Our black SUV pulled over in the forest, two hundred yards from the fence that encircled the Teta-2 factory. It was a huge production facility with several buildings surrounded by a barbed-wire fence with CCTV cameras. The cameras were sending the feed through a wireless connection which allowed Mike to hack it while he was still in the car. He looped the camera footage, making sure the guards couldn’t watch the territory in real time. Then we got out of the SUV and headed for the fence, a short run at a time. Every one of us was dressed in a protective paladin suit and had night vision goggles. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAaVc41NMR3L
The fence was not a problem for us, so three minutes after arriving at the site, we were already standing in front of the rear exit of the building we needed. A rather serious lock was installed on the door but Stoker knew his oats. A few minutes more and the door was opened. There was total darkness inside. Rettle had already advanced about ten feet deeper into the building. Mike and I went right after him. Fleming and Stoker followed us at a small distance. A hardly audible click of the lock being closed was heard. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAgEoSmAzOjR
Such a seemingly insignificant thing, but Rettle’s battle instincts sounded the alarm at once. Without turning back, he seized me and Mike and pushed us forward so strongly and abruptly that both of us fell on the floor and slid several more feet by inertia. At that moment the air exploded with thunder blasts. Rettle whipped out his gun, turned back and, pushing off the floor, started to fall on his back simultaneously shooting at the unknown enemy. The coach didn’t even have time to notice the attackers. He only heard the sounds of shots being fired but it was enough for him. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAS1yjT1sLtn
Unfortunately, Rettle only had two hands. He managed to keep me and Mike out of the line of fire, but Stoker and Fleming stayed where they were pierced by the bullets. Several bullets hit the coach himself. The armor on his chest did its job, but one bullet pierced into his less protected thigh and, although superficially, but still damaged the muscle. The other one scratched his neck, leaving a horizontal strip of instantly caked black blood. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAWPJVrQv9z2
Suddenly someone hit the switch and the whole room lit up with a hundred lamps. I went blind at once – the light, increased manifold by the night vision, almost burned my eyes. Rettle foresaw this turn of events as well and got rid of the goggles beforehand. He fired several more shots, each hitting the target. This time, in the light, he managed to distinguish the attackers. Five dead bodies of the security guards were lifelessly dangling from the ropes, fastened to the ceiling beams. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAULRRBQp4VO
It was a trap. Trained killers who chose the optimum position for the attack – right near the entrance above the heads of their future victims – had been waiting for us. Even Rettle himself didn’t think of turning around and looking up. The moment we came inside, someone closed the door behind and the killers started to shoot us in the backs. It was a perfect plan. Everything should have been over in several seconds so that the uninvited guests wouldn’t even have had time to resist. However, Primes didn’t consider one thing – how good Rettle was.21Please respect copyright.PENANAyfTzf9pFd9
After dealing with the attackers the coach got to his feet and ran up to me and Mike. I was still lying on the floor, covering my burnt eyes with my hands. Rettle helped me to my feet, “Let’s get out of here. It's a trap. I killed the first squad but they’ll send someone else,” Rettle’s voice remained unalterably calm even in this situation. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAJUdDUsP15a
“Where’s Stoker and Fleming?” asked Mike, trying to look around. His eyesight was gradually returning to him but everything was still blurry. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAAslWLP8bfW
“Dead. We should go.”21Please respect copyright.PENANAFmduQHnjeO
Rettle ran forward holding us by the arms. The side door burst open. The coach pushed me and Mike forward again, turned and fired several shots into the chest of the entrant. The fallen security guard was followed by the whole squad. All of them were equipped like spec ops soldiers with helmets with bulletproof glass visors and armor vests with protective stand-up collars. There was nothing left for Rettle to do but shoot at less protected arms and legs.21Please respect copyright.PENANAOkTaGMPimr
The coach shut the door to hinder the squad at least for several seconds and looked around. He was standing next to the huge tanks with blood, allocated for bottling. Rettle fired a full magazine at them. Strong jets of red liquid gushing out under big pressure flew in every direction. The coach reloaded the gun and threw it to Mike.21Please respect copyright.PENANAFrzCt4ebBm
