Chapter 60 Beckett
Beckett
The fight swallowed the street whole.
Hydra pressed from every angle—rooftops, alleys, side doors of shuttered shops. Gunfire lit the night like lightning, muzzle flashes strobing across walls painted in dust and blood.
I pressed tighter against the wall, Elara tucked at my side, firing controlled bursts into the shadows. She moved like a survivor, not a soldier—but survival was sometimes meaner, sharper. Her pistol barked twice, and two Hydra men dropped before they cleared the corner.
“Reloading!” River barked, ducking behind a half-collapsed stall.
“I’ve got you,” Oliver answered, popping two shots over his shoulder to cover.
Gage charged ahead like a battering ram, kicking a Hydra soldier straight back into his buddies before putting three rounds through their chests. “That all you got?” he roared, his grin savage in the muzzle flash.
But it wasn’t all they had. Not even close.
Cyclone’s voice came sharp in my ear. “More heat signatures coming from the south—at least another squad, maybe two. They’re trying to push us into a kill box.”
No. Not a kill box. A snare. And I knew who the bait was.
“Elara,” I growled, cutting a glance at her. Her braid clung to her face, eyes fierce, pistol steady. But Hydra wasn’t spraying the street like amateurs. They were firing in patterns—pinning us, herding us, every movement angled toward her.
“They want her alive,” I said, low but certain.
River cursed. “Makes it easier for us. They’ll hold back just enough to give us an opening.”
“Or box us in until they can drag her out,” I snapped.
A Hydra man broke from cover, rushing with a taser wand sparking blue. I stepped into him, rifle butt snapping into his jaw, then put a round through his chest before he hit the ground.
I glanced back, locking eyes with her. “Stay close. Don’t let them separate you from me. You understand?”
She opened her mouth to argue—I saw it coming—but then something flickered in her expression. Not fear. Resolve. She just nodded once.
“Together,” she said.
The word cut through the smoke and chaos like a blade.
I slammed a fresh mag into my rifle, heart hammering with brutal certainty. Hydra thought they could herd us like prey. Thought they could take her alive and watch me break.
But they hadn’t learned yet—wolves don’t cage easy.
And I was ready to show them exactly how hard I bite.