"Finally," I gasped as I arrived at the destination. Our target location is in a remote area away from any human presence. If the information is right, we will be able to solve this case today. The chief assigned me to this case 6 months ago. I have been working on it with my team members, Evan, Talia, Noah, and Zara. They're all competent and hard-working. Evan Rook handles all tech and surveillance. He's an expert with five years of FBI experience and additional relevant jobs. He tracked the vehicles that led us to Veyric Sorn.
Veyric Sorn runs a drug company; we got the information of his successful business in Cocaine, Heroin, Hashish, and various lab-synthetic drugs. He is also involved in human trafficking, running underground gambling rings. His network is vast, and he was hard to locate, but thanks to my team, we came this far.
We are currently heading towards the location; it's like a castle or church that was abandoned, as we see in horror movies. The surrounding dense forest only adds to the place's eerie atmosphere.
"We have to cross this forest, but I'm not sure if we can take the cars all the way." Noah explained. Noah is an expert in reading people's behavior. He is observant and patient. He gets us information through talking to different people and is mostly out of the office collecting information. With him on the team, I don't have to worry about people giving us wrong information and us believing that information. If someone can deceive Noah through their behavior, they're a top-tier liar.
"If we have got their hideout right, there has to be a road for cars through this forest." I replied, "How do you think Mr. Sorn got to the location without any road?"
"Okay, ma'am." Noah switched gears and drove calmly. I sat in the passenger seat while the other three rode in the back. There is backup behind us. A van in which additional weapons, some drones, and a computing system are present. We got a few members from the hacking team in a different van and some backup FBI agents as well.
I looked out the window, my eyes only met tall trees and darkness that was spread all over the forest. This mission is conducted at nighttime because it's easier to hide in darkness than in broad daylight. The trees danced in the wind, which was strong tonight. I hoped it wouldn't interfere with our drones.
"We'll stop here," Noah said, hitting the brakes. "The building's about two kilometers ahead."
"Okay, let's go." We got out of the car and waited for other cars to stop around us. We got our weapons in the trunk of our car; Zara gave us our weapons. I grabbed two guns, one Glock 19M, 9mm, lightweight and highly dependable. The Glock is reliable… no, but it doesn't ask questions, it just delivers. Rain, blood, or concrete dust, it fires clean every time, and that is the main reason for carrying this gun. The second handgun, a Sig Sauer P229, 9mm, holds 12 bullets, is 7 inches long, and is big and heavy, but the grip fits my hand like it's made for me. I placed the Glock in the belt holster and the Sig in the thigh holster. I put on a Kevlar vest over my white shirt and gloves for grip and protection. I put a knife in my ankle holster and some flash grenades and a flashlight in the pockets of my cargo pants. I put on an earpiece and put some bullets and magazines in the mag pouch attached to my belt. I always proceed fully prepared.
As my team will be going inside the building, we all carry handguns and knives. Other than that, Zara carries a thermal detector, Talia and Evan each carry an FN SCAR-L along with their other weapons. Noah carries a wrist mounted drone controller, he is in charge of keeping a mini drone in the building and be aware of any danger. The backup teams also set their drones outside the building and were prepared to initiate the mission.
We arrived in front of our target building after a half an hour walk through the forest. An old mansion nestled within a dark, dense forest. The building exudes a mysterious aura, heightened by the surrounding mist and shadowy trees. The mansion is architecturally elaborate, featuring multiple chimneys, gables, and detailed facade work. Warm light glows from within, spilling through the windows and contrasting starkly with the eerie darkness outside. A winding path leads to the house, flanked by tall trees with thick, shadowy foliage. The overall atmosphere feels haunting and enigmatic.
We entered the building not through the main entrance but back entrance that was located by the backup team drones. We carefully made our way towards the back entrance. The doors are locked all around the building and there are guards appointed to every part of the building.
"Snipers are in positions?" I questioned Elise. She is in charge of all the other agents that came on the mission and my ear piece is connected directly to her.
"Yes, they have taken their postions." She replied. She works directly under the Chief, like his right-hand person. The snipers are mounted on the trees with the help of some safety gears, some lay down on the ground making themselves invisible under or behind the bushes. We need snipers as we can see people walking around the building through the glass.
I tried to unlock the door with the slightest noise I could, with the help of a halligan bar that was carried by Zara. "Let's move," I whispered.
We slowly and carefully made our way into the building. The back entrance was connected to a room that appears to be a storage room. Broken furniture, cardboard boxes, and large plastic bags filled with unknown contents were scattered everywhere. The air was thick and rich with the smell of damp wood clung to the furniture, mixed with dust that was lying on the goods, layer by layer. A faint chemical smell like burnt vinyl lingered, probably from the plastic scattered around. The cardboard added their unique musty and papery like undertone. All the smells mixed up with each other and made it difficult to breathe and stay in the room for a few minutes.
The room opened to a hallway where guards patrolled. "Make sure your guns have silencers." I loaded my gun Glock19 with 147-grain subsonic rounds and attached the suppressor.
People who watch action movies think that silencers or suppressors can make the gun quiet and no one can hear it, wrong. The gun sound is typically 140 to 175 db that is deafening and painful like a flashbang and with the suppressor on the gun is reduced to 120 dp similar to a jackhammer or firecrackers. I am fully prepared for the worst outcomes… I have always been.
I read online that it's not healthy mentally to always think about the worst case scenarios but who cares, my line of work needs me to always be on my toes.
