CHAPTER 16: NO WAY BACK

 Antonov wouldn't wait long.

She knew that.

The minute he got his legs back under him, he'd strike back — harder, deadlier.

So they had to move first.

Isla watched Damien and Gabriel explain the plan from the middle of the safe house's briefing room, arms crossed. 

The overhead light, dimming, flickered over the maps and documents spread across the table.

"Antonov's main operation is out of an offshore facility," Damien told Gabriel, pointing at a satellite image. 

"Arms, money laundering, human trafficking. It's his nerve center."

Gabriel smirked. "And we are about to sever the nerves."

Nathaniel leaned back against the wall. 

"Security?"

Damien's jaw tightened. "Heavy. Mercenaries, high-tech surveillance and a lockdown protocol that secures the compound in seconds."

Isla studied the map. "So what's the plan?"

Gabriel grinned. "We puncture a hole in his defenses. Literally."

She raised a brow. "Subtle."

Gabriel shrugged. "You want subtle? Or do you want him to bleed?"

Isla didn't hesitate.

"I want him to suffer."

Silence.

Then Damien's voice, low but sharpened with steel.

"Then let's begin."

***

The operation needed to be executed precisely.

His compound was heavily fortified on a private island. And if they tripped an alarm too soon, the whole place would go into lockdown.

So firepower wasn't the only key.

It was timing.

"We enter through the water," Damien said. 

"Silent approach. First remove the perimeter guards."

Gabriel tapped the map. "And once we're inside?"

Damien stared at Isla.

"Then we burn it down."

She didn't flinch. Didn't question him.

Just nodded.

And his chest constricted around something.

***

Hours later, the boat sliced through the dark waters, cutting toward Antonov's island.

The gun felt heavy in her hands and ensured she didn't float away. 

They would have to make sure Damien wasn't a martyr either. Isla knelt beside Damien.

"Guards ahead," Nathaniel whispered through the earpiece. 

"Two on the dock."

Gabriel smirked. "I got this."

A single silenced shot.

One body dropped.

Then another.

They crept in silence, stepping over the fallen men.

The compound loomed ahead.

Dark. Ominous.

Isla inhaled slowly.

This was it.

Their first move.

Their first strike.

And Antonov wouldn't be expecting it.

***

The air was redolent with salt and steel.

Their vessel sliced through the waves, as quiet as a shadow. 

Isla's hand clutched the rifle slung across her chest, her pulse steady but aware.

They had one shot at this.

Nathaniel's voice broke up on the earpiece. 

"Perimeter secured. No alarms tripped."

Damien gave a sharp nod. "Move in."

Gabriel, crouched already at the bow, shot Isla a look. 

"Do you still think we should've gone for subtle?"

She didn't bother responding.

The instant the boat skimmed up against the dock, she struck — low and fast. 

Damien was next to her, gun up, step for step.

Nathaniel had eliminated the first group of guards, but the real test lay ahead.

The main gate.

And beyond — the nerve center of Antonov's empire.

Gabriel moved into a low crouch next to a pile of cargo crates, planting a remote charge.

 "We need something to keep us busy until we're in the control room," he said to himself. 

"Something large enough to get security pulled off their posts."

Nathaniel knelt next to him and examined the explosives.

 "Five-minute timer?"

Gabriel smirked. "Try thirty seconds."

Isla swallowed.

Once this got under way, there would be no going back.

Damien's voice was low in her ear. "Are you ready?"

She felt his gaze, saw the cold determination in his eyes, and nodded.

"Let's end this."

***

The explosion detonated the compound like a beast awakening.

Flames roared into the night sky, engulfing the loading bay in a wall of fire. Sirens blared.

The security team panicked.

Cries went up as mercenaries charged toward the flames, their formation dissolving.

"Now!" Damien ordered.

They glided as a single entity, skimmed the commotion, and headed toward the main building. 

Isla stayed beside Nathaniel, her heart racing as they moved closer to the control center.

Two guards were posted outside the door.

Nathaniel took one.

Isla took the other.

Two silenced shots. Two bodies hitting the floor.

She didn't stop.

They pushed inside.

***

The control room was a fortress of screens and security monitors.

And at the epicenter—an operator, suspended in motion, with finger poised above the lockdown button.

Damien's gun was on him before he moved.

"Step away," Damien ordered.

The man hesitated.

Nathaniel didn't. He held his own gun to the operator's temple. 

"Push that button, and I paint this room with your brains."

The operator cautiously lifted his hands.

Gabriel was already at the console, fingers dancing across the keyboard. 

"I'm in. All traffic to the exterior is terminated."

Damien turned to Isla. "Watch the door."

She nodded and took her place, gun drawn.

Every second counted.

Outside, gunfire erupted. The mercenaries had figured out that the explosion was a decoy.

They were coming back.

"Gabriel," Damien warned.

"Almost—"

Then—

A new alarm sounded across the compound.

Isla spun toward them. "What was that?"

Gabriel swore. "Shit. Manual override. They're locking the gates."

Damien's jaw clenched. "Can you stop it?"

"Not from here." Gabriel grabbed his gear. 

"We need to move."

Damien turned to Isla. "Change of plans."

She didn't even hesitate. "Then let's move."

***

As soon as they entered the hallway, he said, bullets flew.

Antonov's men were waiting.

Nathaniel fired back, killing two outright. Gabriel rode off to the left, guarding their exit.

Damien grabbed Isla's wrist. "Run."

They raced through the compound, avoiding gunfire, ducking between steel crates. Isla's lungs were burning, but she didn't slow.

Then—

A steel gate slammed shut in front of them.

Their exit—gone.

Trapped.

Damien cursed. "Back way—now!"

They turned — just as Antonov's men surged in from behind.

No more running.

They had to fight.

Isla raised her gun.

And pulled the trigger.