.
Chapter 11
The enemy of my enemy
Kaunas, Lithuania (UTC+2)
14th March 2023, 1132 hrs
"Čiūčia liūlia dukrytėla
Mano mylimoji"
Her humming was like cold sea water on a terrible hot day. She always used to sing it, every evening. Whenever Léja was afraid to fall asleep, she came to her and sat on the edge of the bed. The words of the lullaby crashing into each other when her voice caressed her mind, calming the girl down, making her sail away to the land of Orpheus in the arms of her mom.
"Good to see you, mayor." Batu stretched his hand towards the man. "Captain Batu Çağlar. I'm here with my team to provide extra security for the summit."
"Yes, yes, I've been informed in advance about your arrival." His hair was slightly gray in some places, but the eyes still had that joyful spark. "I'm glad that I have such people on my side. Though…" He looked around. "... I expected Captain Sykora here."
An awkward silence took over the room, as the Turk stared at him wondering what he was supposed to answer. Something broke inside of him that day when Dima left the team. The whole anger that was arising inside of them since he heard what that fucker did to Harry, was leading him over the edge. Nothing was going according to his plan. Not a single thing.
"Bruno left. We had a fuck up." Léja spoke up finally, causing the man's glare to shift at the woman. Maybe that moment broke her too? Batu couldn't tell. She definitely regained her old mischievous disposition, but at the same time something has changed. Her tone got low, every other word she spoke was getting quieter.
"Léja, language!" the mayor frowned, eyeing the Lithuanian down. "My daughter tends to have a harsh language sometimes, I hope she's not causing too much trouble." He sighed heavily.
"Daughter?" Artyom raised an eyebrow.
The Lithuanian exhaled heavily, turning her glare away. Daughter… Sometimes she felt that the only thing that they shared was their last name. Mayor Matias Bayrus was rarely home, even before becoming the mayor. It was almost like he didn't exist. And nothing has changed since she moved out. He called her once, maybe twice a month, mostly just to check if she was still alive.
"Any problem with that?" she couldn't help but to send him a hostile look. "That's actually one of the reasons why we are here. As Wasp said, if Deimos is going to hit, he's going to do it here. NATO summit in a city whose mayor is a family member of Rainbow operative. Amazing opportunity for this sick fuck."
The Pole shook his head, shrugging off all she had said. Since Portland everybody could see that there was something off about him. Apparently the whole situation messed him up more than anybody else, even if he didn't want to admit it.
"Ah, Léja, really… calm down, please. It's enough, I understand why you are here. I'll… I'll show you around, okay? How about that?" Before walking away, Matias patted the woman on her head, like he was talking to a toddler. She hated it so damn much. Never treated as an adult, always seen as this little, clumsy and dependent girl. All her dreams and plans never mattered to the man. Since she started growing up the anger was rising inside of her, burning similar to fire from the deepest circle of hell.
"We'd really appreciate that, mayor, but we have other things to do. I've read reports on our way here…" Batu followed the man, but at the same time he picked up the pace to get in front of him and stop him. "... and I'm quite concerned."
"Concerned?" Matias laughed as if the Turk had just said the funniest joke he had ever heard. "We have everything under control, Captain Çağlar."
"What about the dam, though?"
The question hung in the air like an eagle above its prey. Although the smile didn't disappear from the mayor's face, he frowned, a wrinkle sneaking in on his forehead.
"There is nothing about it in the reports. No NATO nor police forces securing the place. I hope that you're aware that the dam is a crucial security point." Batu continued.
"We've sent PMC there. And what's more, the power plant has its own security." Bayrus snapped, cutting the soldier off. "Nothing to worry about, Captain. Really."
"That's a perfect flash point for any shit to go down. I recommend you to send somebody there, just to be sure. Better safe than sorry, right?" There was no way that Batu would step down now. The risk and the stakes were too high to let a flaw like this slide. He opened his mouth wanting to keep going, but the calling made both him and the politician turn around.
