Voices flood my earpiece with positions, warnings, and shouted curses, too many at once.
Alina’s voice stands out, giving us information on what the drone sees.
It’s chaos, but Gavriil and I stick close together as we make our way toward the front of the house.
An Irishman bursts out of the house as we step onto the porch and slams into Gavriil, knocking him onto the grass. I whip around and lift my gun to fire at the man’s back, but my finger pauses on the trigger. If the bullet goes through him, it’ll hit Gavriil.
“Fuck,” I grit out as I hurry down the stairs.
Gavriil manages to get a hand free as the Irishman tries to pin him down against the ground. He slams his fist against his jaw, unbalancing him.
I grab the man’s head and twist, breaking his neck and making him slump over Gavriil.
Gavriil throws him off with a grunt. He snatches his gun off the ground next to him.
I reach down and grab his free hand, hauling him to his feet. “Good?”
Gavriil nods and walks past me to lead our group inside of the house, his grip tightening on his gun. “Where’s the drone, Alina?”
“Second floor. There’s heavy fire,” Alina reports. “Two enemies are heading toward the staircase.”
Toward us.
We storm the foyer just as two men rush out of a connected room, one with a knife and one with a gun.
Gavriil grabs my arm and yanks me to the side just as the one with the gun fires at us. The bullet zips past me where my head was just a second ago.
My heart leaps into my throat for a second, but my body reacts naturally. I lunge for the guy with the gun, slamming against him so hard that he drops his weapon.
Gavriil shoots the one with the knife before he can reach me to help his friend, making him drop to the ground with a loud thud. “Up the stairs! We need to help those on the second floor.”
Two of our men rush past us toward the stairs, only to face off with the two enemies who were heading our way. Gunfire rings out as they fight on the steps, the loud bangs filling my ears.
“Damn it,” I grit out as our men take bullets and tumble down the stairs to hit the floor at the bottom.
Gavriil lifts his gun to fire at the one enemy remaining, but it clicks. Empty.
My heart drops as the bastard aims at us. I’m not fast enough to reload and fire first.
But someone else does.
Apopgoes off, and the man flies back against the wall, blood blooming through his shirt.
I turn to see Maximo and a small group of Italians following him through the doorway that leads to the middle and back of the house.
“You have to be faster than that, Morozovs,” he tells us with a cocky grin on his face. “The grounds are clear.”
Gavriil reloads, breathing heavily but steadily. “I need an update from the second floor.”
“Pinned down in the meeting room! We’re running out of ammo!” Petrov says.
“We’re taking fire in the office!” Matvei shouts into the mic.
“There are at least five out in the hallway,” Alina says. “Wait. No, no, no! They shot the drone!” she says, her voice breaking for the first time. “We’re blind now.”
“Fuck,” I say as I turn to Gavriil. “We need to get up there.”
Gavriil nods before looking at Maximo. “Are you with us?”
