Hostile Ground (The Arsenal #7) - Cara Carnes Page 0,85
and repeated moments like this a thousand times between practice drills and real-life scenarios. Calm filled her brain as numbness seeped in.
Now that they’d had first contact with the assholes in their section of the compound, there’d be more. Likely a lot more.
She angled downward and tucked against the wall as they turned the curve and shot. Their shots struck only two of the four combatants returning fire before they crumbled to the ground. Gun aimed at the downed men, she navigated her way past the first wave of enemies. The drones never missed and the compound in them dispensed death within seconds.
She and Beast bypassed the four men her team had shot. Shep or Thunder would ensure they were dead while Cracker refilled the empty drone. The other two drones remained ahead of Addy and Beast as they continued down the corridor.
Bursts of bright red within the headset’s viewscreen froze Addy when she reached a sharp corner turn in the corridor. She and Beast both crouched. She flashed the signal for enemy up ahead for those without headgear. Only two of Kristof’s men didn’t have The Arsenal’s fancy visual display. The Masons never cut corners when it came to having backup equipment at the ready.
Shouted voices up ahead drifted through the narrow corridor.
“Go find out what the fuck is going on down there!” The barked order in English surprised Addy. “Take these Russian bastards with you. Make them clear the area. I swear we don’t get paid enough to deal with this bullshit. What the fuck is going on?”
“You know what the hell happened. Sidorav pissed someone off. You saw how freaked he was when he plowed through here with his men.”
“Get down to that corridor. I’ve got to haul ass through this damned maze to provide support for those missiles.” The voice raised. “Teams four through eight, you’re with me. Move out.”
“Christ,” Edge snapped on the com. “There’s bound to be an underground bunker in that area that the crawlers didn’t find. Cord, get those Mandrake drones we commandeered deeper into those tunnels. I want eyes on every inch of that area.”
“I’m sending backup drones through the tunnel from the central area, but we need most of them on Marshall and Gage,” Zoey said.
“Focus on them. Cord and I have this,” Mary said.
Addy tightened as Zoey’s fear crawled through the com. Unlike Mary and Vi, Zoey didn’t hesitate on letting her emotions run unchecked during an op. Sure, she kept a level head and got shit done, but she didn’t hide her reactions most of the time.
A larger black drone swept through the corridor and passed Addy. Images filled her view screen as a large group of men exited an opening in the dirt wall up ahead.
“There’s a large chamber carved out. The material lining the walls of the area looks similar to what they used for those Cuba detention areas we sprung our teams from,” Mary said. “We can do an initial clear with the drones, but that’d leave you exposed for a few minutes after you dispense the rest. It’ll take a while to get reloaded.”
No choice. Need to clear STAT.
Addy typed in the response. If they didn’t clear this clog now, they likely wouldn’t get to Olaf in time.
“Understood. Interception incoming.” The drones around Addy and her team flew forward. Gunfire sounded, along with grunts and agitated shouting.
Her pulse quickened as she and her team surged forward. Beast and Thunder took lead positions as they stepped out from the corner in the tunnel and sprayed the area before them with their automatic weapons. Dirt and rock crumbled around them.
Addy charged forward but kept herself pressed against the left wall. Shep took position along the right wall. Johnny whistled. The shrill pitch rose above the melee. Beast and Thunder crouched against the wall as the team’s sniper took over.
Addy and Shep helped Beast and Thunder provide cover fire from their crouched positions. They alternated popping out from their corners and firing at the marked bodies in their headsets.
But Johnny never missed a target. They fell in quick succession, one bullet each.
The battle was far from over, however. Movement sounded from the offshoot corridor to their left. Addy tightened, but Maksim’s voice sounded softly behind her.
“Go. Provide cover so we can move on,” he said.
Kristof’s team surged forward and took a protective position alongside each corner leading into the tunnel corridor. Addy nodded her approval and she and her team, along with Maksim and Kristof, continued forward.