"Mayor Bayrus! Wait!"
Kaunas, Lithuania (UTC+2)
14th of March, 1149 hrs
"Yeah. Make it quick." his voice got harsh, as he cleared his throat, stomping on the burned cigarette. The ashes were trampled down on the black concrete in front the city hall.
"Deimos, but I can't make it quick." the caller on the other end let out a long sigh, which echoed in the phone speaker. "Rainbow's raids shrank our resources by half. They pinned us down in the US completely. And it wouldn't have happened if you didn't want to prove Svensson's loyalty. Your dumb game cost us millions."
"Just make it happen." the man stared at the dark mark left by the cigarette. "I gotta go. Don't disappoint me."
His finger pressed the red button before Phobos could even answer. Turning around on his heel, he made a step forward, heading up the stairs, back to the city hall. Getting a security pass was easier than he thought. Fake name, nice suit, a foreign accent. For this one he even asked Phobos to give him some lessons, assuming that Estonian accent would sound similar to Finnish, since the both languages were coming from the same family- Finnic-Uralic. Nothing too fancy, just dragging the words here and there. Not as if somebody could recognise his voice anyways.
Putting the card to the door reader, he adjusted the red tie and stepped over the threshold, almost bumping into some fat man in a size too small shirt. A quick glare made him sure that it was nobody too important for him, so aside from a single hostile growl, he left the guy alone. No time for such idiotisms.
If his assumptions were right (and he didn't make mistakes often) his sweet targets should already be here. His eyes were carefully scanning the guards, the politicians and the gray mas, made out of less important workers, moving like zombies through the corridors.
Tracing his fingers on the smooth leather cover of the notebook, tucked deep down in his bag, he was slowly progressing to the conference room. He could quote every single page, as if those were his own notes. It was somehow surprising to see that the director didn't record everything on his dictaphone. Maybe something was telling him that they might have been spied on…Oh, what an irony that one simple impulsive decision busted all of Pandey's efforts.
Deimos wasn't aware of the existence of the notebook. Not until he found himself standing in front of the desk, looking at Harry's dead body. In the darkness of the room a single thing drew his attention. That damn worn out notebook he randomly decided to slide under his cape before leaving.
He had to stop him from opening it almost right away, just like an excited child on Christmas morning. Page twenty five, paragraph two, right there… the most important information for him now- Léja said she won't forgive her dad. She's considering Bruno the closest person and an authority. She's terrified of the perspective of losing him too.
The dictaphone tapes had a lot of useful information, but the notebook was something definitely more personal. Something that changed Deimos's mind. Since then, it wasn't just about destroying Rainbow. No, his plan had taken a far more darker turn. Destroying Rainbow as an organization wasn't enough. He was craving to destroy every single person who ever was part of the unit. And he started with the weakest spot, the Termotouch team.
That wasn't exactly his plan, but since they made it so easy for him… One of the reasons why he appeared here personally was the urge of seeing despair on their faces after he left them the small, lovely gift. He couldn't even recall what else brought him so much joy if something ever brought him so much joy.
"Mayor Bayrus! Wait!" his eyes finally locked on the characteristic navy suit. Oh, it was finally time… "It's good to see you again, sir!"
From his eyes he could read how confused the man was. In his own mind he had his speeches ready for both scenarios. One,if the man won't admit that he has no fucking idea who the hell he is and the second… the second that he probably shouldn't even consider. That pig was too prideful to admit that he doesn't know who he is speaking to in front of the other people.
"Oh mister…" the man awkwardly scratched the back of his head, staring blankly at Deimos. The terrorist loved to see such expressions, anxiety taking over his prays.
"Mister Kaarel Jõeäär."
Three accents, two double "a". He really liked the sound of that name, making him almost sorrowful that it was the only time when he'd use it. He should have thought about something less grateful.
