Annabeth POV
"All right, we will be sneaking into the west side of the facility," Agent La Rue said boldly.
Piper, the Stolls, Katie, and I nodded. Clarisse could be scary, we couldn't double-cross her, especially on an important mission.
The recruits were split up into groups to infiltrate the BlodgeHarm facility. We were out in the field and gearing up to go. Lake Valor's soldiers would facilitate the direct attack and be here for backup.
"Agent La Rue, we have to infiltrate first to clear as much of the coast, correct?" Piper asked.
"Yes, and to save any innocents that might get caught up in the crossfire," Clarisse explained.
"Do we know if there are victims inside?" I asked seriously.
"It is likely, and we have to prepare as such," Clarisse said firmly.
I continued to strap on my velcro armor. Our vest was bulletproof, and our weapons were top-notch. I sheathed my knife and fixed my gun into position.
I was ready for my first mission.
"All right, on my mark," Agent La Rue whispered on site.
We were standing at the outer edge of the woods on the west side of the BlodgeHarm facility. this was supposedly one of the terrorist group's main facilities. It certainly was big.
The large garage door started to open.
"Now," Clarisse hissed.
We all quickly and quietly ran towards the garage. The driver of the truck that left had already started to close it.
However, we were quick enough to make it inside.
Barely. Both of the Stolls had to slide in through the garage doorway. The screen closed with a loud thud as the Stolls got up.
"Gained entry to the west," Agent Clarisse said into her earpiece.
The rest of us scoped the large room. It was a garage filled with cars and trucks. We were hiding behind a cargo truck because security was patrolling the premises.
"Entrypoint at 11 o'clock," I whispered sharply.
Clarisse nodded in agreement.
We slowly snuck behind vehicles until we made it towards the door. The room and building were pretty depressing in shades of dull colors. However, this made it easier to camouflage in our black outfits and velcro.
"A security tag is needed to pass," Katie noted immediately.
"So, what would you recruits do?" Clarisse asked sternly. I already knew what to do. The question was who wanted to take out one of the security agents.
I was pretty sure that we all did.
"I'm calling it," the Stolls said at the same time.
We watched as they snuck towards a security agent posted several yards away. Connor and Travis nodded at each other. As twins, they understood each other's moves.
"Hey," Travis said, which caught the security guy's attention.
He quickly ran up to Travis with his gun drawn. Of course, he ran right into the trap. I couldn't help but smile at the perfection of their plan.
Connor pounced from behind and struck the security agent with his gun.
The enemy went down quickly and coldly.
The Stolls quickly came back holding the security tag in hand. Clarisse nodded in approval as we quickly went through the door.
As soon as we were inside, an explosion vibrated the concrete building.
"The raid has started," Clarisse said. "Everyone be on high alert."
Suddenly, gunshots and shouts sounded through the hallways. Security agents ran at us from the right, and we ran to the left while firing our own weapons.
"The Stolls and I will cover you. Annabeth, Piper, and Katie check each room that we pass," Clarisse shouted.
The gunshots were loud, but we were used to it.
A key feature of this job was being able to trust your team. For the most part, I trusted my fellow recruits and mentor, so I agreed to the plan.
Piper, Katie, and I went slightly ahead and cleared the rooms. Meanwhile, Agent La Rue and the Stolls followed behind while holding off the BlodgeHarm terrorists.
We finally got to the end of the hallway. Time to go to the next floor.
This mission got intense really quickly.
I drew my gun and fired at the agents coming from the other side. We had to go upstairs because now the security was coming from both sides.
I used the security tag to open the door.
Everyone ran inside, and I shut the door. Gunshots fired at the metallic door.
"Annabeth, we have to run up," Piper said.
"No, Piper, give me a second," I shouted.
I grabbed my taser and shocked the doorknob and security pad. This would disable the door from opening for a little while.
"Good thinking, recruit," Clarisse said. "This bought us some time."
We quickly ran up to the next floor. The west side of the building had two floors, and I had a gut feeling that we'd be able to save people on the second floor.
The BlodgeHarm terrorists were pounding on the door downstairs.
The sounds were echoing up the staircase.
As soon as we opened the second-floor door, gunshots fired through. The Stolls immediately shut the door again. Everyone was using their body weight to keep the door shut.
My mind was already thinking about what to do now.
"Okay, we're gonna need a plan because the door won't hold for much longer," Katie shouted.
"There's always a vent or duct to escape," Agent La Rue said.
I could tell that Agent La Rue was very experienced. She knew how to infiltrate and get away with a mission successfully.
"There," Piper shouted towards the right.
"Wait, we can discharge an explosion followed by a smoke bomb," I suggested.
They all turned towards me as I stepped away and grabbed a grenade and smoke bomb. Agent Clarisse thought for a few seconds before nodding.
They all opened the door slightly and immediately moved away as gunshots fired through the opening.
