Chapter 227: Rescue

At the entrance of the abandoned factory, a convoy drove past Owen's parked car and rammed the main gate open, storming inside. The vehicles kicked up a thick cloud of dust before screeching to a halt in the open yard.

Before the tires had fully stopped spinning, soldiers began leaping out and rushing toward the source of the lights.

"Follow me..."

Owen, having just heard Becky's warning, immediately led Jack's wife and daughter toward the rear mountain behind the factory. The front entrance was no longer an option, and the surrounding area was nothing but wilderness. The rear mountain seemed at least a bit more rugged, offering better cover.

At the gate, two of Denzel Payton's men were quickly discovered by the soldiers and dragged out, trembling.

"Did you capture two women?"

The soldier in the lead questioned them directly. Had Owen been there, he would've recognized the man—one of the escaped members of the Red Rattlesnakes.

"Y-yes…"

"Where are they? Show me!"

The soldier's tone left no room for negotiation. The two men dared not resist and obediently led the way.

Soon, the group arrived at the room where Jack's wife and daughter had been held, only to find the lifeless body of Denzel Payton lying in a pool of blood.

"Where are they?" the soldier barked, his voice laced with anger.

"I... I don't know. They were just here…"

Bang bang!

Two shots rang out. The soldiers stood in silence, staring into the darkness. Their squad quickly fanned out to search the entire factory.

Nothing.

According to the dead men, the mother and daughter couldn't have gotten far. In such remote terrain, escaping on foot without a vehicle was nearly impossible. The area around the factory was divided into zones, with several men assigned to each to begin a grid search.

By now, the sun had completely set. In the faint light of dusk, Owen led Jack's wife and daughter through a forest floor thick with dried, rotting leaves. The muffled crunch crunch beneath their feet was inevitable.

No one had visited this back hill in ages, and the terrain was uneven. Moonlight filtering through the trees gave them just enough visibility to continue moving.

Owen was much faster than the women. The three moved in single file, stumbling up and down in the hilly terrain.

Though technically a hill rather than a mountain, the uneven ground and dense trees provided cover.

Behind them, voices echoed up from the factory. Dozens of flashlight beams swept across the ground in wide arcs—clearly, the enemy was fanning out. Each beam meant at least one enemy, and they were closing in fast.

Owen didn't know who these people were, but he had no doubt they were hostile.

Suddenly, Owen nearly lost his footing. He looked up and realized they had reached a steep cliff—the end of the path.

He turned to look back. The beams of light were getting closer.

"Ahhh!"

Kim let out a sharp scream. Though she clamped her hands over her mouth instantly, it was too late. Flashlight beams from multiple directions immediately turned toward them.

"I'm sorry… something crawled into my pants and I couldn't hold it in…"

Kim looked stricken with guilt. Her apology didn't help—she had already given away their position.

…

Several soldiers converged on the area, their flashlights sweeping the bushes.

"Who's there? Come out or we'll shoot!"

The soldiers shouted as they trained their guns on the dense foliage.

"Don't... don't shoot… I surrender…"

A timid female voice answered, and two figures slowly emerged, trembling—Jack's wife and daughter.

The soldiers approached cautiously, keeping their weapons trained on the women. After thoroughly checking the surrounding area, they began to lower their guns.

They had no idea Owen was there.

Satisfied that the area was clear, one soldier moved forward to search the women—but before he could, the ground nearby suddenly exploded.

Phut phut phut phut!

A string of suppressed gunshots rang out. All four soldiers dropped instantly.

Owen emerged from under a pile of dead leaves, brushing himself off as he holstered his P226 and began stripping gear from the fallen.

All four had been killed with headshots—Owen had deliberately aimed high in case they wore body armor. Now, he pulled off their ballistic vests and handed one to each of the women.

He asked if either had ever fired a gun. Jack's wife nodded. Owen handed her a pistol—an M9. Not ideal for a woman, but it was all they had.

The dead soldiers had been armed with SCAR-L rifles and M9 sidearms. A flashlight inspection of one corpse confirmed the double-snake tattoo on the man's arm—another Red Rattlesnake.

Owen grabbed a radio. He had no idea where to go next.

The cliff ruled out retreating uphill, and the sides were swarming with enemy patrols. They could hide temporarily, but by daylight, they'd be exposed.

Just then, Owen's earpiece buzzed to life—Swagger's voice came through.

"Owen, I see you. Head toward the main gate—I'll cover you."

Relief washed over Owen. Swagger was back—and perfectly timed.

It's hard to describe what it feels like to hear a sniper telling you he's watching your six. In that moment, Owen felt invincible.

Jack's wife and daughter didn't know who Swagger was. They simply noticed that Owen's body language had completely relaxed, and his pace quickened considerably.

"Status update from all units…"

As the three crept down the hill, the enemy radio crackled to life. Each squad checked in—Alpha, Bravo, Delta, Echo… only Charlie Team didn't respond.

"Charlie Team, report!"

Silence.

Then someone shouted, "They're in Charlie sector! Everyone converge!"

Owen had expected to be discovered—just not this soon.

Flashlights now turned directly toward their position. With no time to be stealthy, Owen broke into a sprint. Kim couldn't keep up, so he slung her over his shoulder and bolted.

"Swagger! We're compromised! Cover us!"

He no longer bothered to keep his voice down. Bullets were already whizzing through the trees, striking trunks with soft thumps.

Flashlight beams converged—but one by one, they froze in place, unmoving.

Owen sprinted with everything he had, his earpiece crackling with Swagger's quiet voice.

"One."

"Two."

"Three."

…

With each number, another enemy went down.

Owen silently thanked himself for grabbing that G-114 infrared scope for Swagger from Eddie's stash earlier that day. He hadn't expected it to come in handy this soon.

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