"Ah, mister Jõeäär…" the mayor slowly nodded, a wrinkle appearing on his forehead. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"
"Obviously, you won't admit you have no idea who the fuck I am, mayor scumbag." Deimos had to stop himself from letting out a chuckle as the thought crossed his mind.
"We're getting old, sir. But it looks like you're still holding up, hm?" tilting his head slowly, his glare met with the blue eyes of the Lithuanian woman. "Isn't that Team Rainbow? Armas Jumal!" the words spilled out of his mouth just as Phobos taught him. There was no way that somebody would say that he's not Estonian.
"Yes, yes, they are our guests here."
"So…" Deimos was ready to say his planned phrase, but at the last second he bit his tongue, frowning. "Where's Captain Sykora?"
His imaginary identity slid for a moment, the figure of Kaarel Jõeäär getting overshadowed by Deimos. Real Deimos.
"Captain Sykora is no longer on active duty. I'm the captain now."
Dark straight hair neatly combed back, light facial hair and piercing brown eyes, now staring at him with some kind of dismissive and annoyed emotion radiating from him.
Page ten, paragraph nine- Çağlar is definitely an amazing leader, but it seems that he still didn't get over the mission in Afghanistan. Though he couldn't do anything to save his soldiers, he can't help but to blame himself. I hope that giving the captain role to Bruno won't make him feel invalidated or unappreciated.
"Oh… that's… unexpected. Not so long ago, my… friend was the captain in one of the Rainbow's teams." The story was like a snowball rolling down the hill, spinning faster and faster. "We've served together for some time in the NATO forces. What a pity… I really hoped to meet him here today."
Lies, perfect lies,without the slightest flaw or hesitation. His whole plan just got ruined, something that even Harry didn't see coming had happened. Thermite kicked out Sykora. Or maybe he left on his own? That wasn't his style though, was it?
Page seventeen, paragraph three- Bruno doesn't give up. That's why I've made him the captain. As he said: "No matter how bad the situation is, he won't lose his hope until God himself will appear in front of him and tell him to do so.
"Oh, he's even a bigger challenge now…" a thought rolled through his mind, making him bite his lip. "I knew from the beginning that he'd be a really interesting enemy, but this? That's something new."
"He never mentioned you. Sorry, sir." Batu slightly let his tone off, relaxing the muscles. The situation definitely wasn't going easy on him. His shoulders were slightly rounded, taking away the feeling of his formidable size
"But he mentioned you. Captain Çağlar, right? Oh and obviously Léja Bayrus, his favorite one."
Page twenty eight, paragraph nine, marked with highlighter- Léja tries to improve, but I still can't let her join R&D. I know that Bruno is angry about this, but I can't do it. She needs to change.
The Lithuanian frowned, but a red blush already flooded her cheeks showing that much that comment flattered her. At the same time the terrorist noticed her nervous movement of her hand playing with the ends of her golden hair.
Bruno definitely left on his own. He could read it from her body, the shadow of betrayal creeping behind her, behind every single of them. The unexpected backstabber in such an extreme situation visibly took a toll on them.
"He really wanted you in R&D…" Deimos continued, another cruel idea coming to his mind. "Ah, as he said, that's a shame that you were too irreformable to get that job."
Although at first glance nothing has changed in her expression, Deimos could feel how perfectly he pressed the soft spot. Right where it hurt the most, right in the fresh wound.
"I… yeah." her voice trembled, though she still seemed composed. Just as if she was fighting for her survival in that moment, barely holding on to the edge of a cliff.
Deimos's plan was so perfect that it surprised even him. There was no way that somebody would suspect him of being an enemy, not after all those things he had said. Honestly, he himself would believe that he knew Bruno personally. One more time, his ego got flattered for the decision to take the notebook.
"Excuse me, sir. It was really nice to talk to you, but we're quite busy right now." the Turk gently tapped Léja's shoulder and nodded at the mayor. There was some kind of disappointment painted on the politician's face as he was staring at his daughter.
