Chapter 36:Into The Inferno

In the distance, the city skyline stood tall as a black shadow against the twilight. In the silence held over the vehicle by the team members, the only sound was the droning of the engine. The past few hours had been pure living hell. Every time Thoran tried to find a moment to breathe, the Syndicate was right behind.

James gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white, eyes darting to the rearview mirror. On their fleet-footed dash across the concrete jungle, shadows fell longer and longer, the night seeming to consume them whole. The Syndicate's chase was far from over. It would never be till they were all dead.

"Where are we going?" Sarah's voice shattered the silence, cracking and nervous.

James's response wasn't immediate. For the last few minutes, he had been thinking the same thing. The map in his head was shrinking. They were out of options.

"We have to reach the safehouse," he finally said, speaking in a low, firm voice. "It's the last place standing that hasn't been infiltrated."

Lina glanced at him, her face white and dirty. "Are you sure? The Syndicate is aware of each and every one of our safehouses. We can't risk it."

"We don't have a choice," James said, eyeing the road as he turned sharply. "We're running out of time."

The sound of engines blared behind them, a pursuit closer than ever. The Syndicate was not far behind. As soon as they caught wind of their destination, they'd be there waiting.

"Will the buyer be there, do you think?" Hassan said, his tone taut. The hard drive that Lina carried was important — the team knew that. If they were to stop the Syndicate, they had to put it into the right hands.

"We don't know whether or not he's still alive, but we don't have any other option," James replied, eyes fixed on the road. "If we reach the safehouse, we regroup, contact our allies, and plan our next move."

They left the city where light flooded the streets, the clamoring city ended, the outskirts. Every instinct that James had developed over years of physical combat told him they were heading into a trap. But it was too late to go back now.

"Hold on," James called out, taking another sharp turn, the tires screaming in protest.

Then came a loud crack that illuminated the night followed by a burst of gunfire. The Syndicate fired their weapons.

"We've been spotted!" Get down, Sarah yelled, ducking as bullets ripped into the side of the car.

The sound of bullets ricocheted off metal as James stomped his foot on the pedal, forcing the car on top gear. The vehicle swerved, avoiding an incoming shot that struck the back window and shattered it.

"We're not going to outrun them like this!" Lina screamed, her fingers shaking as she held the hard drive. "We need to fight back!"

James gritted his teeth. "There's no time. We'll reach the safehouse first, then we fight."

They raced through the city streets, speeding down narrow alleyways and side streets, doing everything in their power to lose their pursuers. But the Syndicate was unrelenting. They had operatives everywhere, and no matter how fast James drove, they could not shake them.

"We're almost there," James muttered, flooring the car.

As the safehouse came into view, James hit the brakes. The car skidded to a stop just outside the building. As soon as the doors opened, the team poured out, weapons raised, looking for the Syndicate.

They didn't see any immediate threats, but James knew better than to believe they were safe. They had barged directly into the lion's den.

"Keep your head on a swivel," James said, his gaze scanning the darkened windows of the building. "We don't know who's else is here."

Lina darted forward and her hand quivered on the security code. The thick metal door groaned open, and the team pushed in, the weight of it bearing down.

Once inside, James shut the door behind him, his breath coming in gasps. They had gotten inside, yet it didn't feel like a win. The safehouse wasn't safe. It was a stopgap measure, and they did not kid themselves about that.

"We've got to secure the perimeter," James said. "Hassan, Sarah, upstairs in the back. Lina, stay with me."

The team dispersed to their assigned positions, and James briskly made his way to the main control panel at the center of the room. He began to type furiously in an attempt to gain access to the network to see if they were being tracked. Every second counted.

"We're not out of the woods yet," he said under his breath as the screen came to life.

Outside, the screech of tires come to a halt echoed through the deserted streets.

"Here they come," Sarah's voice came through the comms.

James muttered a curse under his breath. "We don't have much time."

Then it hit him all of a sudden something was off. The Syndicate wasn't simply trailing them. They knew precisely where they were headed. They had not been lost at all they had been tracked the whole time.

Before he could absorb the implications of that, the door to the safehouse blew in, showering him with shards of metal in all directions.

Then they buckled down as armed Syndicate operatives burst in blasting. It was a full-on assault. They were left to fight for their lives.

"Hold your ground!" James called, drawing his weapon and firing into the deficient ranks of the enemy advance. He worked quickly, every shot connecting with pinpoint accuracy, but the Syndicate was not going to give up. The fight had just begun.

Bullets screamed from the air, bounced off walls and cement, as the team clawed for their lives. They were backed into a corner, but they weren't going to go down without a fight.

"You'll have to do better than that," James muttered bitterly as he kept firing.

Lina, panting, grabbed a nearby rifle and joined the fray. Her heart raced with excitement as she felt all the adrenaline kick in, her hands shaking but trembling as she took aim.

They were not going to die here. Not today.

The sounds of battle intensified, the team members fighting with what little they had left. The Syndicate may have been strong in numbers, but James and his team had what the Syndicate did not — GUTS.

As the battle unfolded, James's mind raced. They couldn't remain here indefinitely. They had to strike, kill as many Syndicate operatives as they could, and figure out how to disappear.

But the clock was ticking. With every passing second, they moved closer to their final stand.