Chapter 11 - Firefight in the Dark
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I signaled Vance to split left while I moved up the grand carpeted staircase on the right.
The second-floor hallway was illuminated only by periodic flashes of lightning through the tall arched windows. Two mercenaries were inside Ethan's room, tearing down drywalls and ripping apart his desk with crowbars.
"Nothing here!" one shouted, throwing a broken lamp onto the floor. "The kid must have taken it with him!"
"Check under the floorboards!" the second ordered.
I stepped silently into the doorway behind them, my suppressed sidearm raised.
"Looking for this?" I asked softly.
Before they could turn, I delivered a swift kick to the knee of the nearest guard, dropping him to the floor, and brought the butt of my weapon hard across the second man's helmet, neutralizing them both in less than four seconds.
I dropped to my knees near Ethan's bed, reaching beneath the heavy oak baseboard near the wall.
My fingers brushed against a small, hidden metal latch. I pressed it, and a small wooden panel popped open, revealing a velvet-lined compartment.
Inside sat the silver USB drive carved with the raven symbol.
"Got it," I whispered, securing the drive into my tactical vest.
BOOM!
A flash-bang grenade exploded down the hallway, filling the floor with blinding white light and a deafening roar.
I rolled behind Ethan's heavy oak desk as automatic rifle fire tore through the wooden doorframe, splattering drywall fragments across the room.
"Commander!" Vance shouted over the radio comms, his voice competing with the sound of roaring gunfire. "We've got heavy contact on the main floor! At least ten more hostiles entering from the front patio!"
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"Hold your position, Vance!" I called back, pulling a smoke canister from my belt. "I'm coming down!"
I pulled the pin, tossed the smoke canister into the hallway, and breached the doorway as thick gray smoke filled the upper corridor.
