“Nice,” Drew said between coughs.
Kael’s voice was dry.“He’s compensating.”
Over the comm, Torch whooped.“Two birds, one boom!”
Drew followed Kael along the south wall of the warehouse.“How do you feel about Torch blowing the shit out of the compound?”
Kael’s rifle hit his shoulder before barking again, the groan of a man injured music to Drew’s ears.“I’d be pissed if he were.Our Mother Earth,Papahanaumokuakeameans too damn much to us to scar her permanently.Nah, he’s just using precision blasts from both flash bangs and concussion grenades.The man’s a fucking artist with those suckers.”
Luka cut in.“More inbound from the east—three trucks, ETA two minutes.I’ll jam their comms.”
Kael swore softly.“You heard him.We hold until the others close ranks.”He risked a glance around the truck.“Four hostiles in the open, two more flanking left.Reef?”
“On it.”
Gunfire popped again, closer now.Drew’s pulse thundered.He pivoted, dropped one with a clean headshot.Another came in low, weapon raised, but Drew fired through the man’s shoulder and watched him spin out of sight.
“Still think we should’ve gone back to sleep.Left these dumbasses to the rest of the team” Drew muttered.
Kael smirked.“You’d miss the excitement.”
“Yeah, my idea of excitement involves fewer bullets.”
Kael keyed the mic.“Torch, detonate anything near the north gate.”
“Gladly.”
The explosion lit up the compound like daylight, throwing silhouettes across the walls.One of the attackers screamed—a raw, awful sound that cut off too fast.
“Surge!”Luka’s voice jumped back into the comm.“Got confirmation—three trucks neutralized.But I’ve got movement near the cliffs.Ten—no, twelve bodies still on the ground.They’re regrouping.”
“Understood,” Kael said.“We hold them here.”He looked at Drew.“Ready?”
Drew nodded.“Always.”
They broke from cover, sprinting across open ground toward the main gate.The air reeked of burning fuel and cordite.A spray of gunfire chased them, bits of stone and metal biting into their legs, and a pained groan through their comms had Kael cursing.Drew returned fire mid-stride, catching a man square in the chest.
Kael vaulted a low wall and landed in a crouch beside him.“Reef, status!”
Static answered, then Reef’s strained voice.“Hit—calf.I’m good.It’s bleeding like a bitch, but I’m still fighting.”
Drew’s chest clenched.Reef might be his 2IC, but he was also the youngest of them.The thought of him down twisted Drew’s gut.
“Stay with me, Reef,” Kael snapped.“Torch, cover him!”
“Copy that,”Torch replied.“Will head his way now, will take out any fucker who stands between me and mine.”
Gunfire flared again.Kael’s hand brushed Drew’s arm, grounding him.“We need to push forward.Aunty’s still in their hands.”
“Then let’s go get her.”
They moved like ghosts, cutting across the smoke-drenched yard.The floodlights were still off, but the faint gleam of metal and fire guided their path.Every breath burned, every muscle thrummed.
Then Drew saw it—a flicker of movement from the roof line of the command center, a glint of glass.“Sniper,” he hissed.How in the hell had the bastard gotten up there?
Kael reacted instantly, shoving him down as a bullet tore through the air where Drew’s head had been.It ricocheted off a post, showering sparks.
“Talk to me, Breaker,” Kael barked.
