Chapter 12 - Smoke and Shrapnel
The lights flickered and died, plunging the main corridor into darkness before the secondary battery backup kicked in with a harsh, flickering hum.
“Breach! Breach on sub-level one!” an operative shouted over the comms network.
“Marcus, secure Daniel and get him to the secondary armored transport in the lower garage,” I ordered, sliding behind a concrete reinforcement pillar with my rifle raised. “Maya, stay close to Marcus. Do not look back.”
“I’m not running, Colonel,” Maya snapped, grabbing a heavy-duty tactical flashlight and a discarded sidearm from the armory rack with surprising familiarity. “Your brother taught me how to shoot, remember? Not just how to block with a mop handle.”
I didn’t have time to argue. Footsteps—fast, calculated, and heavy—pounded down the concrete stairs.
A flash-bang grenade clattered around the corner, illuminating the corridor in a blinding white glare accompanied by a deafening screech.
Bang.
I fired three controlled rounds down the hallway, hearing the satisfying thud of body armor absorbing kinetic impact as the lead operator stumbled back.
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“Move! Move!” I yelled, covering Marcus as he scooped a sleeping Daniel into his arms, racing down the secondary service tunnel toward the garage while Maya covered our flank with precise, suppressive bursts of fire.
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