Viper's fingers ached slightly, but with one more squat he propped himself up the balcony, followed by the struggling girl. He helped her up, and then opened the glass pane slowly.
"This is a joke, right? Who the hell leaves a blast-proof glass pane unlocked? This guys are a joke" Viper whispered to her.
"This exact precinct isn't full of the best and brightest, that's why I chose it. That's also why I was shocked to learn that my biometrics were erased. There's something wrong going on, are you sure you can handle it?" the girl asked, a slight tone of concern in her voice.
"We'll see about that, but priority is getting those files out. Where are they?"
"In the archives. That room is… three doors to the right from that door" she points to the only door in the room they are.
Viper, still in a crouch, closed in on the door, cracking it open just slightly and stealing a peak outside. The hallway looked clear, but it was brightly lit, and he doubted he could cross the gap between his actual position and his target without risking being seen by any patrolling guard. If he was caught… he was on his own. He had to make a decision, or, more to the point, do what the mission expected of him. He finished opening up the door, and made his way down to the archives, crouching low and side-ways as stealthily as possible. The girl trailed behind him, not very far. The couple made it across, until they were stopped by a closed door. The metallic-looking barrier was secured by a retinal scanner, and Viper was one-hundred percent sure that none of them were cleared for it. Instead of even trying, he fished inside his sling pack for something.
"I told you, it's closed! We won't be able to open this door in time!"
"We aren't opening it" Viper remarked, finally finding a rectangle-shaped explosive charge. He stripped the cover of the glue patch and set the block in the middle-point of the door's surface "When we are inside you have less than ten seconds to find the file. After that, we are leaving, file or no file. Understood?"
"Yes! Just hurry up"
The Special Operator withdrew a small distance from the explosive charge and struck the detonator. A deafening boom was heard, amplified by the cramped space, and the door blew inward into pieces. As if on cue, alarms began blearing inside the building. Viper brandished his silenced P229, sweeping the room, and then indicated her to move inside. The girl headed for the file cabinets and began opening them, trying hard to remember the exact place where she had put the vital information. While she did this, Russian shouting began to be heard from the depths of the hallway, increasing in volume by every second.
"Five seconds!" Viper called, and made a quick decision. He blind-fired through the door-frame in the general direction of the shouting, his firing muffle by the tubular silencer attached to the barrel of his pistol. Couple with subsonic ammunition, it made his shots nearly silent, the report of the bullets striking the hard, wooden wall down the hall just slightly louder.
"I've got it!" he heard from her, and it was all he needed to know. He fished into the pack again, and this time he produced a flashbang grenade from inside it. He pulled the pin, let the safety lever fly off free, and lobbed the grenade in the same direction he had been firing just a moment ago.
"граната!" was heard, before a thunder and a flash drowned out the screams of reaction from the men assaulted by the explosion. Viper could swear he had heard windows shatter, though he was not surprised by it at all. A second block of C4 ensured them a safe escape from the precinct, and by the time the guards had made it to the archives the two intruders where already on the street, scurrying away to try and make it to the extraction point, the girl a lot more enthusiastic about finally making it out of there and away from evil armed men.
"I think we lost them! We can slow down!"
"No, they are just regrouping. If we slow down now we increase the chances of them finding us. We need to keep moving" he scanned the street, looking around for a vehicle that he could borrow. He needed something that didn't raise any eyebrows, but fast enough to put distance between himself and a group of murderous militias.
"How do you know that?" It was immediately obvious to Viper that the girl was inexperienced in this, it was even probably the first time she had done anything remotely looking like this. What did I get myself into? More to the point, what did the CIA got him into?
He finally found what he was looking for: a moderately beat-up, non-descript sedan, didn't even have a company branding. It was even possible for it to not have any kind of anti-theft measures, which he confirmed when he smashed the driver-side window with his elbow and no alarm rang. After clearing the remaining glass, Viper began hot-wiring the car, getting it to run in a few seconds.
"Get in! We need to go, now!"
The girl was shocked slightly by the iciness in his voice, but obeyed him anyway and got in the passenger's seat. Viper changed gears, and drove the car away, sticking to the speed limits. Last thing they needed was to be pulled over for a traffic violation. And that was just half of the way to safety.
"Is the Zodiac ready?" Rapier asked from his prone position. The squad was on a semi-circle formation, covering the extraction point and equipment from the only easily-accessible entry point to their position.
