Chapter 78: Final Reckoning

The wind howled like a living thing, tearing at their clothing as Emily and Damien crouched low behind the ridge, the cold seeping into their bones. 

Above them, dark clouds hung heavy in the sky, the storm raging as if reflecting the chaos unfolding below. 

But despite the storm, there was one truth: they were trapped.

Victor Hale had arrived, and there was no escaping him now.

"Reyes, can you take the shot?" Emily asked, her voice tight with the weight of the moment. 

The sniper rifle in her hands felt heavy, the cold metal a reminder of just how much was riding on this one shot.

There was a crackle in her earpiece before Reyes responded, her voice steady but laced with tension. "Not yet. There's too much cover i need him to move."

Emily's grip on her rifle tightened, the seconds felt like hours as she scanned the field below them. 

Hale was moving slowly, deliberately, flanked by his two lieutenants.