We are aware of human presence outside this room and we need to be as quiet as a sniper breath. I crouched to check if anyone was guarding the door. Through the space between the floor and the door one can clearly see the position to some extent.
Luckily, no one is guarding the door. I opened the door, and a faint yellow light spilled onto the floor. I signaled my team to stay in the shadows and wait for the snipers to take out the guards. "Do it" I ordered, bringing my hand mic to my face to speak to Elise.
In a blink all the guards in the hallway fell down. We made our way to the hallway. The blood of the guards was scattered on the floor. The bodies lifeless and motionless laying on the floor. "Keep checking the room and watch your back." I ordered and moved deeper into the mansion.
I was wandering along the hall of a dilapidated and abandoned building. The building's architecture is similar to work done in the 18th century. "Backup agents are all in place." Elise's voice resonates in my ear through the earpiece. The building is encircled by 50 agents, and in the unlikely scenario of a terrible outcome, we have many more agents on standby.
My chief assigns me to the most difficult tasks because he knows my talents and competence, and he feels that any case in my hands will be resolved. This case was a bit challenging for me, especially locating this hideout. I wonder why the government never checks on abandoned buildings which are in a remote area when they are well aware of the threat that follows.
The sole light in the corridor we had passed thus far was a weak yellow light that fell on the interior of the passageway, making it mesmerizing. Aside from that, the moonlight was attempting its best to penetrate the hallway and the building via the freshly placed glass, which was not damaged like the rest of the structure. The moonlight never ceases to astonish me; it can make things visible while remaining unseen.
We received the blueprints for this building last month, so my team and I, as well as our opponents, are well aware of all the concealed areas. The building is unusually silent. We have knocked down the hallway guards with the help of snipers, aside from them we haven't encountered anyone else.
Our snipers made sure to shoot all of them at the same time. As the bullet made its way through the glass window, it broke into pieces and created loud noise. That might have alerted them. I can't let my guards down.
"Naoh" I signaled in to use his mini drone and we placed the thermal detector on it. Noah is controlling the drone as we proceed and Zara is keeping an eye on her wrist mounted monitor for any human presence.
Although the building is not in a good condition from the outside, it can fool people that it's abandoned but inside there is a whole system running. The CCTVs are installed on the entrance and in the rooms of the building. The hacking team is sitting outside, manipulating the CCTV cameras of the hallway and they are all frozen, showing an image on screen, so it will take time for them to notice it.
Veyric Sorn is our target, along with his right-hand man, Kael Varn. They hide themselves so well that we had difficulty finding even their names. but today we will find out who they really are and what exactly they were planning.
I kept an eye on the hallway while my team checked the room and surrounding areas. One by one, we checked all the rooms that came in our way. The empty rooms point in one direction that they were aware, we would raid and had already moved the stuff, or to kill the people who had found their hidden spot were in danger for them. They might have purposely put some men in front of us, so we could believe everything is going according to us. So either they are all waiting for us to enter a certain room and kill us or they have already left. I hope for the former one. No matter how hard we try to keep our presence unknown, skilled people notice it by the change in humidity and temperature. If they are as skilled as rumors then it's going to be hard dealing with them.
Finally, we made it to the end of the hall, and there, it was, a big door from ceiling to floor like the door of some king's room or library. This is the point where I have to be extra cautious. The room can be empty and it can be loaded with people waiting for our entrance. One little mistake and we can all die.
I looked at my team and saw them nervous and sweating. It's a normal reaction from living beings who aren't sure if they will make it out of here alive and in one piece. They were all looking at me in the hope that I knew what I was doing.
I signaled my team to move back, and they all hid behind the columns. My palms were sweating as well. I checked my gun, and it's fully loaded, which I know it is. I tapped on my earpiece to signal my team. My hand slides down to my thigh rig to check the second gun. I checked the extra bullets as well. I always come prepared but anxiety kicks in at a very unpleasant moment.
"Be careful" the voice echoes again. I tightened my grip on the gun and opened the door. Thankfully, it's a French door and I opened one of them. I looked inside and it was empty as well. I signaled my team and they followed me inside.
One person was sitting on the chair by the desk, busy typing something. The room's darkness becomes scary under the weight of my thoughts. Was our alibi wrong? Did they know about our arrival before we arrived? Could it be that they are hiding in the mansion? Was there a mole? So many questions were roaming inside my head.
I scanned the room. There were tall and large shelves of books and documents. The room has small windows on one side only. Beautiful sculptures were carved on the window glass. White curtains were hanging low along the dark navy curtains. The condition of the curtains wasn't good, and there were some spots on the white curtains... could be blood.
The man got up and looked at us. His eyes show no emotion. He appeared to be in his late 30s. His hair was messy and he had a small beard. He pretended to walk toward the shelf behind him with a small and easy motion but bent down, when he got up there was a gun in his hand. The room was a bit dark so it was hard to notice his small movements. His gun seems to be a Beretta M9. He aimed it directly towards me.
He walked toward his desk and grabbed another gun. "You can get nothing out of me". Both his hands got guns directly aimed at me.
I kept rigid and kept my gun pointed at him as well. The sounds of a gun rang across my ear. It was a continuous sound coming from outside. That means they knew we had people hiding around the building. They played us. If I get out of here alive, I will find the mole. They tricked us into thinking the building is unsafe but they were the opposite in reality. His men were scattered outside waiting for a moment.
In the split second when my attention was diverted towards the sounds of a gun. He seized the opportunity and shot a bullet directly at me.