Chapter 20 20
Chapter 20 20
"Two left," Locke's voice came through the phone. He sounded calm, but the urgency was there. "Watch your right, there's one of them moving behind the crates."
At the information, Blaze shifted low quickly before he slid his boots against the floor. Pressing his body to the wall now, every single muscle in him was right and every nerve screamed alert.
When they'd first heard the gunshots, they had thought there were at most seven men. But with the score of dead bodies that littered the hospital now, it was clear from the foregoing that there were at least fifteen of them, double the number.
He raised his gun, then brushing the trigger with his finger, he narrowed his eyes into the shadows and monitored his prey.
Some of the men had gone into hiding at the sound of the shot, but he could see them clearly from where he was hiding. They had no idea the shots were coming from above and he hoped to take them all out before they discovered that.
The first man broke cover to shoot in a completely wrong direction, probably thinking that that's where the shots were coming from. And Blaze didn't waste any time. He fired once, clean and fast. The man dropped dead immediately, body crumpling on the floor with a thud.
"Fuck!" Another voice roared from the far side. "He's picking us off!"
The remaining men panicked, shooting wildly in the direction that the dead man just shot. Bullets ripped through wood and metal, sending sparks flying. Blaze raised his head again, preparing to take them apart now that they were completely clueless, but one of the men for some reason fired in a completely different direction, just a couple meters above Blaze.
He ducked down immediately, before his back slammed against a support beam. Dust and shards of concrete rained down on him.
"Found him!" One of them yelled, before swinging his muzzle towards Blaze's hiding spot.
The rest did the same and in seconds, bursts of gunfire exploded in his direction, bullets shredding the beam, the splinters, flying inches from his face.
"Fuck!" He cursed, gritting his teeth. He kept staying in that crouched position, assured that the bullets wouldn't get to him because the cover of concrete covering him was at least twenty inches thick.
He wasn't rattled. No. As the men continued to rain their bullets mindlessly at him, he began to calculate.
And it didn't take time before he was three steps ahead. Sliding across the floor, he rolled behind another cover before the next volley lit up his old position. Locked voice cut sharp through the chaos.
"Move left again! You've got an opening, take it now! They won't be able to see you there!"
He lunged for the opening, and the furious men down there were so livid they completely missed the form that moved away from their sight into a more secure position. Once in position, he raised the gun again with deadly precision.
The bullets were almost out, so he had to make good use of every single one. Another deafening crack tore through the air as he pressed the trigger, and in a split second, one of the men who'd been shouting orders was lying on the ground.
The bullet had torn through his chest and blood was gushing from the spot. He was choking and the blood was spreading fast. Seeing this, the others ran back to their hiding spots, but it was too late for them now.
The silence after that particular shot was heavy. In the next few seconds that followed, only the him of the overhead lights and the low hiss of broken pipes could be heard.
Blaze exhaled, as the sweat dripped down his temple. There were three of them now, all at his mercy. He took down two of them instantly.
"One more," Locke reminded him quietly from above once the men were on the floor.
Blaze's lips pressed into a hard line before he adjusted his hands on the gun. Spitting the remaining man was a bit tricky because of all the smoke and dust. But he focused and kept looking through the litter of dead bodies and the sharp smell of iron that had filled the air now.
The fight wasn't over, not until the last man was down, or completely incapacitated, which was what he planned to do. It was at that moment that he spotted the man.
He was frantically searching for an exit out of the place and Blaze couldn't let him. He pressed the trigger, sending the bullet tearing through his leg.
The man screamed as he crashed to the floor. The blood was soon pooling around his leg but he was pretty much alive.
"Good," Blaze said. He had to keep the man breathing because he needed answers.
After confirming from Locke that there was no other man standing, he wiped a brow and walked down to where the man was writhing in pain, exhaling.
He picked one of the dead men's guns and was about to speak to the man on the ground when Locke's voice exploded through the phone.
"Wait- shit!" One of them slipped through. He's in the west wing, heading straight for the ICU. That's where the doctors and the girl are."
His blood went cold instantly. He cursed and in an instant he turned the other way, ready to sprint down the hall.
And the wounded man on the floor saw it as an opportunity to act. He tried to lift his gun but Blaze already expected that. He fired straight at his forehead, killing him. He cursed again.
"Fucking waste of time!" Then he was running.
He crashed through the halls, until he finally reached the ICU door. He pushed the door open with the barrel of his gun pointed at whatever he was going to walk into. And that's when he saw it. The doctors were standing there, frozen, hands raised and backs pressed against the wall. They were shaking, scared.
And right beside them was the armed intruder, who pointed a weapon at their chests. Lucy was in the bed behind them, connected to tubes and machines.
The man's eyes flicked to Blaze, and then whipped his gun towards him in a flash.
"Drop it!" The assailant shouted. "Drop your weapon, or they all die. One move, one fucking move, and I'll blow their brains out right here. And then the girl dies too."