Chapter 16 - The Last Stand in the Hills
The first attacker stepped through,
and Rossi fired immediately,
the loud crack of his pistol,
dropping the man instantly,
Daniel took cover behind the table,
firing at the second shadow,
his shots hitting the doorframe,
splintering the old wood,
Sofia stayed low,
crawling toward the back door,
holding the precious laptop close,
to her chest like a shield,
we need to secure the transmission,
she screamed over the noise,
I need two minutes of internet,
to upload everything to the cloud,
I will buy you those minutes,
Daniel shouted back,
standing up to fire three more times,
forcing the attackers to fall back,
into the dark yard,
Rossi moved to the window,
returning fire with professional skill,
despite his bleeding shoulder,
but there were too many of them,
at least six heavily armed men,
surrounding the small structure,
a smoke grenade rolled inside,
hissing loudly,
filling the room with thick white gas,
making them cough and blind,
Daniel felt his eyes burn,
he could not see the door,
he could not see his targets,
he could only hear the boots,
advancing through the haze,
he fired blindly until,
his gun clicked empty,
the ammunition gone,
a heavy boot struck his chest,
knocking him to the floor,
knocking the wind from his lungs,
he looked up through the smoke,
seeing a man standing over him,
wearing a expensive tailored suit,
and a cruel smile on his face,
it was Carlos,
the head of the syndicate,
the man who had ruined his family,
Mr. Rivas,
Carlos said smoothly,
stepping on Daniel's hand,
crushing his fingers against the wood,
you have been a major inconvenience,
where is the laptop,
Daniel grimaced in pain,
but he did not speak,
he only looked past Carlos,
seeing Sofia in the corner,
as the green light on her screen,
flashed one final time,
May you like
upload complete,
she whispered with a bloody smile.
