"Copy that."
The convoy stopped a kilometer from the slaughterhouse, killing all lights. We melted into the darkness like ghosts, three elite teams moving to surround the target from different angles.
This was my handpicked crew, every man battle-tested. Theyunderstood what tonight meant—not just a rescue operation, but a final warning to anyone who dared challenge the Volkov family.
I pulled out my tablet, the screen displaying thermal imaging from our drone. The abandoned slaughterhouse lay exposed—seventeen heat signatures in the main hall, one isolated in the center. Anna.
My heart clenched. Even as just a blurry thermal image, I recognized that silhouette instantly. She was alive, but tied to a chair with six guards surrounding her.
The other ten were scattered throughout the building—two at second-floor windows as sentries, three at the main entrance, the rest on patrol.
"Alpha team through the east entrance, Bravo team takes the high ground, Charlie team with me through the front," I spoke into my earpiece, voice low and controlled. "Objective: rescue the hostage, eliminate all armed hostiles, capture Marcus Warren alive. Action commencing in three, two, one—"
A muffled explosion shattered the night's silence.
The east door blew open with surgical precision, Alpha team pouring through like black shadows. Almost simultaneously, I led Charlie team through the main entrance.
Gunfire erupted instantly, bullets carving deadly paths through the darkness.
I spearheaded the assault, my Glock moving like an extension of my body. Years of training and countless firefights had refined my marksmanship to pure instinct. The first kidnapper who rushed out never got his weapon up before my headshot dropped him. Second, third—every bullet found its mark without waste.
"Sniper, northwest corner!" Bravo team's warning crackled through comms.
"Handled." Less than three seconds later, Bravo's sniper eliminated the threat.
My team moved like a coordinated wolf pack, precise and lethal. These kidnappers were outmatched—too slow, disorganized, like lambs toslaughter.
But I had no time to appreciate the efficiency. My focus held only one target—Anna.
Through a gap in the damaged wall, I spotted her. Even in the dim light, even with her face streaked with dirt and blood, I knew her instantly. She was alive, struggling against her restraints.
"Cover me!" I barked, charging toward Anna's position.
My team immediately laid down suppressing fire, neutralizing all potential threats. I advanced while firing, stepping over kidnapper corpses with each stride. Blood pooled across the concrete floor, the air thick with gunpowder and death.
A bald man suddenly lunged from the shadows, trying to use Anna as a human shield. He roughly grabbed her hair, attempting to haul her upright.
I watched Anna scream in pain, watched her neck forced back at an unnatural angle, watched the terror flood her eyes—in that instant, my control shattered completely.
My bullet obliterated his wrist, bone and flesh exploding under the impact. He shrieked and released her. The next second, another round punched through his chest, then a third, a fourth—I kept firing until his body was mangled beyond recognition, collapsing in a lifeless heap.
"Anna!" I called her name, my voice raw with desperation.
She looked up, surprise and disbelief flickering across her features. Even in this blood-soaked, smoke-filled hell, her gaze made my heart race.
I rushed to her side, dropping to one knee and using my knife to slice through her bonds. The coarse rope had chafed her pale skin raw, blood seeping from the abrasions. Seeing those marks felt like a blade twisting in my chest.
"Alexander..." Her voice was hoarse, but it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here." I pulled her roughly into my arms, shielding her with my body while scanning for remaining threats.
Her body trembled—from fear, from cold. I stripped off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, then held her close.
That's when my peripheral vision caught movement—a kidnapper crouched behind abandoned machinery, raising his weapon to target the defenseless Anna!
Time seemed to freeze.
I had no time to think, no time to calculate. My body reacted on pure instinct.
