“Take him out now,” Enzo murmured to Matthew as he passed. He had no use for such gullible fools.
The fireworks began right as he walked through the door. His well-trained team spread out and moved efficiently through the lower level tunnel foyer. Matthew went to the security room door and shot the foolish guard. He looked back at Enzo and nodded. “We have the floor, Father.”
“Lock it down. Bring in the main group,” Enzo barked, hoisting a rifle and taking position watching one of the four doors leading out of the room. A few seconds later, the outer door to the sewers swung open, and a small army of his loyal units flooded the building. They separated into kill teams, each led by one of his Hatchery siblings, and spread out through the complex. Akelatis led two units toward the garage, while Matthew took three units to secure the front entrance. That left Enzo to take care of Vinnick somewhere in the upper levels of the building. He signaled for Azumi and her units to fall in line.
You should retreat to safety and allow your siblings to take it from here.
“You know me better than that, Zoras. I lead by example. That is why my people are so loyal.”
The source of your fanatical support will also be the source of your downfall. Either way, make sure the objective is reached.
Zoras had long abandoned trying to dissuade Enzo from some of his more foolhardy habits, such as insisting on leading attacks. He had come to recognize that Enzo was a different sort of vessel. He wasn’t like Devin, who parceled out orders behind the safety of a desk. He was a lion who needed to hunt in order to stay sharp. It was the one vice his Holy One allowed, and for that, Enzo was grateful.
Azumi’s group exited the basement room and made its way out to the main hallways, shooting indiscriminately. This was the heart of the billionaire’s operation in Moscow. All the personnel here were his through and through. Enzo had given them one chance when he first arrived to show their loyalty to the true Genjix. That time had passed. Divine justice was at hand.
Footsteps to the right. Six sets.
Azumi was already on it, moving along the right side of the hallway while Enzo took the left. The security forces coming through were caught in crossfire and mowed down. A few seconds later, alarms rang through the facility, but Enzo was already leading his team to the second floor. He gestured for his rear operative to hold this stairwell as he began to clear the hallway. All through the building, he heard the rumbles of battle increase, shattering windows, cracking wood, and blowing chunks of concrete apart.
These old buildings were complicated mazes, filled with side entrances and doors. The enemy could be anywhere. A guard opened fire from a hidden spot in one of the rooms. Enzo ducked to the side just in time and cut him down. Two more appeared from an opposite doorway.
You are too much in the open.
“Secure this,” he told Azumi, then stepped into the room. The security guard, using an overturned desk as a makeshift barricade, pulled out a pistol. Enzo, staring at the angle of the gun barrel, twisted and ducked the first two shots, and then walked casually toward the guard. The guard fired twice more, and each time Enzo, watching the trigger finger, dodged the bullet, even though he was only a few meters away.
“You might get one more shot off.” He took another step closer. “Decide now.”
The soldier, hands trembling, lowered his gun and fell to one knee. “Apologies, Father. Please guide me.”
Enzo took the pistol out of his hand. “Prove your dedication.”
The soldier nodded and, arms raised, ran out to the hallway right into the middle of the firefight between his people and the security forces. “Lay down your weapons,” he screamed. “You are committing sacrilege against the Holy Ones. Come out and show your faith.”
There was a slight lull in the fighting as both sides watched the spectacle. A few of the soldiers stood up out of their cover. One even laid his rifle down. Enzo strolled out of the room and stopped behind the still screaming soldier. Without warning, Enzo drew a pistol and shot four of the security soldiers in quick succession. The rest returned fire, killing the poor fool still waving his hands in the air.
Enzo used his body as a shield and pushed forward until he moved past their firing line. He threw the body aside, drew his Hanjo Masamune and began to butcher these unworthy traitors. He took out three more of Vinnick’s guards before the rest of them had a chance to react.
As the soldiers turned to engage him, Azumi and the rest of his men finished them off. Without saying a word, they continued clearing room after room, killing soldiers and civilians indiscriminately. There were no rules of engagements when it came to betrayal.
Once they finished the second floor, they continued up to the next level. They met their first group of black-suited Epsilons at the top of the stairs. Enzo could always tell the Epsilons by their uniforms, which were essentially always black three-piece suits. They accompanied Vinnick wherever he went, and he was proud of how impeccably dressed his elite guards always were.
It was a contingent of five that ambushed Enzo at the top of the stairs. One of his unblessed died on the spot from a bullet to the throat. Azumi took a ricocheting bullet to the leg and dropped to one knee. Enzo tried to scramble to the other side of the hallway across the stairs, but their suppressive fire kept him pinned down. He leaned over the edge of the corner and almost took a bullet to the eye for his efforts.
He signaled to Azumi. “Can you move?” She nodded. Of course she could. He looked over at the remaining unblessed. They had done well so far. However, as regular humans, they were here exclusively to serve his purpose. “Prove your worth.”
Without hesitation, one of them dove into the hallway, sliding toward the opposite wall head-first. Enzo saw at least two bullets strike her leg and chest. The other unblessed followed suit, charging forward. He made it three steps before falling to a barrage. This gave Enzo and Azumi just the opening they needed.
The two of them were able to lay enough suppressive fire to force the Epsilons back and charged the enemy’s fortified position. One of the five Epsilons fell to a point blank shot to the chest, another from the Emei piercer attached to Azumi’s wrist. Then it turned to melee, as Enzo and Azumi fought the three remaining Epsilons hand-to-hand, with the suited men wielding their trademark bayoneted pistols.
A slash to Enzo’s chest right above his armor drew blood. He ducked the second slash and moved into the Epsilon’s guard. He kicked the inside of the Epsilon’s knee just enough to throw him off-balance, and then he threw an upward punch that sent the man’s nose up into his skull. He was dead before he hit the ground. Enzo spun around and drew Hanjo Masamune, cutting the second Epsilon clean through from navel to neck.
Enzo turned and saw Azumi struggling with the last Epsilon. He was a massive man easily twice her size. He had both his hands around her throat and was squeezing. Her face was red, and veins bulged from her forehead. She was slashing at his sides with the sharp point of her piercer, but most of her blows were ineffectual against his armor. The left side of his face was bleeding from several large gashes.
Enzo wondered if he should help her, but Azumi usually hated being interfered with. He leaned against the wall and coughed, lazily waving at the Epsilon when he glanced Enzo’s way. That earned him a glare from his sister. That slight hesitation proved costly for the Epsilon. She took advantage of his momentary lapse of focus, swung her legs up and wrapped them around one of his arms. She twisted downward and flung him face first into the ground. Azumi finished him off with a piercer to his throat.
Enzo offered a hand and pulled her up from the ground. “Well done.”
“Your assistance was unnecessary, brother,” she said.