sky with parachutes.
“What are you doing? We have a job to do. Where is your head today, Spit Fire?” Sandstorm reached to grab me again, but stopped as he caught sight of our back up. “Wow. I haven’t seen this many agents in my life. Glad to see someone on your team had the sense to call for backup. I wouldn’t have done it, but that’s because I’ve been alone for too long.”
His tone was heartbreaking. He didn’t rely on other agents because he never had them before. Now he was trusting me, my friends, and whoever Sharp Shooter could send to this disaster area. We needed all the help we could get, I thought as another bomb went off. This time it was too close for comfort. Our building shook as a fire burst came from the building beside us, shattering the glass in front of us and causing Sandstorm to cover me by crashing us both onto the floor. We waited a few moments while glass surrounded us and until the building stopped shaking. He got up and offered me a hand, which I took gratefully.
“No more playing around,” he said focusing on me. “According to you, we have a lot of good agents out there. So let’s work fast and end this sooner rather than later. I’d prefer to hear complaints about someone not getting to fight than us losing agents. Are you ready for this?”
“Let’s go,” I answered before racing down the hallway toward the main offices.
Sandstorm was right on my heels as I turned the corner to where the upper level offices were. A few more fires had broken out, but it looked like most of the bombs hadn’t been set off in this area yet. We approached each door with weapons drawn. Sandstorm whispered to tell me there were fourteen upper level members. He had eliminated four on his way to get me when he ran into them serendipitously. That left ten for us to handle, but he assumed a few would be with Harley as extra guards.
As we neared one office, two men came running out and straight at us. They stopped dead in their tracks, eyes wide with fear. One fumbled for his weapon for a moment before Sandstorm raised his gun and shot him expertly between the eyes. I killed the other without hesitation. Eight more to go.
The gun shots had drawn attention to us, sending more of the upper levels out of their offices. I couldn’t help but wonder what Harley’s orders were, because it seemed like they were supposed to burn down their offices, but why? Sandstorm fired his weapon three times in quick succession, interrupting my thoughts and forcing me to refocus. Now wasn’t the time to be lost in my thoughts. I leveled my weapon on one of the members, who was aiming to take out Sandstorm, and ended his life before turning to his friend. Four more to go.
“We knew you’d come eventually, but you’re shit out of luck. Harley is already gone. He’s in position before every trade just in case. We were one step ahead of you this time! He’ll bring it back and kill you all.”
I blinked, unmoved by the cartel member’s speech. I lifted my gun and allowed a smile to take over my features. “He’ll have to get through his own stepdaughter first, and I plan on killing him today. The Cardoza Cartel is done, and I’ll make sure it’s dead and buried for good, along with its leaders.” I noticed the shock on the member’s feature’s at my words before I squeezed the trigger and shot him. Only three left. “What do we do now, Sandstorm? We need to find Harley before he escapes. Where would he go?
“I don’t know. You need to find out fast though because if he’s this prepared, he has an escape planned and it’s going to get him out of here. I’ll find the rest of the upper level members, if they’re even still in the building, and maybe take out a few of the lower level members while I’m at it. You find Harley and kill the bastard for us.” He leaned down and picked up a weapon from one of the dead cartel members. He looked it over quickly before handing it to me. “End this for all of us who have been affected by this cartel, and for yourself. I’ll see you once it’s done, and I don’t want to see you a moment before then. Actually, just don’t show your face if you don’t kill him.” A soft smile curved at the edges of his lips before he waved me off. “Now go. I’d start with his office at the end of the hall and figure out which way he went. There’s a lot of room to cover and we don’t have much time left if he has a head start on us.”
I nodded, taking the weapon from him, before running off without another word. I’d had a slow start, but now my mind was buzzing. I had a mission, and I was willing to bet on my life that I’d finish it and Harley.
Chapter 26
I rushed through the building as the sound of gunfire pummeled my ear drums, covering up the thuds from the fighting on the floors beneath me. There were a few familiar voices giving orders, and others calling for help. I didn’t stop to assist, instead I kept my pace toward Harley’s office. I had to find something that would lead me to him, though as I rounded the corner I didn’t see that being possible. The office was torn to pieces. It looked as if they had used one of the small bombs on Harley’s office. There weren’t any fire’s going, but most of it looked burnt to a crisp and I didn’t have time to sift through it all to look through the drawers in his desk or go through his files, not that I would be likely to find anything anyway. I’d have to come back later, if I somehow surviv
ed this, to see what he had tried to get rid of.
