Chapter 11 - The Barn Ambush
David threw his weight backward, tumbling off the crate and hitting the root cellar floor with a heavy thud just as a burst of suppressed gunfire chewed through the wooden floorboards above their heads.
"Ambush!" David shouted, rolling to his feet and shoving Elena and Michael back toward the dark tunnel. "They anticipated the escape route! Get back!"
"There's nowhere else to go!" Elena cried, pressing her back against the damp brick wall as wood splinters rained down around them like frozen needles.
Michael set Lily down behind a heavy concrete support pillar, crouching over her to shield her small body with his own. "Stay right here, Lily. Don't move an inch," he instructed, his voice strained as he scanned the dark tunnel for any improvised weapon. His eyes landed on a heavy iron pipe left behind by maintenance workers years ago. He grabbed it, his hands slick with sweat.
From the opening above, a thick nylon rappelling rope dropped down through the rusted grate, followed swiftly by the dark, tactical silhouette of an operative sliding down into the root cellar.
Before the operative’s boots even touched the ground, David lunged forward. He slammed the butt of his Glock into the man's respirator mask with a sickening crunch of plastic and bone. The operative staggered backward, his assault rifle clattering against the concrete floor, but quickly recovered, tackling David to the ground in a brutal display of close-quarters combat.
The two men grappled fiercely in the dirt, throwing heavy punches and gasping for air in the confined space. Elena screamed, clawing at the dirt as she watched David get driven backward against the stone wall.
"Michael, help him!" Elena shrieked, scrambling forward.
Michael didn't hesitate. He gripped the heavy iron pipe with both hands, lunged across the dimly lit cellar, and brought the metal down hard across the back of the operative's ballistic helmet. The man went limp instantly, slumping sideways onto the cold concrete.
David rolled the heavy body off himself, coughing violently as he wiped blood from his split lip. He scrambled to his feet, snatching the fallen operative’s assault rifle and spare magazines off the tactical vest.
"We don't have much time," David panted, looking up at the open grate where the snowy night sky offered a narrow path to freedom. "The second team will be sweeping the perimeter of the barn any second now. We need to reach the main road before they cut us off."
Elena stared down at the unconscious man at her feet, her expression turning terrifyingly cold. She reached down and unclipped a heavy, encrypted satellite communicator from the operative's belt.
"What are you doing?" Michael asked, pulling Lily up into his arms once more.
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"Calling their bluff," Elena whispered, her fingers flying across the device's keypad. "If they want the ledger so badly, it’s time we invited them to a very public negotiation."
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