The terrorist's body was literally burning, itching from the inside, all neurons and muscles yelling at him to pull out the gun and shoot the man in his chest, to see the blood dying the white shirt, to watch the despair in Léja's blue eyes, her scream of pain piercing the air when her father's body drops to the floor. It would have been so much better if Bruno was here. Losing both father and father figure, right after Del's death? Not many people would be able to pull their shit together after such events.
"Ah, yes, yes… sorry, mister…?" Mayor Bayrus finally snapped out of his thoughts.
"Jõeäär."
"Sorry, mister Jõeäär, captain Çağlar is right. We should head to the conference room."
Slowly nodding, Deimos grinned widely. That conversation was the exact reason why he came here. The way he caused them to fall apart without even moving his finger… something incredible.
The soldiers walked past him, leaving the man alone in the corridor. Before they disappeared behind the corner, one of them stopped, just for a second, looking over his shoulder, giving the terrorist a cold stare.
Deimos had noticed earlier that the Pole was eyeing him the whole time and it kinda concerned the man. Though- concerned wasn't a good word, more accurate would be to state that it amused him. The analytical mind of warrant officer Skowron certainly put him on alert during the meeting, but there was no way that he could even imagine who Kaarel Jõeäär really was.
"No siege on the city hall, the old guy didn't show up. The mayor stays alive"
His fingers were quickly hitting the screen when he was writing a text message.
"Targets will be on their way soon. The boys should roll, but remind them about the surprise. Get rid of the new captain and his sister."
Sliding the phone back to his pocket, he felt the barrel of the gun hid behind his belt. Looking back at where the mayor and his daughter disappeared, he couldn't help but to let out a silent chuckle, showing his teeth like a rabid dog.
"That's your lucky day, mayor. Very lucky day." he chuckled to himself.
Exhaling heavily, Artyom lowered his head. He didn't take the flight and another change in his environment too well.
"So fucking tired…" a silent whisper escaped his mouth, as he saw another person approaching them. Another problem.
"Mayor, the congress center is experiencing a power shortage. It seems that the Kuronis Power Plant has some issues regarding its activity." The young boy, looking like he barely left the highschool, clumsily held the tablet in his hands, showing something to the politician.
"Ah, call those idiots! They can't just cut the energy now!"
Artyom's glare shifted at the team captain. When their eyes met, they both knew, even without the words, what this information meant.
"Dvasia." The Turk quickly turned around. "Stay with the mayor, keep him safe. I'm calling Selin and Osa, we're going there. Right fucking now."
Kaunas, Lithuania (UTC+2)
14th of March, 1208 hrs
Slamming the car's door, Batu looked around.
"No guards on the outpost." he muttered, quickly adjusting the strap of his bulletproof vest. "We're splitting, Osa, Shadow, check the main building near the entrance. Me and Licho are going down to the dam itself. If those fuckers did something there, we'll be having a big problem."
Without another word, the Turk nodded at his teammate and they both headed towards the dam, leaving the women behind.
"Unlocked." Skowron slowly pushed the door open,
"Moving in, cover me."
Their steps echoed in the empty room when they were checking the place carefully and slowly.
"We need to go down."
There was no way that they were going to take an elevator. Too many things could go wrong in such a place.
"I have a bad feeling about this…" the whisper cut the silent air of the staircase. Going down the steep stairs, the older Çağlar didn't look at the Pole nor answer. He hated when somebody was saying such shit. "I have a bad feeling", oh sure he did feel that everything in this place was odd. Maybe that's why he hated it so much.
The image of the powerplant was always associated with loud machines working all day and night long. Their pistons moving up and down, the fan spinning causing the constant hum in the background. Nothing similar to what he was experiencing now. No buzzing of the industrial energy generator or the noise of the crowding workers flying around like bees in a hive. The building felt dead.
"Osa, Shadow, sit-rep." his finger again pressed the button on the radio, this time his voice got tainted with a tint of impatience.