I unclipped the grenade and launched it through.
The explosion vibrated in my ears as the impact thew the door open. Some of my team members fell to the floor. I quickly threw the smoke bomb as well.
Agent Clarisse commanded us all to run through.
All the BlodgeHarm criminals were distracted and coughing, and we used that to our advantage. I could barely see where I was running until I made it through the smoke cloud.
"Good plan, Annabeth. You have the brainpower," Agent La Rue commented.
I simply nodded as I opened the nearest door. Empty.
"It's a good thing if we don't find any hostages, right?" Katie acknowledged.
Honestly, that would be excellent news because it meant that no one was kidnapped and possibly tortured. But, it was too idealistic.
"Wait, guys, there," Piper shouted as she pointed towards a hallway.
Literally, cries of help were echoing from the far hallway. It was a more isolated part of the floor and facility as a whole, so it was a good location to hold hostages.
"We took care of the terrorists on the floor. We're clear for now," Clarisse said firmly.
Clarisse and the Stolls had fought the BlodgeHarn security while they were distracted by the bomb. Tasers were powerful tools to demobilize enemies.
I stared at the dozen or so unconscious criminals.
The Lake Valor soldiers would round them up as they swept the building.
All of us ran towards the hallway.
"All right, we're here to help you all. We work for the US government. Please step away from the doors," Agent La Rue shouted. The innocent victims obliged her words.
We shot the locked doors down.
There was a total of fourteen individuals that were locked up. They ranged in gender and age. The youngest was a ten-year-old girl.
"I think that's everyone. We need to get them all out of here," Katie said.
"Please, everyone follow close behind us," I informed them.
The innocent victims huddled in a group as my team surrounded them in a protective circle. This was protocol for saving hostages. Literally, we were putting our lives in front of theirs in every direction.
"Hold on, Agents, I can also help if you give me a weapon," a firm voice said.
"Wait, Agent Zhang, you were held here," Agent La Rue asked in surprise.
Suddenly, I recognized the large Asian man. He was an active special agent for Lake Valor. I believed that he specialized in scoping out enemy locations.
"Yes, I was taken a few days ago while scoping out the area," Frank Zhang said.
"Wait, you informed Lake Valor of this facility?" Piper asked.
"Yes, precisely," he confirmed.
"Okay, well, we have to get these innocents out of here," Agent Clarisse said as she handed an extra gun to Agent Frank.
Piper and I quickly entered an empty room, which had a window. I noticed that Lake Valor soldiers (including Jason) had surrounded and secured the vicinity of the west side.
I opened the window.
"Hello, we need immediate transport down. We secured several innocent citizens that need help," Piper shouted.
Jason immediately located her voice. He gave us a firm nod and a relieved smile. Obviously, he'd be relieved that Piper was okay.
The other recruits and agents ushered the victims into the room.
Lake Valor soldier launched a thick rope up to our window. Agent Frank immediately caught it and secured it to a fixed table in the room.
"All right, guys, we got you. You just need zipline down, and our soldiers will take you all to safety," I informed them firmly but kindly.
Katie and Travis ripped off their sleeves and used them to zipline down first to test the safety of the zipline.
Then, one by one, the hostages went down.
Agent Frank was helping at the zipline while Connor and Clarisse were keeping guard at the door for any incoming criminals. But, it looked like we were clear for now.
"I'm scared," the little girl cried as she hugged a woman, who I assumed was her mother.
I knelt down next to her.
"It's okay, sweetie," I said softly. "Treat it like a ride at a park. It's fun, and private soldiers are down there to catch you."
"Everything is going to be okay," Piper said soothingly.
The little girl named Elle nodded as Frank hosted her up. Elle was going to hold onto Frank as they ziplined down together.
"Thank you," her mother said softly. She had tears in her eyes.
"Absolutely, we're doing our job, ma'am," I said firmly.
"You're missing somebody," she informed us. The two other victims left in the room also nodded in agreement.
"What do you mean?" Piper asked.
"There's another victim somewhere on this floor. We could hear his screams sometimes when he'd get tortured by those horrible people," a man explained.
"I believe that he must be a few rooms away from the rest of us," he said firmly. The others nodded in corroboration.
"Agent Clarisse, I suspect that there's still someone to be saved," I said firmly.
She nodded in understanding.
After the last hostages were freed down the zipline, Agent Clarrise, Connor, Piper, and I went back into the hallway. We individually started to scope out the rooms of the hallway.
"Oh my god, guys," Connor shouted suddenly.
We turned towards Connor. His gun was drawn as he stood at the doorway to a room, but he looked like he was seeing a ghost. We walked towards the room that Connor had shot down.
Suddenly, I froze at the sight.
It was a torture room. A table was placed at the center. However, our attention immediately went to the half-naked man huddled in the corner.
His sea-green eyes were desperately yet fearfully gazing at us.
Oh my god. It was him.
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