Once everything was in place, Heartbeat rejoined the fight, coordinating with Monica to hold off the enemies behind them while gradually retreating.
At the compound's rear, Mikhail was in a frenzy. He had the manpower, and their equipment wasn't lacking either—submachine guns, assault rifles, a mix of long and short weapons. In terms of firepower and rate of fire, they were no weaker than their opponents. Yet, they couldn't break through.
…
Outside the building, after taking down those three men, Swagg began focusing on clearing enemies near the exit.
Owen had tasked him with keeping the extraction point clear. Originally, there was no resistance at the exit, but after the gunfire broke out, enemy forces from elsewhere in the compound began converging on it, the exit included.
Swagg prioritized the threat there—to make sure no one could ambush the Quick Response Team from the west gate or cut off their escape.
Lying in the grass, he expertly handled his M200: aim, fire. The weapon, his old companion, still felt familiar in his hands. It had been fine-tuned to match him perfectly.
Soon, the 7-round magazine was empty. Swagg quickly reloaded and started another round of clean shots.
…
At the front, Ghost was leading the way, Owen following close behind with Catherine on his back. Whenever Ghost had to reload, Owen would cover the gap with his handgun.
"Pfft-pfft."
One enemy tried to take advantage of Ghost's reload but was dropped by Owen with a headshot. Another took a bullet to the leg, only to be finished off by Ghost after reloading.
With two more enemies down, they continued advancing. Although unfamiliar with the building's internal layout, their spatial awareness told them they were close to the west gate.
Up ahead was a metal door. The two flanked it cautiously. With limited manpower, full CQB coverage wasn't possible—Ghost would take the front, Owen the flank.
Owen tapped Ghost on the shoulder to signal readiness. Ghost swung the door open and charged—but just as quickly slammed it shut and dove away, bullets slamming into the metal with loud clangs.
Shit, Ghost muttered, spitting dirt as he crawled back toward Owen.
On the other side, firepower was intense. Judging by the bullet density, at least three guns were trained on the door.
Ghost had been lucky. Monica and Heartbeat also pulled back to the sides. A few rounds pierced the door, leaving blackened holes. One nearly hit Heartbeat, grazing past him and raising a cold sweat.
Owen deduced the weapons on the other side included one AK-type assault rifle and two short-barrel carbines. The iron door could stop 9mm SMG rounds, but not 7.62mm rifle bullets.
The situation had taken a turn. Up to now, most enemies had charged in recklessly and gotten cut down quickly. But these were different—they'd chosen to set up an ambush. If Ghost hadn't reacted fast, he'd be dead.
BOOM!
A sudden explosion thundered from behind—the Claymore Heartbeat had set earlier had detonated. The 700 steel balls shredded everything in range. Those closest were killed instantly; those farther away could only scream in agony.
"They're on us!" Heartbeat called urgently. Owen knew exactly what that meant: the Claymore had bought them time, but now the enemy was right behind. They were about to be trapped between two forces.
They couldn't stay here. Owen's mind raced.
"How many inside?" he asked.
"Three. Eleven o'clock, twelve o'clock, and two o'clock positions," Ghost replied instantly, even though he didn't know what Owen had in mind.
"Watch her for me," Owen said, handing Catherine off to Monica. He pulled several items from his bag—blocks of shaped explosive and detonator wire.
He assembled them quickly and stuck them to the wall in a man-sized rectangular frame.
Three, two, one—BOOM!
The wall exploded open. Before the smoke even cleared, Owen was already charging through with his M4A1 at the ready.
In bullet-time focus, he snapped toward the shadow at eleven o'clock—aim, fire. Then twelve o'clock—aim, fire. Then two o'clock—fire.
Three targets down in a rapid burst. Owen didn't slow, pressing deeper into the room along the wall.
Thankfully, Ghost's intel had been spot-on. There were exactly three enemies, in exactly the right positions. Ghost followed right behind but never had to fire—everyone inside was already down.
"Clear," Owen called, signaling the others to move in. He took Catherine back from Monica. Catherine was conscious now, though too injured to walk unaided. But Owen didn't bother with assistance—he just slung her on his back again.
The team maintained formation and pressed forward. Just ahead was the building's exit. Hopefully, Swagg had done his job.
Owen radioed, "We're approaching the exit. Target Eye, status?"
"Exit is clear. You're good to go."
Hearing that, the team breathed a collective sigh of relief. The end was in sight.
At the rear, Heartbeat planted his last Claymore at the breach Owen had blasted open, then sprinted to catch up.
"Nest to Unicorn—new problem. Vehicles approaching from the west. You'll meet them in about one minute!"
Shit!
Another curse ran through the team. Of course something had to go wrong. First, Plan A was compromised. Then they had to switch to Plan B. Now, just as they were about to exfiltrate, the only escape route was under threat too.
CLANG! The door to the outside burst open under Ghost's boot. Owen, with Catherine still on his back, stepped into daylight again. Seeing the sun felt like a miracle. When they entered, dawn was just breaking—now the sun was fully up, and the forest glowed with morning light.
Behind them, another dull explosion rumbled—the Claymore Heartbeat had just set had gone off. Not only would it slow the enemy, but it gave Owen a good estimate of how close they were.
Heartbeat and Monica fired behind them while backing out the door. Outside, the ground was littered with corpses—Swagg's handiwork.
"Get in!"
Ghost shouted from the driver's seat of a pickup truck. Just as he'd predicted, the keys were still in the ignition—locals didn't bother taking them out. Convenient for escape.
Owen threw open the door and heaved Catherine into the back seat. No time for gentleness now. The enemy was right on them. Monica covered the doorway with gunfire.
Owen jumped into the truck bed, pulling the pin from a grenade and tossing it into a nearby vehicle's cabin.
On the other side, Heartbeat fired a round into another car's tire, then climbed into the passenger seat.
"Pfft-pfft-pfft-pfft~~~~"
A barrage of suppressive fire forced their pursuers to take cover. Owen covered Monica as she vaulted into the truck bed. He slapped the roof.
"Go, go, go!"
Inside, Ghost slammed the pedal. The engine roared to life. The pickup truck smashed through the iron gate and tore off down the dirt road.
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