Chapter 26 #2
The banging continues, Liz watches in horror as the frame of the door moves a little with each new impact. After coming up empty handed, she does the only thing she can do. She grips the knife like Riley had been teaching her and readies herself for a fight.
As Riley approaches the housing complex, he finds a small group of men trying to break the door down.
He lifts his gun and fires off three shots.
The men fall to the ground with a sickening thud, not dead, but they will be down long enough to get to Liz.
Making his way across the small lawn, his only focus is getting to her, so focused on getting back he doesn’t even hear the RPG until it’s careening into the building, sending him flying through the air.
Riley gets blown into the side of the neighboring building.
He forces himself to his feet. His head throbs, a sharp ringing in his ears.
His whole body screams in protest, but he needs to get to her, he promised she would be safe.
Riley sprints as fast as his legs can carry him, hurling himself through the hole in the wall where the door once stood, racing to reach Liz.
Liz watches in horror as the door lurches a little more with each kick, knowing it’s only a matter of minutes before the men break their way in.
Three is all it takes and the door flies open.
Two men stalk into the room, heading right for her.
She swings the knife at the man closest, barely missing his chest. He jumps back, avoiding her, as she whirls on the second man, attempting to drive the knife into his stomach.
The first man uses that time to grab her arm, twisting it to the point she feels it’s going to snap off, forcing her to drop her knife.
She swings her other arm out, this time hitting her mark.
The man drops her arm but swings his large fist at her, connecting with her face.
She is thrown back, pain blooming in her jaw, the coppery tang of blood filling her mouth.
She spits a mouthful of red onto the floor, and launches herself, anger and adrenaline overtaking her training.
She swings wildly at the men, fighting for her life like a cornered animal.
She curses herself for not heeding her training.
Quickly growing tired, Liz starts backing away, desperate to buy herself a moment to think.
When a gunshot rings out, everything stills.
Liz looks to see a third man she hadn’t seen before fall to the ground, deep red pooling around him.
“The building was supposed to be clear!” the first man shouts in his thick Russian accent.
The second man nods and runs to the door.
The first man uses the small distraction to drive his fist into Liz’s face again, sending her tumbling to the floor.
Something in her tells her to stay on the floor, a feeling deep in her gut, the same feeling she gets when Riley tells her to trust him.
Another shot rings out, followed by another body hitting the ground.
The Russian man stops, mumbling to himself, and pulling his gun out he slowly walks to the door.
He looks around the narrow hall, surrounded by debris and bodies.
He turns his attention back to Liz when he hears a distinctive click. He lets out a deep, throaty laugh.
“Out of bullets, Reaper?” The man bellows down the hall, looking around hoping to spot Riley.
Liz pulls herself up, head throbbing from the impact. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she inches her way across the floor to where the knife now lies. She peers over at the entrance, seeing the man still distracted by Riley. She silently picks up the knife and starts for the door.
“You or her, Reaper. One of you will die today,” the man yells again.
Liz hears the crunch of concrete somewhere in the hall and her stomach drops. All her fears leave her when she hears that, all but one.
Him.
She won’t let him do this. She stands, picking a path through the debris, careful to avoid any sudden movements.
Liz creeps closer to the door, when out of the corner of her eye the man raises his gun, aiming at something she can’t see.
She throws herself into a sprint. The only thing on her mind is protecting Riley.
By the time the man hears her coming it’s too late.
She throws her body into him, stabbing down with everything she has, praying she doesn’t miss.
She pushes as hard as she can, forcing the knife into the man as they fall.
Time seems to slow as they collapse to the ground.
She yanks the knife out, his blood rushing out of the hole she put in him.
Liz raises the knife above her head and brings it back down on him, using all her strength to push it through layers of clothing and flesh.
Liz pulls it out again, readying for a third strike, when someone grabs her arm.
Liz winces and turns on whoever grabs her.
She starts to swing again, not ready to give up on getting to Riley, when the overwhelming scent of cardamom and sandalwood hits her.
She lets the knife drop from her hand. Tears spring to her eyes as he helps her up.
Liz throws herself into Riley, wrapping her arms around his waist, his arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders in return.
“Did they hurt you?” Riley asks, trying to keep his voice steady.
His hands go to her face, forcing her to show him the fresh bruises forming.
Liz simply shakes her head, not wanting him to worry.
He wipes some of the blood from her face before pulling her into his arms once more.
Their reunion is short-lived when the alarm sounds again, the voice making another announcement.
“Ballistic Missile inbound. Five minutes to impact. Seek immediate shelter.”
Riley lets go of her, darting into his room. He emerges seconds later, two bags in one hand, the other grabbing Liz and pulling her into a run. They sprint as fast as their legs will carry them through the hall, throwing the doors open when they reach the end.
Riley fumbles with keys in his other hand, refusing to drop hers until he absolutely has to.
The truck roars to life as they approach.
Riley drops her hand, letting her run and climb into the passenger side while he climbs into the driver’s seat, throwing the bags into the bed of the truck as he does.
They don’t even get their doors closed when a stream of smoke draws their attention.
A missile streaks across the pale blue sky, headed right for the base.
Riley throws the truck into gear and drives, heading for the gate across the parking lot, now blown apart by Dmitri’s small team.
The roar of the missile grows louder, causing the ground to shake.
Riley navigates through the destroyed gate, swerving to avoid the large chunks of concrete and mangled metal now scattered around the exit.
The impact is deafening, like nothing Liz has ever heard before.
The shockwave of it sends the truck careening off the road.
Riley doesn’t let up as he gets the truck back under control, debris raining down on them as he drives away.
Liz can only watch in horror as the base is reduced to nothing but rubble and smoke.
Tears silently slip from her eyes, watching until there’s nothing left to see.