Part 28
The battle shifted rapidly from a defensive hold to a ruthless counter-offensive. Adrian and Emma flanked the remaining operatives as they attempted to flee down the steep, stone steps that led to the private cove where their watercraft were moored.
The night air was filled with the sharp, suppressed pops of gunfire and the flashes of muzzle fire illuminating the jagged rocks.
Adrian moved with terrifying speed, cutting off the escape route by taking a dangerous shortcut down the cliffside, sliding down the gravel embankments and appearing directly in front of the retreating men. His submachine gun roared, unleashing a precise, lethal hail of bullets that eliminated three more operatives before they could even register his presence.
The remaining two invaders broke formation, panicking as they realized they were completely trapped between Adrian at the bottom of the steps and Emma and Hector advancing from the top.
One of the operatives, realizing his death was imminent, pulled a fragmentation grenade from his vest, preparing to pull the pin and take everyone down with him.
"Adrian, down!" Emma screamed from the top of the ridge.
Adrian dropped to the stones instantly.
A split second later, a heavy-caliber round from a sniper rifle echoed from the villa's upper terrace. It was Hector, providing overwatch. The round struck the operative holding the grenade squarely in the head, dropping him instantly. The unpinned grenade rolled from his dead fingers, falling into a deep crevice in the rocks before exploding in a muffled, fiery boom that shook the cliffside but harmed no one.
The final operative threw his weapon into the sea, collapsing to his knees and raising his hands in absolute surrender. He was bleeding from a wound in his shoulder, his breath coming in ragged, terrified gasps as Adrian stepped out of the smoke, the barrel of his smoking gun pointed directly at the man's forehead.
Emma descended the steps, stopping beside Adrian, her eyes fixed on the surviving attacker.
"Who sent you?" Adrian demanded, his voice dropping to a terrifyingly calm whisper that was far more menacing than any shout. He pressed the hot barrel of his gun against the man's temple. "Give me a name, or your body feeds the fish in this cove before the sun comes up."
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The operative trembled violently, looking up at the two of them as if staring into the faces of the grim reapers themselves. "The... the Minister," he stammered in broken English. "Minister Vance... in the capital. He was Volkov's primary investor. He lost fifty million when you destroyed the network. He bought the coordinates from an FBI informant."
Adrian's eyes darkened with a cold, calculating fury. He didn't pull the trigger. Instead, he looked at Emma, a silent communication passing between them. The threat wasn't just an underworld rival; it reached into the highest corridors of political power.