"Oh, you jinxed it, Artyom. You totally jinxed it." he let out a sigh, cursing in his mind. Either they lost the signal as they went below the surface, or something bad happened. None of the options calmed him down.
"Licho, what are you waiting for?" Batu turned around, looking at the soldier standing motionlessly a few steps higher. That was it, his composed attitude slided, the question hanging in the air when his annoyed tone echoed on the empty staircase.
"We should call for support. Going there with the fire power we currently have is suicide, Wasp." The Pole shook his head, still not making a step down. His body was caressed by the darkness, the only things that reflected the light were his cold, gray eyes, shining close to some kind of animal.
"Don't do this to me, Artyom. The workers might have been taken as hostages. If we go back up, it might be too late for them. No backing off now."
"Don't be stupid, Batu. Whatever is behind this door. it's too risky for us to get there. What if they know that we are coming? We've lost enough people and I'm not letting you die today."
The silence between them was comparable to an unspoken war between two great powers. The unstoppable force and the immovable object.
"Then I'm afraid that you'll have to kill me yourself. Lead, follow, or get out of my way." He muttered under his breath, deciding to not waste any more time.
"You promised me a drink. But for that, we're definitely drinking vodka, not some lame whiskey." Artyom raised his hands as a symbol of surrender and followed the Turk.
His head was turning around, looking for the things that seemed out of place even in the slightest. A shadow, a noise, a color that shouldn't be here. First such thing that grabbed his attention was the machinery being turned off. The turbines were not spinning, no water was flowing through the dam.
"Suspicious." Batu frowned, sharing a quick glare with his teammate.
"Definitely. All the gates are closed… but that explains the energy shortage the guy in the city hall was talking about." Artyom slowly lowered his gun looking at the console. With a soft movement he pulled out the card out of the reader, analyzing the information. "Seems like it was an inside job… "
"Not necessarily." the Turk kneeled down in the corner of the room. "Poor bastard." he sighed, gently closing the bulged eyes of the dead worker, curled up on the floor. "I'm afraid that we have a big issue now…" he sighed, yanking out an object from the man's hand. A badge, with a well-known logo. Too well known for Artyom. "Probably ripped it off the uniform when he was attacked."
"Strigorii Security Group. Amazing, we've been betrayed. I've fucking told you that we shouldn't trust them with anything."
Batu just shook his head, deciding to not answer that, hoping that it would prevent the Pole from getting pumped up even more. With a swift movement he showed him to head towards the catwalk towering above the tanks and gates.
Squinting his eyes, Artyom made a step forward, leaning over the railing. His whole mind was now focused on one thing, the object stuck to the dam's pillar. The first thought that it was one of many fuse boxes, which they saw on their way down here, but there was something different about this. The wires embraced the whole pillar connecting with other objects, creating a spider-web like construction.
"Shit… it's all wired with explosives!" the blood hummed in his ears. "The gates are closed to cause more pressure on the dam… they will flood the whole damn city if those charges go o-..."
Before he could finish, the silent air was cut with a gunshot. With the corner of his eye, Licho could see his teammate's body dropping to the floor. There was no dull sound of the heavy mass hitting the tiles, no moan of pain coming from the Turk or anything. Just the ringing in his ears, flooding his mind.
It all happened so fast that he didn't even realize how he found himself on the ground, a tough grip clasping on his neck, cutting the flow of oxygen.
"Fuck…" a whimper escaped his mouth, as his eyes widened.
He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was caused by the lack of oxygen or was it really happening. The weird, distorted armor covering the body of his enemy… or maybe it was just his blurred vision?
"S-Selin…?" a weak voice escaped his lips. He wasn't sure why this name came to his mind, he said that subconsciously, almost like it wasn't his own word. Then it hit him- whoever was on top of him was wearing the same armor as his friend.
But it couldn't be her, could it? No… he had more than one sparring with the Turk and it wasn't her. Too heavy, too muscular. The enemy was almost like a bear, the giant hands still clenching on Artyom's neck.
