That earned him another whack to the face. However, this time, Roen was ready for it. Like many younger fighters, Jacob was easy to goad and liked to headhunt. Roen caught the punch, wrapped both legs around Jacob’s torso, and scissored him. Jacob crashed to the ground, giving Roen the chance to give a little payback with his own elbow to the face.
Now get out!
Probably a smart decision with Jacob’s men nearby. Roen scrambled to his feet, grabbed his pistol, and darted out the back. Another eruption of gunfire zinged past his head and he felt the heat of a bullet cut through his hair.
Take your own advice and stay low. Your brain is not much, but I cannot accomplish anything without it.
“I can’t believe how fast he was.”
Better hope you do not meet again.
“I am never that lucky.”
Roen sprinted through the kitchen, past the terrified cooks, and out the exit where Faust and Wuehler were pinned down behind a dumpster in a narrow alleyway.
“What took you so long?” Wuehler yelled.
“We have bogies coming out here shortly,” Roen said, reloading his pistol.
Faust nodded and motioned for them to retreat. “You hosts get out of here. I’ll cover.”
“Like hell,” Roen growled, taking his turn on the firing line just as Faust ducked down to reload. A symphony of sirens began ringing in the distance.
Assume local authorities are on their side.
“Why can’t we ever assume they’re on ours?”
Because they rarely are.
“Where does the back of this alley lead to?”
Splits fifty meters back. Take the left until it curves and then another left.
Roen grabbed Faust by the collar and forcibly pulled him back as they retreated. He signaled to Wuehler to go left at the end of the alley as they sidestepped the clutter, hurdling debris and carts as if they were on an obstacle course. Taking up the rear, Roen toppled refuse and pushed dumpsters to block the path. For a second, he thought they might have escaped and thrown off their pursuers.
“Did you get word to the team?” Wuehler asked.
“Hutch’s stowing the gear now. Ray’s mobilizing the rest for an intercept.”
It is too dangerous. Send them to the second safe house.
“Too hot,” Roen yelled. “Eight more guys aren’t going to make a dent here. Send them to the second site. We’ll meet up with them.”
“We have two hosts here!” Faust snapped. “You two are the priority.”
“It’s a direct order from Tao,” Roen replied.
“Ramez concurs,” Wuehler added.
Faust gave them a disgusted look before getting back on the comm.
They reached the end of the alley, which opened to a busy street. The sound of the sirens was getting louder. With the docks to the north and their pursuers to the south, they had little choice.
“Push away from the team,” Wuehler was saying. “Second site is to the east. We’ll circle around; give the guys a chance to sneak out with the gear.”
Roen nodded. Wuehler might be a dick, but he always thought of his men. They scampered across the intersection and entered an even tighter alley, forcing them to move single file. Twenty meters in, Roen heard a shout. He turned and opened fire, taking out two uniformed police officers. He hoped they were actually corrupt and not innocent men just doing their jobs.
Unfortunately, with the Genjix having much deeper pockets, more often than not, they had already bought the local government. The Prophus just couldn’t afford to buy influence anymore. The United States and Great Britain were the only two countries they still had significant pull in, and even there they were losing ground. Before long, they would become an entirely underground group.
“Up top!” Faust said, pointing to a ladder attached to the side of a three-story building. The ladder was barred by a small gate locked by a rusty padlock. Roen shot the lock and gestured for Faust to get a move on. Faust shook his head. “Hosts first.”
“You’re a goddamn broken record!” Roen pushed him to the ladder. “Just get up there and cover us!”
Wuehler and Roen stayed at the base of the ladder as Faust reached the top in a matter of seconds just as Genjix agents appeared. He began to lay down suppressing fire.
“Age before beauty,” Roen said to Wuehler, pointing up.
“Yeah so what are you waiting for? Get going then!” Wuehler shoved him to the ladder. “That’s an order.”
“What is up with everyone not wanting to go?” Roen snapped and began to climb. All around him sparks exploded as bullets banged against the metal grate covering of the ladder.
He was about a third way up when Wuehler called out from below. “You’re right, Roen.”
Roen looked down. “What?”
“Beauty does go last” Wuehler smirked and emptied another clip. At the far end, a Genjix agent went down. He holstered his pistol and climbed after them.
And who says he does not have a sense of humor.
“Strange time to show it.”
Roen reached the top and took position opposite of Faust. “I’m down to two clips,” he yelled.
“Last one,” Faust replied. “There’s rocks up here we can throw down.”
Wuehler was halfway up the ladder. Roen had eyes on five enemies, though there were bound to be more incoming. It was a good thing the alley was so narrow or they would have been easily overwhelmed. Wuehler was about two thirds up the ladder when he suddenly flinched. He wavered and then plummeting back down to the ground.
“No!” Faust jumped back on the ladder.
“Don’t do it.” Roen grabbed Faust by the shoulder and neck and pulled him back onto the roof.
Faust struggled in his arms. “We can’t leave him!”
“There’ll be twenty guys down there in fifteen seconds. This building will be surrounded in two minutes. If we’re not out of here now, it’s over. Let’s move!” Faust’s face twisted with frustration before he finally nodded.
Continue west deeper into the slum two roofs over and into the building. It is residential with many empty units. Hide until aerial surveillance is gone.
“I think staying is a mistake. We should continue west and get as far away as possible.”
I study for every contingency while you sleep. How do you think you have stayed alive for so long?
“Fine. Thank God one of us does.”
Ten minutes later, Roen and Faust watched from a fifth story window of a half abandoned apartment building as dozens of uniformed police officers milled around the streets. He counted twelve Genjix. The young psychopath was obviously the one in charge of the entire operation. He was furious they had escaped, shouting orders at both his men and the police sergeant in charge. One interesting thing he noted was that the boy didn’t speak Mandarin or Taiwanese but American English, with a faint New England accent by the sound of it. The kid was a ringer from the States.
They stayed hidden and surveyed the activity. The Genjix had turned the street into their base of operations. Roen recognized two hosts among the Genjix while Faust identified three of their commandos. It was another shock unit, one that he had dealt with in the past.
Roen and Faust tensed when two police officers dragged a hooded figure toward a van. The hooded figure, arms handcuffed behind his back, walked with a bad limp. As he got near the van, half a dozen of the Genjix closed in around him.
Faust immediately got on the comm, recalling men to the area. Roen had only to glance out of the window to know that Faust’s plan was a terrible idea. Improvising a rescue operation against these odds was suicidal. They had better odds stealing from a Vegas casino. The local police being involved just made this entire island a death trap. The only thing that would come out of the rescue attempt was ten more body bags.