Chapter 37 - The Scorpion's Sting
"I don't kneel for anyone," Alejandro declared fiercely, his finger tightening slightly on the trigger of his pistol. "Especially not a rabid dog."
El Escorpión’s arrogant smile instantly vanished, replaced by a mask of pure, ugly fury. He raised his own weapon, entirely confident that his elite bodyguards would instantly shred Alejandro with automatic fire the moment he made a move.
But El Escorpión had made a massive, fatal tactical error. By halting his men's suppressive fire and stepping out into the open to gloat, he had completely exposed his position.
From the open cargo ramp of the taxiing transport plane, Vargas, the fiercely loyal head of security, had grabbed a heavy, scoped sniper rifle from a wounded federal agent. He lay perfectly flat on the metal ramp, peering intently through the high-powered optics, ignoring the violent shaking of the moving aircraft.
"For Héctor. For Ignacio. For all of them," Vargas whispered under his breath.
Crack.
The deafening, singular shot of the sniper rifle echoed beautifully across the rainy airfield.
El Escorpión didn't even have time to register the sound. The high-caliber bullet struck him squarely in the chest, violently throwing him backward onto the wet asphalt. The rival cartel boss hit the ground dead, his reign of terror completely extinguished in a fraction of a second.
The elite bodyguards froze in absolute shock, staring at their fallen leader.
"Run, Alejandro!" Vargas roared over the plane’s engines, waving his arm frantically from the cargo ramp.
The sudden death of El Escorpión completely broke the morale of the cartel mercenaries. Without their ruthless leader, the disorganized sicarios immediately abandoned the assault, scrambling back to their armored trucks to flee the approaching federal reinforcements.
Alejandro didn't hesitate. Ignoring the blinding pain in his side, he pushed himself off the rusted oil drums and sprinted with everything he had left toward the moving transport plane. The gap between him and the cargo ramp was widening rapidly as the aircraft gained speed.
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He pushed his legs to their absolute breaking point, his vision heavily blurring at the edges. He leaped desperately into the air just as the ramp began to slowly close.
Strong hands grabbed his jacket, pulling him violently onto the cold metal floor of the plane. He collapsed completely, gasping for air, looking up into the tear-streaked, beautiful face of Valeria.
