Chapter 16 - A Masterclass In Violence
While the cartel gunmen focused their high-powered flashlights on the ripples near the far pillar, Marcus Reed was already standing directly behind them. He had slipped into the black water fifty yards down the tunnel, swimming silently beneath the surface, completely bypassing their line of sight. He rose from the depths directly beside the Zodiac boat like a leviathan.
He didn't use his firearm; the echoing report would immediately draw fire toward Claire. He relied on pure, brutal close-quarters combat.
Marcus reached over the rubber pontoon of the boat. He grabbed the nearest gunman by the heavy webbing of his tactical vest and violently yanked him backward. The mercenary lost his balance, tumbling backward over the edge of the boat. Before the man could hit the water, Marcus drove his elbow directly into the man's throat, crushing his windpipe instantly.
The second gunman spun around, his eyes wide with shock as his partner vanished into the black water. He raised his rifle, finger tightening on the trigger, but Marcus was already moving.
Marcus vaulted over the edge of the pontoon with impossible speed for a man his age. He slapped the barrel of the rifle away, the burst of suppressed gunfire chewing harmlessly into the stone ceiling above. Simultaneously, Marcus drove his knee upward, catching the gunman squarely under the chin. The sickening snap of the man's jaw echoed over the idling boat motors. The gunman collapsed like a marionette with cut strings, sprawling lifelessly across the deck of the Zodiac.
The lead operative on the dock finally realized what was happening. He dropped Claire's chain, raising his submachine gun toward the boat. "Kill him!" he roared, unleashing a barrage of automatic fire.
Sparks flew violently as bullets ricocheted off the boat's outboard motors and the stone pillars. Marcus dove beneath the console of the Zodiac, the rubber hull absorbing the lethal impacts. The boat rocked wildly in the black water.
May you like
Claire, freed from the immediate tension of the chain, didn't cower. She scrambled across the wet stone, diving behind a stack of rotting wooden crates just as the operative's gunfire swept across her previous position.
The cavern fell completely silent, save for the hum of the boat motors and the sharp, ringing echo of the gunfire. The operative stood on the dock, his weapon raised, his breathing heavy. "Show yourself, Reed!" he screamed into the darkness. "Or I put a bullet in the girl right now!"