“Fight your way forward. I’ll follow you. Aim for the legs.”21Please respect copyright.PENANAGrfKN79XaL
The sounds of the doors opening and the loud footsteps of heavy military boots were heard from different directions. The nighttimer squads surrounded us from all sides. Mike started shooting with both hands. I followed suit. The guards were falling one by one, hit in the legs. But they were still alive and continued returning fire while lying on the floor. Rettle took his shiny black wakizashi swords from behind his back.21Please respect copyright.PENANAv6odjdJ9Xh
The coach started dashing from side to side like a tornado, swinging his blades insanely fast. The trick with the tanks was a great idea. Jets of blood got on the visors of guards’ helmets and the puddles of red liquid already spread all over the floor, made them slip and fall. Wakizashi blades cut into flesh and even pierced through the armor vests. 21Please respect copyright.PENANARriCZSGpTX
During this mad hack and slash, Rettle got several more injuries. One bullet went into his left shoulder, the other one passed through his shin, and two at once scratched his face. The most successful one managed to damage his right ear. Not less than a dozen shots were received by the armor of his suit. The coach continued fighting heedless of the wounds.21Please respect copyright.PENANAMaZt48urYB
Just a few minutes later the shop floor became decorated with twelve dead bodies. The black blood of the dead guards became fluid after contacting with silver in Rettle’s blades and was spreading over the tiles. It was meeting with red human blood, yet wasn’t mixing with it but forming fanciful patterns. Red and black blots and drips on the white tiles now looked like Jackson Pollock canvas. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAZqUpFiqu1S
After repelling another attack Rettle leaned over to one of the prostrate enemies intending to take away his rifle but was stopped by the hail of bullets. The guards didn’t risk coming closer anymore and were now firing through the doorway. The coach had to retreat. Rettle reached the staircase to the second floor, under which was the finished product storage area. Here, between the racks, Mike and I were holding the line.21Please respect copyright.PENANAYCUXxejI1z
The guards changed their tactics. Now they started pelting the room with smoke grenades. Rettle gave his last spare magazine to Mike.21Please respect copyright.PENANA7iEyw6uSix
“How many left?” he asked.21Please respect copyright.PENANA0pyD3DJhJt
“Two cartridges,” replied Mike.21Please respect copyright.PENANA4dTVM7zhXb
“I’ve got three,” said I. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAopv1yIGneJ
Rettle looked around. The stairs under which we were sitting were on the north side of the building, while the enemy’s squad gathered on the south side. Out of his waistband, he pulled a small С4 bar, which he took in case we wouldn’t manage to poison the blood storage. Rettle gave Mike the remote control to activate the detonator.21Please respect copyright.PENANAYC5VKy09u9
“Give me your gun. Hide in the farthest corner of the storage area. I’ll go to the second floor. They’ll follow me. The moment the last one draws level with the wall, press the button. The explosion will kill a couple of them and damage the stairs, so they won’t be able to follow you.”21Please respect copyright.PENANAG4ipWwZfIK
“And what about you?” asked I.21Please respect copyright.PENANAwQ0dedKTY4
“I will hold out for some time.” 21Please respect copyright.PENANAC1fMQjo4vD
Noticing the doubt in my eyes Rettle added, “Go to the headquarters. Take Lumberjack, Geek and as many weapons as you can. I’ll manage to wait for you. Tactical retreat, Sam. Remember, what I taught you.” 21Please respect copyright.PENANA67v4EochHE
I understood that Rettle was going to sacrifice himself for the sake of me and Mike, but the words about tactical retreat planted hope in my heart. “If we hurry we’ll be able to return in half an hour or even twenty minutes,” I thought. “There are grenade launchers, machine guns and sniper rifles in the armory. The four of us together with such weapons will manage to blow the whole plant apart.” And I knew how good Rettle was. For half an hour he could hold out against the whole army! I reached out and shook the coach’s hand hard.21Please respect copyright.PENANApk7IRXi10t
“We’ll come back for you, my friend,” Mike shook Rettle’s hand too. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAbDAz4lyRSB
The coach nodded slightly and ran upstairs, firing two last shots on his way to draw the guards’ attention to himself. The trick worked. The nighttimer squad followed him. In the smoke that filled almost the whole space, the guards didn’t notice us, hiding among the racks, and went past a С4 lying on the floor near the wall. Mike counted fifteen guardsmen and when the last of them took a step upstairs he pressed the detonator button. There was a massive explosion, with at least three guards thrown up to the very ceiling. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAS7BNuoGikD
