Chapter 5 - Debt of Blood
Marcus didn't hesitate. Before the lead contractor could depress the trigger, Marcus lunged forward, grabbing the barrel of the suppressed weapon and twisting it inward. The gunshot coughed softly into the ceiling plaster as Marcus drove his elbow into the operative's throat, fracturing the trachea.
The second man fired twice; the first round grazed Marcus’s ribcage, but the second struck his companion as Marcus pulled the dying man into his path as a human shield. Dropping to the floor, Marcus swept the second operative’s ankles, drove the ceramic blade beneath the man's ballistic vest, and snatched a Glock 19 from his holster.
He spun, leveling the weapon at the third man. The operative dropped his carbine and raised his hands, panting heavily.
Marcus pressed the hot suppressor against the man's forehead. ""Who hired you? Sterling?""
The operative spat blood. ""You're already dead, Vance. The contract is open. Three million on you, five million on the girl.""
""Where is she?"" Marcus demanded, thumbing back the hammer.
""They took her to the Pine Ridge compound,"" the man gasped, fear finally breaking through his tactical facade. ""Sterling’s personal retreat in the mountains. He wants to finish what he started before his facial reconstruction surgery.""
Marcus fired once. He turned, quickly cutting the zip-ties binding Sarah Lin.
Lin dropped to the floor, gasping for breath, coughing up crimson spit. ""Marcus... you shouldn't have come here. They hacked into my servers an hour ago. They know every contact you’ve ever had.""
""I need weapons, transport, and a satellite link,"" Marcus said, helping her into an armchair.
Lin looked up at him, her eyes fierce despite her injuries. She pulled a false bottom from a heavy tool chest, revealing three assault rifles, thermal scopes, and four satellite transponders. ""Sterling bought off the state troopers. The whole mountain pass is blocked by private militia. You go up there alone, you're walking into an ambush.""
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""I'm not going up there to arrest him,"" Marcus said, racking the slide of an M4 rifle. ""I'm going up there to burn the mountain down.""
Just as Marcus grabbed the gear, Lin’s laptop pinged. A live video feed popped up automatically on the screen: Ava, tied to an iron chair in an ornate basement, with Viktor Sterling sitting across from her holding an antique revolver.
