Chapter 32:The Final Push

The silence after they hid inside the building was deafening. The team paused for breath inside the abandoned structure, catching their breath and the adrenaline after the firefight. But there was no time to waste every moment counted, James knew, and they weren't out of the woods yet.

"Lina, you've got the intel?" What you thinking, James said, his voice steady and level even as adrenaline pumped through his body.

Lina nodded, holding the hard drive pressed to her chest. "Safe. We're one step closer."

But James could sense the skepticism in her eyes. They had made it this far, but still they were aware that the true fight lay ahead of them. The Syndicate's reach was broad and while they had attempted to remain hidden, their enemies would not go down so easily. This was the final push.

"We need to go deeper in the building," Hassan suggested as he took in their surroundings. The structure was dark and dirty and looked like it had been left to rot for years, but it was as close to safe as they were ever going to get.

James gave a firm nod. "Agreed. We take no breaks until the Syndicate is on blast."

The group got out quickly, prowling the corridors, waiting for a pulse to pop up. Wren remained up on the building, keeping an eye out for any movement below. With every move they made the possibility of being found out grew, but there was no going back.

Suddenly, there was a loud crash from down the corridor.

"They've tracked us," Sarah whispered, gripping her weapon tighter.

"Stay calm," James commanded, in a low but authoritative voice. "We're not outnumbered yet. Hold your positions."

They spread out, using the walls for cover as they stealthily approached the source of the sound. They didn't know how many Syndicate soldiers were inside, but one thing was certain: the Syndicate wasn't going to let them walk away with the intel.

They moved cautiously forward, when they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The team held still, their bodies taut. The enemy was near.

James motioned for them to divide. "Lina, fall back and cover the intel. Hassan, take the left. On my right, Sarah, you're with me. Wren, you stay on the roof covering us if you need to."

It took no time at all for the team to get into position. Stealthily yet deliberately, James and Sarah took the right side of the building. With each footstep, the tension in the air thickened. They turned a corner, and there it was three Syndicate soldiers patrolling the hallway.

James raised his hand, gesturing for Sarah to stop. They were only meters away, too close to go undetected.

James and Sarah raised their weapons, wordlessly, in unison. Their shots rang out, quick a nd to the point. Two soldiers dropped on the spot, but the third soldier was quicker, diving behind a stack of crates for cover.

"Reinforcements are coming!" "We have to get out of here!" Sarah shouted, the soldier firing back. "We don't have much time!"

James charged ahead, rushing both to close the gap between them and the final soldier. The gunfire of the enemy soldier was wild and erratic, and James took the opportunity to narrow the distance. Fluidly, in one quick motion, he knocked the soldier's gun from his hand and threw him to the ground.

"You're done," James hissed, grinding his knee into the soldier's chest while his gun was trained on his head. The man's eyes were gaunt and wide with fear.

But as he prepared to pull the trigger, a voice rang down the hallway.

"James!"

It was Lina's voice, shrill and urgent. He wheeled in time to see her framed at the end of the hallway, the hard drive held aloft. You're right, but before he could answer a booming sound rattled the house and the ground shook under them.

Chaos sounds flooded in, Syndicate soldiers were entering through every gate of the building. And James realized right then that they were outnumbered and that their window to escape was closing fast.

"Get the intel to ground zero," James yelled at Lina. "We'll hold them off!"

But Lina hesitated. "James, I"

"Do it!" he ordered, his voice sharp. "We don't have time. Now go!"

Lina nodded, a flicker of fear in her eyes, but she turned and sprinted toward the extraction point as fast as she could. Each second was an eternity.

James, Sarah and Hassan stayed in position, covering Lina's exodus as best as they could. Gunshots echoed through the air, sharp and unrelenting, as the team struggled to hold the Syndicate at bay But the deck was stacked against them, and they all knew it.

"Wren!" James yelled into the comms. "We need backup, now!"

"I'm on it!" Wren replied immediately, his voice steady. "Hold your ground. I'll clear a path."

Wren's sniper rifle cracked from above, delivering accurate shots of death into the Syndicate foot soldiers to the south. They fell one after another, and yet more came. The whole building echoed with the sounds of battle.

Time was running out. They were near, but not near enough.

James's eyes flicked toward the entrance. Getting Lina and the intel out was their last hope. If they didn't succeed, everything they'd fought for would be for nothing.

"Move!" James shouted. "We've got one shot at this!"

The team moved on, forcing their way through the hallways, slaughtering foes in the process. The building was a warzone, and the rooms entering were survival. As they continued, war's sonorous range explosions, gunfire, screams inundated their ears.

Lina arrived at the extraction point, and the door swung open to show their getaway vehicle waiting outside.

But just as she reached inside to hook up the seat belt, shadow passed over her. A figure emerged from the darkness, standing in her way.

It was the Syndicate leader, the one they had been hunting for so long. When Johannes raised his gun, it was aimed right at Lina, and his eyes sparkled with malice.

"No!" James shouted and raced forward with all his might.

He reached them just in time. The leader's jaw met his fist and the man lost his footing. They struggled for control, each man fighting for his life, but James would not be denied. He knocked the leader out with one final blow, as he fell and crashed on the ground.

Lina got into the vehicle, gasping for air but unharmed.

"We have the intel," she said, her voice trembling.

"We're not finished yet," James said, surveying the scene. "But we're one step closer."

The team squeezed into the vehicle and took off. The building and the mission lay behind them. The destination was unknown.) But one thing was certain: the fight was just beginning. The Syndicate would not relent in their quest to reclaim what was rightfully theirs, and so, James knew, their journey had just begun.