The attempts to dig his fingers into the attacker's wrists ended up in nothing else than excruciating pain taking over his body. The Pole's arm hit the floor when his mind started to go completely black.
If not for the loud bang, he wouldn't even try to open his eyes. Another one.
The grip on his neck finally relented, letting the lungs fill with precious air. A single cough was let out of his mouth before he realized what happened.
A low growl arose when the attacker turned over his shoulder, looking at the place from where the shots came. Artyom was watching amazed, how the man ignored a gushing wound on his shoulder and cheek, reaching out to grab his own pistol.
He couldn't let that happen.
With a swift movement, Skowron's hand grabbed the handle of the knife, pulling it from the holster on his thigh. His vision doubled up and blurred, creating a distorted image, but that was enough for him to point the blade right where the terrorist eye was. Pushing it deeper, digging it down into the eye socket, twisting it.
"Kurwa…" he huffed, when the body dropped on him, still twitching and the blood lazily flowing out of the hole in the man's head. "O japierdole…"
Pushing the corpse off and rolling over to his stomach he finally could catch fresh air. Crawling clumsily, his hand grabbed the railing, pulling himself up. Every movement he made felt so heavy, so painful…
His glare shifted at the place where he had seen his teammate for the last time.
"No, no, no…"
The crimson liquid was everywhere. At this point the Pole wasn't even sure whose blood it was. Captain Çağlar was laying on the ground, his one arm stretched forward, still holding firmly to the gun.
"C'mon, Batu…" he huffed, sitting, or more tripping down on the ground next to the Turk. "Wake up…"
With his teeth he pulled off one of the gloves, grabbing the captain's wrist, checking for pulse.
"C'mon…" the desperate whisper left his mouth. "We don't have time for this…"
Sitting next to the unconscious body of Çağlar he felt like trapped in some trance. Unable to move or to do anything else. His neck hurt, every breath made his lungs burn.
"Artem, where is Marcel?" The soldier couldn't understand most of the babble that came out of his wounded friend's mouth, but the lieutenant's son's name sounded clear.
Too clear.
"He's home, Kajtek. You can't fall asleep, promise me? Alright buddy?" For a second, he took off his hands from the wound, taking out a bandage from his medkit. "I'm going to get you out of here, I promise. I promise, Kajtek, you hear me?"
"I told you, I'm not letting you die, you hear me?!" the anger took over his mind, "You can't die now! You still need to find Del, right?! You said he's alive. If you're right, he'd be so fucking mad to see you go down in some random fucking powerplant! You hear me?!" Catching a stable hold on Batu's arm, he managed to pull him up. The weight of the man almost dragged him down on his knees, but there was now way he was giving up. The Turk just saved his ass from being strangled, he couldn't leave him to die.
"That's an order, you hear that?" he coughed, his lungs burning like somebody flooded them with lava. "I'm taking you out of here…"
Kaunas, Lithuania (UTC+2)
14th of March, 1219 hrs
"Please, call me when you get there." her hands were gently rubbing his back, as she hid her face in Thomas's shoulder.
"I will, I promise. Don't worry about me, Selin. Just be careful, okay?" a soft, filled with sorrows smile appeared on his face, as he tightened the embrace.
"Mhm…" the Turk muttered, not letting him go. Not yet. She didn't want to do this, not after all what happened throughout the last month. It all hit them like a speeding truck, crushing them, ripping them apart.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was so damn scared to let Thomas go. As much as she wanted to believe that Del was still alive, it was getting harder with every day. Almost every night since the Brit's disappearance she was haunted by the visions of tortures. All the things that Deimos was doing to her beloved friend, his body twisted in pain, laying in a pool of blood… Maybe Mike was right that it'd be better if he was just dead. Though, it immediately brought an image to Selin's mind. An image of Del's body left to rot in the middle of the forest. Left to be eaten by animals, or maybe used as a trophy? Was Deimos really that fucked up to do something like this? Or maybe it was just her subconscious playing tricks on her.
