Beneath the Ashes, He Rose

Chapter 8: Safehouse Siege

The safehouse door blew inward, sending shrapnel-like splinters flying. Barking from his AR-15, Grayson charged through the smoke. Flashes of muzzles swept through the dark living room. Before they cleared leather, two of Harrison's guards fell; one was shot three times in the chest, while the other was shot in the eye.

"Leave clear!" Grayson let out a yell.

Alexander, Glock spraying fire, leaped the couch. With his knife out, a third guard sprang from the corridor. Alexander swerved and pushed the man's throat with his elbow. The cartilage crunched. The guard fell and gurgled.

Mira gripped tightly as Tatiana ran past. "Basement!"

Victoria kept her weapon steady and covered the back. "The stairs are really hot!"

The drywall over her head was eaten by an automatic fire. She rolled and fired back two accurate rounds. With a lurch, the gunman on the landing fell down the stairs.

The basement door was kicked open by Grayson. The air was stale, with bleach, mildew, and fear. Lucy Martin was kneeling next to a cot, holding a syringe above Mira's small arm. The girl's chest was twitching and her eyes were hazy.

“Get out of here,” Grayson growled.

Lucy's hand shook. She is a source of leverage. Benjamin assured my boy, " Lucy's temple was cooled by Tatiana's Glock. "Leave it."

The needle rattled. Lucy broke the silence with a sob. "All I have is him."

Alexander pulled her to her feet and zip-tied her wrists. My daughter was sold by you. Engage in conversation.

Lean, tall, and sporting Benjamin's hawk nose on a youthful face, Harrison Whitmore burst out of a side door. The knife flashed. The former Ranger's clothing was soaked in hot blood after he cut Grayson's flank.

Grayson whirled and groaned. Harrison ran to the rear exit.

Victoria made one firing. Harrison was hit in the calf by the round. Crashing through the door, he screamed.

After placing Mira on the cot, Tatiana took a look at her pulse. "She is collapsing."

With blood dripping between his fingers, Grayson pushed a palm to his side. The medicine pack has an antidote. top shelf.

Vials clinking, Alexander tore open the cabinet. The needle was shoved into Mira's thigh by him. The girl's cheeks flushed as she gasped.

While wearing the zip-ties, Lucy thrashed. Jacob, my son, fosters a home in Baltimore. Benjamin stated that if I gave birth to the child,

Tatiana gave her the backhand. "You handed her off to a monster."

Harrison's knife wound in Victoria's shoulder was leaking as she hobbled down the stairs. He is no longer there. took the van.

Grayson tapped his communications. "Intercept, Cole. Whiskey-Hotel-six plate on a black panel truck.

Not moving. Cole then said, "On it." Two miles away.

Mira's little body was limp yet breathing when Alexander lifted her. "We are extracting." Right now.

With Grayson's weight sinking, Tatiana held him up. "You're heavily bleeding."

"A wound made of flesh." Continue to move.

They went up the steps. The smell of copper and gunpowder filled the living room. The bodies were twisted. Victoria cleared the entrance door and kicked a corpse aside.

The night closed in outside. In the distant, sirens cried out. Cole was driving the Suburban as it idled at the curb.

"Get loaded!" Cole shouted.

Mira was placed into the rear seat by Alexander. After that, Tatiana climbed in with her daughter in her arms. Grayson fell down next to them, his clothing drenched and red.

Victoria grabbed the shotgun and shut the door. "Drive."

Cole blew it away. The tires screeched. With flames licking from a damaged window, Grayson's parting grenade, the safehouse appeared smaller in the rearview mirror.

Tatiana applied bandages to Grayson's side after tearing open a trauma kit. "Remain motionless."

He flinched. "Had been worse."

Alexander's cell rang. Not sure. He replied.

Harrison's gasping voice. Phantom, tick-tock. Before the sedative burns her heart, she may have an hour.

The plastic was cracked by Alexander's grip. "Where are you?"

"A place you'll never locate." Inform Benjamin that his bonus has doubled.

The call went dead.

In the mirror, Tatiana's gaze locked with Alexander's. "He is telling lies. Mira's stable.

Alexander smashed the phone. It doesn't matter. Tonight, we come to an end.

Cole took a detour to the parkway. "Tunnel metro in five."

With blood streaming from her shoulder, Victoria reloaded. "Lucy speaks, and we locate Jacob." Exchange the boy for Harrison's address.

With her wrists severed by zip-ties, Lucy wailed from the floorboards. "He'll murder him."

Tatiana had a steely voice. "So you'd better hope we're quicker."

With its headlights slicing through the darkness, the Suburban rushed into the tunnel opening.

Dark and spreading, blood gathered beneath Grayson.

With taillights that winked like dying stars, Harrison's van drove off in the distance.