"Up and ready, boss. A soon as the Captain sends the word we'll be ready to leave" Ace whispered, his eyes still scanning the dirt path that lead to the paved road to town. It didn't escape nobody's attention that their extraction was in a less-than-ideal place, but time was of the essence and they had chosen speed over safety. They just had to secure the point as best as they could. Hard to argue against automatic weapons and pre-scouted cover positions, however.
"Good. I just received word from your man Whopper. He's en route here, and your Squad Leader won't be far behind him. They are breaking the curfew, so expect a hot extract"
"Roger, we are ready"
'We have a problem' are four words that no one wanted to hear when they were on the run, and it was no different this time.
"What do you mean a problem? You said we had lost them!" the girl (Ylena, according to her) exclaimed, looking around franticly.
"No, you said that. We are being tailed, one black SUV, two hundred meters behind us. They are ridding without lights to conceal themselves but their driver is kind of an idiot, he's constantly speeding and braking. Rookie mistake" Viper answered, looking at his rear-view mirrors. Against his better instincts, he pulled the burner phone from inside his jacket and dialed Rapier.
"Rapier"
"We don't have much time. They are probably listening in on this call, I have company one SUV, probably four guys inside. More vehicles could be on the way"
"Roger, we are loaded for bear"
Rapier hung the phone and rapid-fired new instructions to the team.
"Ace, prepare that explosive barrier, Viper is inbound and he's got company. Everyone else, stay frosty and ready to engage" A pair of headlights announced the arrival of the only missing member of the team, who quickly dismounted the vehicle after he drove it out of sight.
"What's going on? Where is the Cap?" Whopper asked, shouldering an FN P90 PDW.
"He's on his way, and he's bringing heat in, take your position in the formation, we'll be covering his arrival"
"Okay, listen, we are near the extraction point. As soon as the car stops I want you to get out and head for the water. Do not run towards the light flashes, avoid them at all costs or you'll get killed, understood?"
"What?!"
"Do you understand?!"
"Yes!"
"Good, get ready"
Viper accelerated the sedan well beyond the average speed, shadowed by the SUV, who now had stopped pretending to be stealthy and began gaining on them. Viper tried to put distance between them, but his vehicle was at disadvantage in comparison. His only real advantage at this point was that he knew where to go and their pursuers didn't. But that advantage was sure to evaporate by every minute they kept going on the road.
"I see them, get ready to cover them! Hawk, put a slug through the engine block of their tail!"
"Roger"
A loud crack, characteristic of a .50 caliber detonation, rang in the darkness, accompanied by a momentary flash of light. The heavy bullet struck the SUV's front, detonating into a jet of metallic shrapnel that disabled the engine and stopped the vehicle dead on its tracks.
"SUV disabled. Cap's vehicle is incoming, check your fire"
"Roger. Squad, check your fire, friendlies in the line of fire"
The car stopped abruptly, the passenger's seat facing the waterway. Ylena came out and immediately bolted towards what looked to her like an inflatable raft. She was about to get in when she was stopped and brought to the ground by a shadow.
"Get down!" was all she heard before hell broke loose.
A volley of fire, aimed at the advancing enemies who had decided to dismount from the SUV, erupted from the formation. The semi-automatic fire of each member of the team, accurately delivered, cut down two of the advancing figures before they could react. The surviving men dropped to the side of the road, trying to return fire but failing miserably. Using the blanket of fire as cover, Viper headed for the Zodiac, picking up Ylena where she had been tackled to the ground by Jester.
"Come on, get on the boat. Reaper, fall back to the Zodiac, we are out of here. Hawk, cover the team's retreat, and then haul ass, over"
"Roger. I see multiple vehicles incoming, technicals and troop transports"
"Engage the heavy guns, Rapier and I will keep the foot-mobiles pinned for the retreat"
"Roger, boss"
Ylena could only watch as the Team Leader grabbed his HK416 and headed for the frontline, not before telling her to stay on the boat and ordering Jester to keep an eye on her. The muffled crack of the carbine joined the cacophony of Reaper team's weapons, which gradually faded in intensity as the team fell back to the Zodiac one by one. Hawk was one of the last in the firing line, retreating and then covering the last two men remaining on the front. As they mounted on the inflatable boat the CIA operative revved up the outboard motor and then accelerated, slowly building up speed until the only evidence of their presence in the area was a now-burning sedan, two dead corporate mercenaries, and a disgusted militia. Ylena couldn't help but feel relieved. She had chosen sides wisely.
I haven't forgotten about this story, is just the most difficult one to write, because I normally back-check everyhtin with real facts, but I also have to exagerate things a bit for the sake of storytelling, so you'll have to bear with me. Please, remember to leave feedback in the 'Reviews' section, and I'll see ya next update.