Unsure of where to go, I headed back down the same hallway I came down. There seemed to be only one way out, so I had to take it if I wanted to find Harley. The top floor had a look out over the bottom floor where, from what I had seen, was where Harley would give his speeches. From up there I could see more agents streaming in, taking the fight to the small band of cartel members who hadn’t been outside for the transport. The windows provided a great view of a desolate and disturbing scene. Heavy losses on both sides, cartel members and agents dead and dying on the ground. A few agents continued to fight until their last breath, and I could make out at least one roll over and shoot at the remaining cartel members to save a few friends.
“We need help and we need it fast,” someone said, voicing my thoughts exactly. “I don’t care how rough the landing is, or how you have to convince the airports nearby to let you land, or even what hospitals you have to take these agents to, but you better get those planes back here now or you’ll lose half of us!”
I looked through the chaos of bodies and bullets to find an agent I had only heard of and seen in passing a few times; Valkyrie. She remained off to the side, talking into a radio or a phone. I was too far to tell for certain, but I could see the blood pooling on the side of her shirt and then again on her leg. She must have taken a few bullets, and had to be in monumental pain. Bullet wounds weren’t a walk in the park, in fact, most were unbearably painful, crippling even. Not that any agent would let that on, I’d seen some up and walking around a few hours after they were shot and Valkyrie was no different.
“Did you hear me, Aces? I said now!” she screamed into the device. “We’ve taken care of the outside, and there are a few agents left to keep you guys protected, but I swear to God if you don’t get here soon with some other pilot and start rounding up agents, CIRA won’t have enough bodies to continue missions for the next year!” She lifted her gun and killed a cartel member who was outside running after another agent. They exchanged a short glance before the other agent went back to fighting with the remaining two cartel members.
A few punches were thrown, and I noticed why when two guns slid just out of reach before the agent took out a knife and killed one of the cartel members on the spot. The remaining member rushed toward the gun, and leveled it at the agent, to which Valkyrie struck again and killed the final cartel member.
I glanced back in her direction just in time to see another member attempting to sneak up behind her. Her partner was distracted dealing with another person, and assumed his friend would be safe. She didn’t even know he was behind her because she was focusing on keeping the other agent safe. Without thinking, I leapt from the second floor overlook, landing on my feet and ignoring the shocks of pain shooting up my legs before I rushed the cartel member. She turned, showing off who it was. The original Macy had finally made her triumphant return, I thought as I raised my gun and shot her in the thigh. She crumpled to the ground gripping her leg, dropping the gun, and screaming in pain. Valkyrie glanced at the scene then nodded to me in thanks before she shot another cartel member limping into the building. Slowly, one by one, they’d all be done for.
“You should have stayed in the police station. It’s a pity you had to come back. Let me guess, you told Harley we were here.” I took a few steps toward her, watching her movements carefully in case she drew another weapon. Inching my way forward, I used my foot to slide the gun away from her. These people weren’t trained, they weren’t prepared. What was Harley thinking trying to use them to attack CIRA? He should have known it would have gone this way. Something didn’t seem right. Even for a ragtag group, they should have had some kind of training. This was almost too easy.
She glared up at me before spiting in my direction. “You’re damn right I did. He’s gone by now so everything you did was for nothing. He’ll rebuild again, and then he’ll finish you guys off for good.”
“Any way you’ll tell me where he is for a chance to live to see another day?” I questioned, kneeling down on one knee whilst leveling my gun at her for extra motivation on her part. I didn’t need to ask the question, the answer was in her eyes and it was a definite no, but I’d rather have someone give me information than try to track him down myself and fail.
“No, so you may as well kill me now. I’d never give him up, just like he wouldn’t risk letting this cartel die.”
“Great, you’ve either been brainwashed or you’re extremely stupid and willing to believe anything. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt because I know he’s charismatic when it comes to women, but don’t kid yourself, he doesn’t care about you at all. He’s running to save his own skin because he knows I’m after him. He’s known for a while, and he was willing to bring the fight to me to end it. I guess he didn’t expect me to chase him down before he had the chance. You should have run while you could.” I pulled the trigger, effectively ending her life in less than a second, but it felt like the bullet went in slow motion as it pierced her skin and burrowed into her heart. At least it was quick. Some members wouldn’t get so lucky depending on the agents who got to them first.
