Chapter 29
|
"The drainage tunnel feeds directly into the river basin, about a mile south of the main compound," Chloe directed, her voice sharp and focused. "You need to move fast. Thorne has deployed thermal-equipped drones to sweep the woods."
Elena and Jax ran through the knee-deep, freezing water of the drainage tunnel, their tactical boots slipping on the moss-covered concrete. The air was thick and foul, but the promise of escape pushed them forward.
"Thorne knows we have the decryption key," Elena said, splashing through the darkness. "He won't let us leave the mountain alive. He's going to throw everything he has at us."
"Let him try," Jax grunted, reloading his shotgun as they moved.
After twenty grueling minutes of navigating the subterranean maze, they reached the rusted iron grate that marked the end of the tunnel. Jax kicked the grate open, and they scrambled out into the freezing, rain-swept forest near the edge of a roaring river.
"Chloe, we are out of the tunnel. What is your status?" Elena asked, scanning the dark tree line for threats.
A heavy, terrifying static crackled over the earpiece.
"Chloe? Chloe, report!" Elena demanded, a sudden spike of maternal panic gripping her chest.
"Mom..." Chloe’s voice finally broke through the static, but it was incredibly weak, laced with pain. "They found the van. Obsidian operatives... they ambushed me."
Elena’s blood ran completely cold. The world around her seemed to stop spinning. "Chloe! Are you hit? Talk to me!"
"I'm okay. I engaged the emergency purge protocol," Chloe coughed violently. "I destroyed the van's servers and bailed into the woods before they could breach the armor. But they are tracking me, Mom. I'm hiding in an abandoned hunting cabin about two miles east of your position."
"Hold your ground, Chloe. Do not make a sound," Elena ordered, her voice transforming into absolute, terrifying ice. She looked at Jax, her eyes blazing with an apocalyptic fury.
"They went after my daughter," Elena said, racking the bolt of her submachine gun.
May you like
"Then we burn this entire forest down," Jax replied grimly, pulling a heavy combat knife from his harness.
Elena and Jax plunged into the dark, rain-soaked woods, moving with the terrifying, lethal speed of apex predators. General Thorne had made a fatal miscalculation. He thought he was hunting a desperate widow. He didn't realize he had just invited war incarnate directly to his doorstep.
