Chapter 55 Beckett
Beckett
The truck doors rattled as we killed the engine. Outside, the night was too quiet. No dogs barking. No vendors shouting. Just the hum of electricity from flickering street lamps, and the whisper of something I’d felt too many times before.
An ambush.
I lifted a fist. The Team froze instantly, every man snapping into silence. Gage slid off the bench, rifle ready, River covering him without needing to be told. Cyclone had his tablet clutched to his chest, eyes darting at the flickering feeds.
Elara shifted closer, pistol steady in her hand. Fear flashed in her eyes, but it wasn’t the kind that froze you. It was the kind that sharpened you.
“Stay behind me,” I murmured.
She bristled, like I knew she would, but she didn’t argue. Not this time.
A shout cracked from the shadows. Boots hit pavement. Then the street exploded.
Muzzle flashes tore the dark, bullets sparking off brick and metal. The windshield shattered, glass raining across the dash. I shoved Elara down, swung out the side, and returned fire in controlled bursts.
“Contact front and right!” I barked.
Oliver and Gage answered with a hail of lead, their fire cutting into the wave of Hydra soldiers spilling out of alleyways. River laid suppressing fire, voice sharp in my ear, swearing with every shot.
Cyclone shouted from the cab. “Drones are picking up at least twenty hostiles. Two trucks inbound from the south!”
Damn it. We were boxed in.
I pivoted, caught one Hydra man trying to flank left, dropped him with a clean shot. Another lunged from the shadows, rifle raised. Elara was faster—one shot, precise and merciless, sent him to the ground. Her hand trembled after, but her eyes never left mine.
I felt that look all the way down to my bones.
“Market’s too hot!” River shouted. “We need to move!”
“No retreat,” I snapped, firing until my rifle clicked dry. I slammed in a fresh mag, teeth bared. “We break their line here. Hydra wants us in a cage? Then we tear the damn bars apart.”
The Team surged forward on my command, bullets carving through Hydra’s ranks. Fire roared as one of their trucks went up in flames, heat blasting down the street. The night filled with smoke, chaos, and screams.
Through it all, Elara stayed on my flank. Close. Steady. Alive.
And I swore to God—I’d burn this city down before I let Hydra touch her again.