We rushed to the exit. The SUV, in which the last guard squad drove to the building, was parked outside. Mike jumped behind the wheel, I sat in the front. Scattering lumps of turf from under its wheels, the car crossed the factory’s territory at a high speed and, ramming the barrier, darted out through the main gate. The guards at the security gatehouse reacted immediately, and a few seconds later the very same two SUVs were already scouring after us. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAaiLoltLLMW
Mike drove into the highway. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAW1EOhWLE2j
“Move to the back seat and try to shoot those bastards,” he told me.21Please respect copyright.PENANAJXIixqoXDx
I could already see the guards’ faces in the car following us. I aimed and fired a shot right through the glass. But the glass remained intact.21Please respect copyright.PENANAWJXmNYObEI
“I've got good news and bad news,” I spoke to Mike. “Our car is armored. But they’ve got the same cars so I can’t kill anyone.” 21Please respect copyright.PENANABLN1NcslKF
Mike pressed the button, opening the trunk. I still shot at the driver of the pursuing car once, just in case, but the bullet only left spider web cracks on the windshield.21Please respect copyright.PENANA7Dh2Kuzo36
“Aim for the wheels,” Mike shouted. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAY8aC7218ZQ
To take better aim I crawled into the trunk and started shooting. The car drove at a speed not less than 70 miles an hour and the condition of the road left much to be desired. Every now and then I was thrown up and down and shaken from side to side. At least seven of my shots missed the target. The eighth and ninth got into the left wheel. But nothing happened. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAFy5EYaXcWb
“They’ve got run-flats, shooting is useless,” shouted I, turning to Mike. 21Please respect copyright.PENANA7nAXSj9qOm
At the same moment, the bullet hit the lid of the opened trunk. I lay on the floor, hiding behind the side of the car. The guard in the front seat of the pursuing car leaned out of the window and started shooting. I returned fire. The enemy’s bullets left several holes in the back seats, however, my next shot got right into the guard’s forehead. The dead body remained half-hanging out of the window. I looked at my gun. Its slide went all the way back which meant that there were no cartridges left in the magazine anymore.21Please respect copyright.PENANA94fD6CnfdN
“I've got good news and bad news,” I shouted to Mike. “The good one – I’ve killed one of them. The bad one – we’ve run out of cartridges.” 21Please respect copyright.PENANAfgMsbxxyIN
“Well, let’s try it another way,” replied Mike. “I only need to wait for the right car.”21Please respect copyright.PENANAp4e3USI0BF
By that moment, our SUV had already been tearing along the highway at the speed of not less than 90 miles an hour. Trucks, passenger cars, and family vans drove past us in the oncoming traffic lane, and finally, a Volvo XC90 came our way. It was a rather heavy but not too heavy car. When it almost went past us, Mike sharply yanked the wheel to the left. Our SUV rammed into the Volvo’s left fender. Under the blow, the car turned and crashed into the SUV, pursuing us. 21Please respect copyright.PENANA8yVl0yZj2r
“One is done!” shouted I happily. 21Please respect copyright.PENANA65yMTGPnot
The driver of the nighttimers’ second car that drove only a few feet behind the first one managed to react in time. He pulled over to the side of the road, bypassed the traffic jam and was already speeding forward, striving to cut in ahead of our car. Mike yanked the wheel to the other side in order to not let the SUV outrun us. It worked, but the pursuer didn’t give up. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAiTWM8q14At
“Soon there’ll be the exit to the headquarters. We can’t drag them along!” said Mike. 21Please respect copyright.PENANAfVneSbYfJ4
I started to look around feverishly trying to find something useful in the trunk. But there was nothing in it. I fixed my eyes on the pursuing car. It swerved from side to side, coming back to the road and jumping onto the roadside again. Mike was skillfully blocking the pursuers’ every attempt to get ahead of us. The nighttimers tried to cross into the oncoming lane several times, but there was very busy traffic there. Finally, the enemy’s SUV pulled over to the side of the road again, this time more abruptly, so its wheels ended up on the edge of the road embankment. I grabbed hold of the rear seat backs and shouted, “Hit the brakes!” 21Please respect copyright.PENANAkddkJ4aCLp
Mike responded instantly. Our car dropped speed sharply. The driver of the pursuing car instinctively pulled the wheel to the right in an effort to avoid a collision. The car’s front wheel fell off the high road embankment, dragging away the entire vehicle. The SUV turned over and started to roll down. A moment later Mike sharply turned the wheel to the left, getting off the highway and turning onto the road, leading to the Order’s headquarters.21Please respect copyright.PENANArKh4nmtHfb