After all those years she should have got used to this. That was the line of the job. People were dying. People she loved, people she cared about. They were gone and every time she thought that this would hurt less, she found herself collapsing on the floor, crying, Just as if a piece of her soul was torn away from her.
She couldn't let Thomas go. Although she was sure that getting back to California, to his family, was the best possible thing for the man right now, she couldn't let him go.
"Shadow, goddammit. Pay attention." Anja muttered, taking up her peace. "Open the door…" kneeling down she set up her shield, giving her a short nod.
"On it." Selin shook her head, getting snapped of her memory. She needed to focus on the mission, no time for daydreaming now.
Çağlar never expected that saying a goodbye could be so hard.
Her hand met with the cold surface of the handle, but she didn't hesitate for even a moment. Pulling the door fully open, she got behind the Nighthaven operator, scanning the inside through the sight of her rifle. To their surprise the room felt dead empty, no unknown threat coming at them.
"Stay behind. It's definitely a trap."
But Selin didn't listen. Her steps immediately headed behind the counter. Quickly peeking behind it, her finger on the trigger, she held her breath.
"Clear." she sighed, kneeling on her one knee, She could feel that smell as soon as they opened the door, leaving a metallic tint on her tongue. "That's definitely Deimos's work."
Two bodies, their hands tied by cable ties behind their backs, the faces completely massacrated. They didn't look anything like the people in the photos on the badges which hung around their necks
"Allahım. They got there already…" Selin held her breath, getting her hand on the radio. "Wasp, sit-rep."
No answer came, no matter how clearly she spoke the words, or how hard she was pressing the radio button.
"Calm your ass down, Shadow. They are already inside of the dam. Tones of concrete and water won't let the signal through." her teammate sighed. "We need to get to the control room. If they want to flood the city, they'll open all the gates. Call in the support, we can't waste time."
The building was almost like a cemetery. Dark, quiet, the stench of death hanging in the air, causing the panic to hit Selin's veins. The bright walls reflected dim sunlight coming through half-closed blinds. Slowly moving further into the building the smell of blood was getting more intense, like in a slaughterhouse.
Her heart was pounding inside of her chest, as she tightened her grip on the gun. Keeping close to the Croatian, she was making careful steps, one foot after the other, trying to make as little noise as possible.
"Feels too quiet." Osa whispered, turning over her shoulder for a moment. "What's ETA for the support?"
"Five minutes top-..." Çağlar's pupils narrowed when her shoe lost its grip on the ground. She immediately looked down, a crimson trail spreading through the corridor, disappearing under the heavy metal door.
Kontrolės kambarys
Both women were staring at the sign on the wall, not sure what they should do next.
"Control room?"
"Probably." Anja nodded, making another step forward. "On three…"
"Wait!" she stopped her last second, laying the finger on her lips as a sign for the Croatian to listen.
The voices coming from the other side were muffled, sort of distorted, but still audible enough for them to understand what the hell was going on.
"Why the hell did it stop working?!"
"Somebody had to pull the card inside of the dam! It's not my fault I didn't do anything!"
"Ahh, I don't care anyways. The gates have been closed and the charges are set. It is just a matter of minutes before it all will go to hell."
"You can't do this… you'll kill everybody and even people from the other cities…" the man sobbed. Blood lazily dropping from his beaten up face started to create a small pool between his legs, under the chair.
"Oh, just shut up." the terrorist's shoe landed on the worker's chest, tripping him over. "It's too late for you to do anything. Sit tight and you might not gonna end up like your coworkers. Just don't resist, see how far we got thanks to your cooperation? You'll be a part of something amazing. Something bigger that you can even comprehend…'
When he turned around, a powerful punch knocked him down to his knees. Quick precise movement, causing the man to helplessly lay down on his back, being pressed by Selin's knee to the cold tiles.
