Chapter 6 - Escort Out of the Building
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The industrial corridor was lined with abandoned steel mills and rusted shipping containers. Rain had begun to fall over Chicago, slicking the cracked roads with a dark sheen.
"They're picking up speed, Commander!" Vance called out, turning the heavy wheel hard to swing us around a sharp corner. "Distance is down to thirty yards!"
Through the rain-streaked rear window, I saw the passenger side glass of the black sedan roll down. A man wearing a ballistic mask leaned out of the window, holding a suppressed automatic submachine gun.
"He's got a weapon!" I shouted. "Ethan, stay down!"
Muzzle flashes erupted from the trailing sedan.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Heavy rounds slammed into the rear tailgate of our armored SUV. The reinforced bulletproof glass spiderwebbed with white fractures, but held firm.
"Armor is taking the hits!" Vance yelled, his hands steady on the wheel. "Where do you want them, ma'am?!"
"Drive us into the abandoned rail yard up ahead!" I commanded, unzipping my weapon bag and chambering a round into my rifle. "It's a dead end—for them!"
Vance slammed the brakes, drifting the multi-ton military vehicle through a rusted chain-link gate and coming to a hard halt inside a massive, covered train depot.
The black sedan roared in right behind us, turning sideways to block the only exit.
Four heavily armed men in black tactical gear instantly spilled out of the sedan, weapons raised, moving in a professional fire-team formation.
These weren't common street thugs or amateur hitmen. Their movement, spacing, and posture showed elite military training.
"Vance, protect Ethan inside the vehicle!" I barked, grabbing my helmet and throwing the door open. "Do not open these doors unless I give the code word!"
"Commander, wait!" Vance warned.
I didn't wait. I dropped low out of the SUV, using the rear tire as hard cover.
The lead gunman raised his rifle, aiming directly at my position. "Drop your weapon, Commander! We only want the boy!"
"You came to the wrong city, soldier," I replied, my voice echoing off the corrugated metal walls of the depot.
I swung around the heavy tire, acquired my target through my rifle sight, and fired two precise shots.
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BANG! BANG!
The center-mass rounds slammed directly into the lead gunman's chest plate, knocking him flat onto his back. Before the remaining three men could react to the speed of my engagement, I pushed forward into the dark.
