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“No other guards have entered the building, but about a dozen heavily armed guards are waiting outside the main exit. They have barricaded all the other doors and windows,” I tell him.
Micah swears under his breath before muttering a little pep talk—to himself or Bennet, I'm not sure. The sounds of his deep breathing exercises are just barely audible over the connection, but they help settle my nerves as I find myself breathing along with him.
In through the nose, out through the mouth…
“Lukas, tell me what it looks like out there. I can see the guards at the front of the building, but what do the grounds look like?”
“The entrance has been barricaded. A heavy-looking gate closed over the main entrance and a thick metal sheet of some sort is covering the high security chain-link fence. There are three armed guards in front of the barricades that I can see.” I snap multiple pictures on my phone, zooming in as much as possible, and send them to Tony.
“Shit. Okay. Even if I could override the manual safeties and open the gates, there's no realistic way through those barricades. We're going to have to improvise. Big time.”
The feed cuts out and I know Tony is doing whatever he can to figure out our options, if we have any at all. I've gotten used to his habit of hanging up or going silent without announcing his intentions.
I'm splitting my attention between keeping my eye on the camera feed and watching the guards situate themselves around the front door with automatic weapons and shields. Even if I didn't already know about the nefarious activity that takes place here, I'd be pretty suspicious about this level of training and equipment.
Equipment. A terrible idea hits me.
“Tony. We have grenades. Could they do enough damage to the barricades for us to get through?”
“Unfortunately not. There's only one way you're escaping that compound.”
“And that is?”
“Well, you can't go through it, and you can't go around it…”
Micah interjects, his voice barely able to be heard through the earpiece. “Dude, there's no way we could get over those fences. Especially with Bennet. He's in rough shape. He needs a hospital and a surgeon like yesterday.”
“And that's why we're calling in a Medevac,” Tony answers.
“No shit?” Micah lets out a breath.
“They're already on their way and should be at your coordinates in less than fifteen minutes. But we need to get your guys out of that building.”
The wheels are turning, but I can't believe what I'm about to suggest. “The grenades might not blast through a concrete barricade…”
“But they could clear a path for us to get out the front door,” Micah finishes my thought.
I'm thankful he doesn't refer to the guards as a meat barricade, which is unfortunately the exact thought that I had and is currently threatening to bring up what little I have in my stomach. Am I capable of killing? Multiple people at that?
I consider the people inside that building. The only family I have, the people I hold most dear.
With a heavy sigh, I make a decision. “Yeah, okay. That'll get them through the front door, but what about getting them out of that room?”
Micah thinks out loud, trying to come up with a plan. “We need a diversion. We can give the guys a heads up, a chance to take them by surprise. I'll sneak up on the guard blocking the doorway.”
“I can turn all the lights on at once. If they know it's happening, they can hopefully keep their bearings and take control of the situation,” Tony suggests.
“Well, we don't have time to overthink it. We'll just have to hope for the best,” I say.
Who am I anymore?
I can hear Tony clap, ready to dole out instructions. “Alright, let's do this. I'll give them a warning, cut all the lights on at once, and then hope for the best. Listen for my cues. Lukas, there are two grenades. Grab them both and move up as close as you can without being detected. You need to be within throwing range. When it's time—pull the pin, count to two, then throw. Aim directly behind where the guards are crouched down. They won't expect an attack from the rear. The other guards will probably run forward, so be ready to shoot or toss the second grenade.”
My heart is thundering so hard that the rest of what they're saying is muffled. I stand there motionless for too long, blinking, trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing.
The sound of gunshots through my earpiece jolts me out of my fog, Adley's voice shouting that none of them will make it out alive. I'll do what I have to do to make sure he’s wrong.
Closing my laptop, I shove it in my backpack. As much as I hated it before, the gun holster on my belt proves useful. Diligently checking the clip and safety, as Luis and Jackson taught me, I fasten a heavy handgun into the holster and pick up the two grenades.
