Chapter 164
Chapter 164
Ethan’s POV
The aftermath of the explosion still echoed in my ears as I leaned against the SUV, taking a moment to catch my breath. The bunker was nothing but a smoking pile of rubble now, but I knew this wasn’t over. Taking out the primary node was a win, but it didn’t mean the syndicate was defeated.
Reyes walked over, his face grim but determined. “That was a good hit. We’ve disrupted their plans, but they’ll retaliate.”
“I’m counting on it,” I replied. “The more desperate they get, the more mistakes they’ll make.”
Grayson’s voice crackled through the comms. “Ethan, I’ve been monitoring their chatter. You’re not going to believe this, but one of their secondary operatives just turned on them. He’s offering intel.”
My heart rate picked up. “Who is he?”
“Name’s Victor Langston. Mid-level player in the syndicate’s network. He’s holed up in a safe house downtown. Says he’s ready to give everything up in exchange for protection.”
I didn’t trust it. The syndicate was full of snakes, and a sudden offer like this screamed trap. But if there was even a slim chance he had the information we needed, I couldn’t ignore it.
“Send me the location,” I said.
\---
The safe house was tucked away in the heart of the city, a nondescript apartment complex that looked more abandoned than operational. The air was thick with tension as Reyes, Lila, and I moved through the narrow corridors, our weapons drawn.
“Third floor, room 307,” Grayson guided us through our earpieces.
We moved in silence, the only sound the soft creak of the old floorboards beneath our boots. My gut churned with unease. Something about this felt off.
Reaching the door, I motioned for Reyes to take point. He nodded, stepping forward and rapping on the door twice.
“Langston? Open up,” he called, his voice low but commanding.
There was a moment of silence before the door creaked open just enough to reveal a gaunt, nervous-looking man. His eyes darted around like a cornered animal as he gestured us inside.
“You came,” he muttered, locking the door behind us.
“We don’t have time for small talk,” I said, keeping my gun lowered but ready. “If you’ve got information, spill it.”
Langston nodded quickly, shuffling to a small desk covered in papers and flash drives. “I have everything—names, accounts, safe houses, even their fallback plans. They’re imploding from the inside. After Dante’s assassination, the upper echelon started turning on each other. It’s chaos.”
I exchanged a glance with Lila. This was big. If Langston’s intel was solid, it could be the final piece we needed to dismantle the syndicate completely.
“Why are you doing this?” Lila asked, her tone skeptical.
Langston ran a trembling hand through his hair. “Because I know what happens to loose ends. If I don’t give you this, they’ll kill me. Hell, they might kill me anyway, but at least this way, I stand a chance.”
Reyes moved to the desk, sifting through the documents. “This is good,” he said, holding up a flash drive. “Really good.”
But then, everything went to hell.
\---
The first shot shattered the window, missing Langston’s head by inches.
“Sniper!” I barked, grabbing Langston and pulling him to the floor as more bullets tore through the walls.
Lila flipped the desk for cover, dragging Reyes down beside her. “How did they find us?”
“They’re watching their own,” I snarled, scanning the room for an exit. “We need to move!”
Grayson’s voice came through the comms, urgent. “I’m seeing movement outside. Multiple hostiles closing in on the building.”
“Dammit,” I muttered.
Reyes leaned out just enough to fire a few shots through the broken window. “We’re sitting ducks here.”
I grabbed Langston by the collar. “Is there another way out?”
“The fire escape,” he stammered, pointing to the back of the room.
“Go,” I ordered, shoving him toward it.
Lila covered us as we made our way to the escape, her aim precise and deadly. The moment we stepped out onto the rickety metal staircase, a fresh wave of gunfire erupted from below.
“Down or up?” Reyes shouted.
“Up!” I decided, leading the way toward the roof.
\---
The rooftop wasn’t much safer, but at least it gave us a better vantage point. The city sprawled out beneath us, and I could see the syndicate’s men swarming the streets below.
“We’re trapped,” Langston said, panic creeping into his voice.
“Not yet,” I growled. “Grayson, we need an extraction. Now.”
“I’m on it,” he replied. “Helicopter’s three minutes out.”
“We don’t have three minutes,” Reyes muttered, firing at a group of men who had reached the rooftop across from us.
Lila knelt beside me, her face set in determination. “We’re not leaving without that intel, Ethan.”
“We won’t,” I assured her.
\---
The helicopter appeared on the horizon just as the first of the syndicate’s men reached our rooftop. It was chaos—a flurry of gunfire, shouts, and the deafening roar of the helicopter’s blades.
Reyes and I held the line while Lila secured Langston. The man was practically useless, cowering behind a vent as the fight raged around him.
When the helicopter hovered close enough, I grabbed Langston and pushed him toward the rope ladder. “Go!”
He hesitated for a fraction of a second before scrambling up. Lila followed, her movements quick and efficient.
“Reyes, you’re next,” I shouted.
He nodded, laying down suppressing fire before making his way up the ladder.
I was the last to climb, the bullets whizzing past me as I hauled myself into the helicopter.
“Punch it!” I yelled to the pilot, and we soared into the sky, leaving the chaos behind.
\---
Back at the safe house, the atmosphere was tense but victorious. Langston handed over everything he had, and Grayson wasted no time diving into the data.
“This is it,” he said, his voice filled with awe. “We’ve got them.”
But I couldn’t relax. Not yet. The syndicate had been on the ropes before and managed to come back swinging. We needed to act fast and hit hard before they regrouped.
“This ends now,” I said, my voice cold and resolute.
Lila stepped beside me, her eyes burning with the same determination. “Together.”