Chapter 13 - SIEGE ON MAIN STREETZ
At 0200 hours, a heavy fog rolled in from the surrounding forest, cloaking Main Street in a thick, ghostly haze. The streetlights flickered and died as Apex Global cut the town's central power grid.
The quiet town of Oak Creek was transformed into a dark, silent kill-zone.
Inside the diner, all lights were extinguished. I stood in the darkness near the front counter, wearing full tactical gear—black load-bearing vest, night-vision goggles resting on my forehead, and a suppressed sidearm strapped to my thigh. Beside me were Grizz and four of his best veteran contractors, positioning heavy ballistic shields behind the diner's reinforced wooden booths.
"Sensors pick up three heavy vehicles approaching from the east," Grizz reported, his low voice barely audible over the hum of the backup generator running in the basement. "Eighteen to twenty heavily armed operators. They're setting up a breach team at the front door and the alleyway."
"Rules of engagement are clear," I commanded quietly, adjusting my earpiece. "These are illegal combatants operating on American soil. Suppress, neutralize, and secure Victor Vance alive if possible. My mother is secured in the reinforced basement vault."
"Copy that, Boss," Grizz whispered, slipping into the shadows near the kitchen doorway.
A sharp, metallic CLINK echoed from the front windows.
Two flashbang grenades crashed through the glass, bouncing onto the linoleum floor.
"Cover!" I shouted.
BANG! BANG!
Blinding light and deafening thunder shattered the silence of the diner. Instantly, the front doors were blown inward by explosive breacher charges, sending wooden splinters and smoke pouring into the dining area.
Six Apex Global operators moved through the smoke in tight tactical formation, their assault rifles raised, lasers cutting red beams through the haze.
"Now!" I ordered.
Grizz and our team opened fire from behind the reinforced booths. The sound of suppressed gunfire filled the room as the lead two Apex operators were brought down instantly by precise shots to the chest plates.
The remaining mercenaries scattered, taking cover behind the overturned tables and returning heavy fire. Plaster, shattered glass, and stuffing from the vinyl booths rained down through the dark room.
"Flank left!" an Apex squad leader yelled in the dark.
I moved like a shadow around the perimeter of the room, utilizing my intimate knowledge of the diner's layout. I stepped out behind two mercenaries who were laying down suppressive fire toward Grizz's position.
I swept the legs out from the first operator, driving my combat knife into the armor joint at his shoulder before he hit the ground. Before the second man could swing his rifle toward me, I grabbed his weapon's barrel, forced it upward into the ceiling, and delivered a devastating palm strike to his throat. He crumpled silently to the floor.
"Clear the main floor!" I called out, racking the slide of a captured rifle.
Suddenly, the heavy rear doors leading to the alleyway swung open. Three more operators burst in, but they weren't aiming at us—they were carrying a thermal breaching kit directly toward the floor hatch leading to the basement vault.
They were going for my mother.
A surge of cold adrenaline flooded my veins. I sprinted across the ruined dining room, clearing a fallen booth in a single leap. I tackled the lead operator carrying the breaching charge, crashing both of us through the wooden door into the kitchen.
We slammed into the stainless-steel prep table, sending pots and utensils crashing to the floor. The mercenary was massive, easily two hundred and thirty pounds, and trained in close-quarters combat. He managed to pin my left arm, pulling a combat dagger from his vest.
"End of the line, Colonel!" he snarled, driving the blade down toward my neck.
I caught his wrist with my right hand, inching the blade back. With a desperate surge of strength, I drove my forehead violently into his nose, shattering the bone. He screamed in pain, his grip loosening just enough for me to twist his arm behind his back and drive his head down into the sharp corner of the steel counter. He went limp immediately.
I stood up, breathing heavily, wiping blood from a minor cut on my forehead.
The gunfire in the main dining room slowly died down, replaced by the groans of wounded mercenaries and the heavy footsteps of Grizz’s team securing the perimeter.
Grizz stepped into the kitchen, his tactical light illuminating the destruction. "Main floor is clear, Nicole. Seven hostiles down, four captured. We lost two of our guys with non-lethal injuries."
"Where is Victor?" I demanded, breathing hard.
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Grizz looked down at his handheld tracker, his expression darkening. "He never stepped foot in town. His sedan just cleared the highway junction heading toward the port in Wilmington. He’s got a cargo vessel waiting."
I picked up a fallen tactical rifle, slamming a fresh magazine into the well. "Get the trucks ready, Grizz. We're finishing this tonight."