“Brutal and savage. I like it,” Valkyrie stated, letting a soft laugh out before cringing in pain. “Sorry, I’m in rough shape. I ran into the line of fire of a couple of men protecting some guy, heading that way.” She pointed to the hallway where Macy had come from. “I think there’s another exit back there, or at least a place for them to hide until this is all over. I wanted to give chase, but I can’t even walk. It hurts too badly, and by the time Havoc got here to help me I was surrounded.”
“Do you know what he looked like? The guy they were protecting, I mean.”
“He had salt and pepper hair, tall, lean, dark eyes. Frankly he looked like any other guy I’ve seen and killed today, just a little bit older.” She paused for a moment, her features contouring in pain before she relaxed slightly. “Oh, and he had this scar on the side of his neck. I was aiming for it before his guards took me down.” She raised her gun again as more cartel members rushed in, but this time the gun didn’t fire.
A deafening and deadly click sounded, signaling that the ammo had run out and she was out of protection, if Havoc and I hadn’t been here she would’ve been a goner. Four cartel members came in, blasting away at all of us. Havoc dodged the downpour of bullets from two of the cartel members by ducking behind a wall and taking aim carefully. The other two aimed in my direction. I ducked behind the corner Valkyrie was leaning on, and fired off a few shots to eliminate them. I missed one guy, and he shot Valkyrie again. She cried out and Havoc took the final shot, killing them on the spot.
“Valkyrie, are the medics on their way?” Havoc asked, limping his way toward us. From the looks of it, he had taken a bullet in the leg, most likely before he could jump behind a wall for protection. “You’re going to need a doctor and fast. Your bleeding is getting worse and staying out in the open like this isn’t helping.”
“Aces says he’s coming back and they’ll start medevac’ing people out of here. I don’t know how far they are, but I’m going to make it,” Valkyrie stated adamantly.
“Tell me more about this guy, what did the scar look like?” I asked, forcing her attention back to me. “Did it look like an ‘X’?”
Her eyes lit up in realization. “Yes, that’s exactly what it looked like. At first I thought it was a cross, but I thought it was ironic a cartel member would have one. They claim to find God, yet lead people to their deaths.” She scoffed, which made Havoc smile, until she winced in pain again. She took in a labored breath then grit her teeth to hold back the tears that filled her eyes.
I had only been hit by a few bullets in my lifetime, and after the initial burst of pain it only got worse. She needed whatever energy she was using to talk to me to focus on keeping herself alive, so I cut the conversation short. “Thanks, Valkyrie. I have to go find him. That was their leader, so if we don’t want to do this again then I have to take him out
before the medics start coming in. I’ll leave you in Havoc’s hands.”
“No, you won’t. If medics are coming then Havoc, you have to make sure to eliminate the remaining cartel members. We can’t have any of the medical team getting taken out. Grab those guns on the floor and give them to me. I’ll kill any cartel personnel I see from right here, even if it means sniping a few at a questionable distance.” Havoc nodded and went to collect the guns. She forced a smile in my direction before she continued. “You should go find that jackass, and while you’re at it, do me a favor and kill the asshole who shot up my leg and then one up him for me. A bullet to the heart or head ought to do it.”
“I can do that without a problem,” I promised. “Good luck, Valkyrie.”
“I don’t need luck, I have aim and one good arm. I can still shoot these assholes no problem.” She smiled wide as Havoc brought her a choice of four guns before he took two of them and ran toward the building next door to take care of any straggling cartel members. I followed his movements until I caught motion out of the back window of the compound. A familiar figure with greying hair crossed behind the compound. He was about hundred feet away, probably laying low during the fire fight and then using Macy as a distraction so he could escape, like the coward he is, while the people he led were being killed. Soon he’d join them and regret messing with my birth family and attempting to go after my CIRA family.
Without another word in Valkyrie’s direction, I went out the way Valkyrie had directed me and prepared to hunt down the man who started all of this. Time to pay up, Harley, and it’s long overdue.
Chapter 27
Valkyrie had been right, there was another way out at the end of the hallway. There was a door hidden that was difficult to see, even when you knew it was there. It was shrouded in darkness and locked tight. That is until I shot the lock and forced it open. I didn’t have time to waste dealing with a door. Harley was getting away and the more time I wasted the more distance he put between us. Thankfully there was only one door, I didn’t want to waste anymore bullets until I had Harley and his men in my sights. Though I hoped Harley would get the blade of a knife through his chest instead of a bullet; it was more personal.