With Sunday monitoring and guiding him, plus his own mental perception scanning for nearby enemies, William swapped magazines for his pistols, holstered them, and pulled out four grenades. He silently counted the distance, pulled the pins, and closed his eyes, relying only on his mental sense to locate the positions of the enemies.
As a group of armed thugs rounded the hallway corner, he tossed two grenades low to the floor with his left hand, landing them at the corner, and then threw two more with his right hand, bouncing them off the walls to land in the corridor.
"Grenades! Grenades!"
The sudden appearance of grenades sent the thugs into a panic, scrambling to find cover. The mercenary leader, Emil Stein, grabbed two of his men and pulled them in front of himself as human shields.
With four deafening explosions, those unable to find cover were torn apart by a storm of steel pellets. Even though Emil had two people shielding him, the blast impact still slammed him against the wall, forcing him to cough up blood.
The survivors who managed to find cover had barely a moment to feel lucky before seeing more grenades clink and roll in their direction.
"Oh God," was all the last five standing, apart from Martin Walker at the back, managed to say.
With three more explosions, William rounded the corner with his M4, firing methodically at any remaining signs of life his mental scan could detect.
After clearing out the hall, William approached Emil Stein, grinning as he planted a boot on Emil's throat. Then he turned to the stunned Martin Walker, who had been knocked unconscious by the blast, and switched magazines before dragging him into a nearby room.
Searching Walker, he found a phone and a pager. A quick look confirmed that the pager held messages from Eli to Walker.
Pocketing the pager, he slapped Walker awake. "Good morning, Mr. Walker."
Opening his eyes to find William smiling down at him, Walker stammered, "You... cough..." He choked on his own blood and spit out a few teeth loosened by the slap.
William watched as Walker's breathing steadied and asked, "Need me to find you a doctor?"
Walker glared at him, then chuckled darkly, his years in special operations giving him a sense of William's lethal intent. Realizing he was unlikely to survive, he bargained, "Do me one favor. Rescue my son, Kevin, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"Sorry, I'm not interested," William replied, raising his M4 with a smile. "I only woke you up so you could tell Satan it was me who killed you. Goodbye."
"Wait! Don't you want to know who's really behind this?" Walker shouted, desperate as he saw William's finger tighten on the trigger. Not wanting to die without saving his son, he pleaded, "Help me get Kevin to safety, and I'll reveal the mastermind behind this. I'll even testify if needed."
"Sorry, I've already got everything I need," William replied, waving the pager in front of him. "You've been communicating with Speaker Eli, right? All the evidence I need is right here, so you may as well head off to meet Satan. Let those who died because of you finally rest in peace."
Walker, realizing his final bargaining chip was useless, stammered in shock, unable to find words. Sunday's voice then came through William's headset, warning him that more intruders were heading his way. Growing impatient, William asked, "Anything else to say? If not, I don't have time to waste."
Seeing that William had no concern for his son, Walker glared at him bitterly before sighing in defeat. "I deserve this. Tell my wife I loved her. Everything I did was for Kevin."
For a moment, William felt a hint of sympathy, but not enough to spare him. "Goodbye."
He stepped behind Walker, twisted his neck with a sharp crack, and let him collapse silently to the ground.
Just then, Benjamin's voice came over the radio, crackling with concern. "William, the command center's asking if I know the source of the explosions and gunfire they're hearing. They're also planning to send three Black Hawk helicopters with 24 Delta Force soldiers to land on the roof."
"Good. Some backup wouldn't hurt," William laughed. "It'll save me, an Englishman, from handling everything for you Americans."
"But the weapons room on the roof is under enemy control. Air-dropping troops now is suicide, and any casualties will fall on both of us," Benjamin said, hesitating.
"Hold on; I've got some trash to take out first."
William motioned Sunday to relay the radio audio through his earpiece, checked his M4, and waited for the approaching thugs to pass his position. He cracked open the door and fired a quick burst into their backs, dropping all five of them before replying to Benjamin.
"Buddy, let's go clear the roof so Delta can land. This way, you can fire a few rounds too—don't want all the glory for taking down the bad guys, right?"
"But what about Emily?" Benjamin asked, still hesitant to face armed thugs.
"She's coming with us, of course. I'll meet you in the library, and you can carry her out."
"You're sure?" Benjamin asked, clearly nervous.
"Stop worrying and get moving. I guarantee you'll be fine."
Reassured by William's confident tone, Benjamin gritted his teeth. "Alright."
He coordinated with the command center to set up Delta's entry, then carefully stepped out of the bunker with Emily, who was equipped with smart glasses that allowed her to see and speak to William. As they exited, Benjamin was relieved to see William fully armed and ready.
Upon spotting William, little Emily reached out for a hug.
William chuckled, giving her a gentle pat on the head. "Alright, little one, I have to go deal with the bad guys. Be a good girl and close your eyes while you're with the president, okay?"
Emily pouted, wanting to say something, but then saw the bodies of the fallen thugs behind William and quickly nodded, squeezing her eyes shut.
"For heaven's sake, can't you be more careful?" William glared at Benjamin. "Don't you know there are some things a child shouldn't see?"
Benjamin followed Emily's line of sight, noticing the bodies, and immediately used his jacket to shield her eyes. Flushing with embarrassment, he muttered, "Fine, I apologize."
"It's okay, Mr. Arthur," Emily whispered softly.
Not wanting the gunfire to frighten her, William searched the fallen thugs and pocketed a dozen knives. Turning to the slightly tense Benjamin, he said, "Your only job is to hold Emily and stay behind me. Got it?"
"Got it," Benjamin replied, his voice a little shaky.
To minimize any potential danger, William handed the smart glasses Emily had been wearing to Benjamin, then led the way up the stairs. Watching William take down enemies with flawless knife throws, Benjamin's nerves began to settle, realizing he was in capable hands.
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! Only $5 per novel or $15 for all!!] [[email protected]/Mutter]
[+50 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[+5 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]