"Don't move." She hissed through her teeth. The eyes from behind the mask were locked on her with a weird emotion radiating from them. The Turk could swear that he had a light smirk under that white mask.
"Deimos sends his regards."
Selin's eyes widened as her glare shifted on the emblematics on his uniform. It couldn't be… It just couldn't be…
"Shadow!" the bullet swissed through the air right next to her ear. The ringing in her mind that appeared right after that was so unexpected, making her heart skip a beat. Just as if something scary appeared on a screen while watching a horror movie. Temporary state when you're aware of the risk, but still shiver regardless.
The man's body was shaking, as the bloody stain under his body was spreading, covering the floor with the red shine. The pistol rang slightly, slipping out of the terrorist hand and hitting the ground. It took the Turk a moment to snap out of the shock and realize what had happened. She didn't even hear the second shot fired but the Croatian. Through all the years of her experience in the military she was close to death more than once. But today? She hesitated, got distracted because of that damn badge.
"You alright?" The firm grip on her arm pulled her away from the corpse.
"How could I not see him pulling the gun out…" her whisper came out of her so unnaturally. How could she be so stupid?
"He's dead. That's all that matters now." the Croatian rolled her eyes, releasing the grip. Her eyes were expressing some form of disgust and amusement, although at the same time a tint of relief was breaking through. Osa was a specific person. Mean, often openly expressing her honest opinions. Anja's shot saved her life, so she shouldn't complain
"Thank you." Çağlar nodded lightly, kicking the gun away from the terrorist, just to be sure. In one step she got to the hostage, freeing his hands.
"Take me out of here! The charges will blow up in three minutes! I don't want to fucking die, I beg you…" he cried loudly, a blood dripping from his broken nose.
"Charges…?" Selin's voice trembled.
"Shit, Shadow, look at this." the other woman cursed under her breath, pointing at the CCTV camera screen, rewinding it to a moment from a few hours later. It was clear what the terrorists were doing on the videos, laying down those wires and setting the devices.
"No, no, no, hayır!" Her face was almost glued to the screen, as her eyes quickly switched between the pixelated object. "They can't blow it up…" The Turk turned around on her heel, desperately gasping for air. It was like somebody got a grip over her lungs.
"They have already set explosive charges. We won't defuse them within two minutes. We need to get out of here, before that damn place turns into a rushing river." Jankovic grabbed her radio, to spread the terrible news to the world. "Rainbow Two to Rainbow Actual. White Masks wired the powerplant with explosives! Evacuate the areas with the highest risk of being flooded! Cease the summit!"
"No, no, no, Batu is still there! I'm not leaving him!" her voice broke, as the realization hit her. "Fuck!" her eyes helplessly stared at the clock on the wall. The needle was going faster than a race car, faster than usual, taking away such precious seconds.
"No time for this, Shadow! Let's pray that they saw the explosives and withdrew!"
"No…"
She lost Lale. She lost Harry, and then she lost Del. She couldn't now lose her brother.
"We are getting out of here!" It was the first time when she heard Osa's voice like this. Scared, terrified of death. The pupils were drilling her mind as they stared at each other, the only things that could be heard in the room were their heavy breaths and ticking of the clock.
She cursed so much that damn worker. Because of his injuries, they couldn't move fast enough and time was running away.
"Take him away!" Selin called out to the Croatian who already got on the driver seat. "Dive, Anja!"
"I'm not leaving you!"
"And I'm not leaving Batu."
But before Selin could do anything else, an explosion shook the ground, when the first blast caused a crack in the concrete surface of the dam.
Author's notes:
Hey, Dom's here! So I wanna ask you for a small favour- recently the view coutner has been fucking with me and tbh it's really demotiviating to not see any views or anythig. If somebody is reading it and enjoying the story, I'd really appreciate if you leave some comment so I know to not stop posting. If nobody will leave a note, I'll just swap to the AO3.
Cheers guys