"WHOOSH—BOOM!!!"
The rocket streaked forward with a trail of flame and struck the dirt road directly in front of the convoy, detonating with tremendous force.
"RPG—!" Crowley only managed to get half the warning out.
The deafening explosion swallowed everything else.
The lead SUV looked as though an invisible giant had kicked it with all its strength. It lurched into the air, then slammed onto its side, its wheels spinning uselessly as smoke and flames engulfed the vehicle.
At the moment of impact, the Governor and Martinez kicked open the mangled doors and threw themselves out with only a split second to spare.
They crashed into a ditch beside the road, covered in scrapes, their ears ringing and their heads spinning. They had lost their weapons, but they had escaped with their lives.
Crowley, behind the wheel, and Warren, seated in the middle of the back row, never had the chance to react. They were killed instantly by the explosion and the violent rollover that followed.
Shards of metal and broken glass flew in every direction, clattering against the hoods of the vehicles behind them.
Before anyone could recover, Wells grinned. Jenson reloaded in a flash, and two more RPG rounds tore through the air.
The gun mounts on the second and third vehicles were blown clean off. The two men operating the machine guns were ripped apart, severed limbs scattering through the air.
The vehicles rolled and crashed into each other. Whether anyone inside was still alive was impossible to tell.
A jagged piece of metal torn from one of the gun mounts struck the Governor just after he threw himself from the SUV, driving deep into his right eye.
"Aaaah—!!!"
A scream so shrill it barely sounded human tore from his throat.
Clutching his right eye, the Governor staggered to his feet. Blood poured between his fingers, and the agony nearly made him pass out.
"We're under attack! Take cover!"
Woodbury's forces instantly descended into chaos.
Brakes screeched from every direction as vehicles collided. People leaped out in panic and fired blindly into the sky. Bullets snapped branches from the trees, but none came close to touching the Black Hawk.
Those three RPG rounds completely shattered what little morale Woodbury's force had managed to build.
Panic spread like a disease.
Most of them were civilians the Governor had dragged into this through lies and violence. They could manage when they held the advantage, but the moment they faced an ambush of this scale, they fell apart.
Watching from the helicopter, Calista raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Tsk. He survived even that. Still, I suppose it lines up with the plot."
"Turner, lay down suppressive fire and scatter them. Don't let them regroup," Calista ordered.
"Understood!"
Turner swung the M134 minigun mounted at the cabin door toward the middle and rear of the convoy, targeting those still trying to raise their weapons or start their vehicles and escape.
"BRRRRRRT—!!!"
The minigun unleashed a burst of fire so rapid it made the heart seize. Turner did not deliberately rake the crowd. Instead, he placed his shots across engine hoods, tires, and the ground directly in front of the vehicles.
As for anyone unlucky enough to catch a stray round, that was their problem.
Sparks sprayed and dust erupted everywhere.
The terrifying display of speed and firepower broke what remained of Woodbury's nerve. People threw away their weapons, scrambled out of the vehicles, and hid beneath cars or fled into the woods beside the road. Their will to fight vanished completely.
"Franklin, descend and hold a hover. Lee, Bossie, Turner, stay aboard. Everyone else, prepare to fast-rope. Turner, keep them pinned down. Bossie, deploy smoke and stun grenades to cover our descent."
The Black Hawk descended slowly, its powerful downdraft whipping sand, dirt, and loose stones across the ground.
Bossie dropped several compact smoke and stun grenades directly into the center of the convoy. Thick smoke quickly spread through the area, while deafening blasts and blinding flashes drove Woodbury's fighters into even greater confusion and panic.
The next second, the cabin door opened wide.
Five ropes dropped from the helicopter.
Five figures immediately slid down them at high speed, their movements crisp and controlled.
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Five heavy impacts sounded almost simultaneously.
As the dust began to settle, five figures armed to the teeth emerged.
They wore matching dark combat uniforms and carried top-grade equipment. Helmets, goggles, tactical vests, everything was in place.
The moment they touched down, Mike charged toward Martinez, who was quietly crawling for the woods. Jenson and Wells moved to intercept the remaining rabble who were still trying to resist.
Calista and Carver went after the Governor, intending to take him alive.
Surrounded by those imposing, heavily built men, Calista stood noticeably shorter than the others, making her seem completely out of place.
The Governor shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears. The first thing he saw was the five of them, especially Calista standing at the front.
Among such formidable opponents, the frail-looking woman who seemed so out of place appeared to be a gift from heaven. She was the perfect opening.
"Grab that woman!"
The Governor shoved aside the man helping him, snatched a machete from one of his subordinates, and charged straight at Calista, completely ignoring the dark muzzle of Carver's gun.
"Idiot," Carver spat.
The Governor closed the distance, his face twisting with savage delight. He could already picture himself seizing the woman by the throat and forcing Carver and the others to back down.
He raised the heavy machete and brought it down toward Calista's head with all his strength.
But the scene he had imagined, Calista scrambling away or even screaming, never happened.
She did not take so much as half a step back.
The instant the machete came down, her body shifted slightly backward and to the side with startling speed and flexibility.
The blade sliced past the front of her combat uniform and struck nothing but air.
The Governor had put too much force into the swing, and his body pitched forward.
That was all the opening Calista needed.
Her left hand shot out and locked around the wrist holding the machete. Her thumb pressed down hard against the inside of his wrist.
Half the Governor's arm instantly went numb. His strength vanished, and the machete nearly slipped from his fingers.
Before he could recover, Calista swung her assault rifle one-handed as though it weighed nothing.
The solid stock cut through the air and smashed into the Governor's handsome face.
"Thud!"
Carver winced in sympathy at the sound.
The Governor did not even have time to cry out. His head snapped aside as if struck by a sledgehammer.
The force lifted both his feet from the ground and sent him flying sideways. He crashed into the mud like a sack of garbage, while the machete spun away and disappeared somewhere nearby.
Calista was not finished.
She never paused.
As the Governor hit the ground, she was already moving after him. Her combat boot rose high, then came down with brutal force.
It landed squarely on the wrist of the hand that had held the machete.
"Crack!"
Now that was a solid bone.
"Aaaah—!!!"
The Governor screamed as though he were about to turn into a walker at any moment. The pain made him thrash like a fish out of water, but Calista's boot pinned his wrist so firmly that he could not move.
Only then did she lower her eyes and look at the blood-covered face beneath her.
The Governor's composure shattered.
What the hell kind of weak point was this?
She was a vicious beast wearing human skin.
"Had enough fun?" Carver asked as he finally strode over. He glanced at the Governor howling on the ground, then spread his hands helplessly at Calista.
Calista lifted her foot, stepped back, and lightly rolled her right wrist.
"Keep him breathing. We need to question him."
"You got it!"
Carver grinned, showing a row of gleaming white teeth.
He crouched, seized the limp Governor by the collar, and lifted him as easily as a chick.
Then his fist cut through the air.
"Bam! Bam! Bam!"
Three solid punches slammed into the Governor's stomach and ribs.
His screams stopped abruptly, replaced by painful retching and violent convulsions. His eyes bulged, and whatever ability he had left to resist disappeared completely.
Carver dragged him away like a heap of mud.
...
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