Chapter 26 - The Retrieval
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The living room was engulfed in flames as tactical flare rounds ignited the curtains and dry timber walls. Black smoke filled the upper rafters, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
Through the haze, Madison saw the black pelican case lying open on the rug near the burning desk. The custom carbon-fiber drone was lying two feet away from a pool of burning fuel.
A mercenary stepped through the shattered front entrance, his assault rifle raised to sweep the room.
Madison didn't hesitate. She stepped out from the stairwell, raised her P320 with both hands, and fired three rounds into the mercenary's tactical helmet visor. The man collapsed instantly.
She sprinted across the burning rug, grabbed the drone by its rotor arm, and snatched the pelican case with her free hand.
A shadow moved in the doorway behind her.
Arthur appeared out of the smoke, his face covered in soot, dragging a wounded Director Vance by his vest collar. Vance was clutching his leg, blood seeping through his torn trousers.
"He took a round to the thigh!" Arthur grunted, shoving Vance down the basement steps. "Get down here, Maddie! I'm prepping the charges!"
Madison dove through the basement door just as Arthur slammed the steel door shut and turned a heavy iron locking wheel. He reached into his vest, pulled out a military detonator, and flipped the safety cover.
"Cover your ears!" Arthur shouted.
May you like
He pressed the red button.
A thunderous explosion rocked the foundation of the chalet above them, collapsing the three-story timber structure into a blazing mass of rubble, sealing the basement entrance from above and crushing the surviving mercenary squad beneath tons of burning oak.
