The dungeon hadn’t changed.
Shouts echoed everywhere the prisoners screaming, living in hell every single day.
As gunshots cracked through the air.
Soldiers and associates stood alert, guarding every corner.
I crouched low in the thick grass and spotted a familiar face: the man I’d knocked unconscious back then.
I followed him.
He walked up to another man, with a straight posture, voice sharp and commanding.
This had to be the Caporegime, the one in charge in guarding the whole place.
“Kill the captive the moment I give the signal,” Zuyan said.
My gut twisted.
I was right.
He never intended to keep his word.
That Bastard.
Zuyan left with his men.
And whenever I look into there’s no sign of Inferno anywhere.
I waited watching, until one guard wandered far enough from the group.
I lunged.
One hand clamped hard around his throat.
He struggled, but I held on until his movements weakened.
I pressed two fingers to his neck waited until no pulse beat beneath my skin.
Only then did I let him drop.
I dragged his body into the shade beneath the tall tree, out of sight.
“I hope you understand,” I whispered.
I stripped off his uniform the balaclava, tactical vest, boots.
I pulled them on, adjusted the fit, then took his sidearm.
I draped my jacket over his body to hide him.
I walked toward the main gate.
A hand suddenly clamped onto my shoulder, yanking me back.
My finger hovered over the trigger.
“Hey. You’re posted on captive watch. It’s on the third floor.” He pressed a key into my palm and shoved me forward.
“Make it quick.”
I nodded, kept my head down, and walked.
I forced my breathing steady, kept my gaze even.
No one looked twice.
I reached the third floor, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.
My chest tightened.
I saw Kenneth and Carter were chained to the wall they were heavily bruised, bloodied, barely holding themselves up.
While the girls sat opposite them, mouths gagged with cloth, there eyes were wide with rage and fear.
I started forward to free them, but the door creaked open again and I moved backward.
A man stepped through he had tattoo curling up his neck and forearm.
He walked straight to Carter, grabbed a fistful of hair, and wrenched his head up.
“Your precious senior agent thought she’d save you.” He grinned, scar slashing through one eye making it look even colder.
“What a pity. This will be your last meeting.” He laughed, sharp and cruel, then turned to me.
“Continue guarding them. No one is allowed to enter. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
He left.
I waited until his footsteps faded down the hall before checking through the crack in the door.
When the hallway cleared, I pulled off my balaclava.
Every head lifted.
Shock washed over their faces.
I pulled the gags from their mouths.
“Savannah what are you doing here?” Carter whispered, his voice raw.
“Get out of here,” Chalia said immediately, struggling against her chains.
“If they catch you, you’re dead.”
I shook my head and unlocked their cuffs.
They stumbled forward, arms wrapping around me, weak but relieved.
“Captain… we thought we’d never see you again,” Andrea said, squeezing my hand.
“Did they hurt you? How did you comeback here?” Kenneth asked, breath coming shallow, leaning heavily against the wall.
“We move first. Then we’ll discuss later,” I said, scanning the room.
There were no windows and even vents.
The Walls were solid concrete.
There was no way out but through the door.
“Leave while you can,” Chalia said again, voice tight.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
“No.”
My gaze dropped to the balaclava on the floor.
I picked it up.
Andrea saw the look in my eyes and smirked.
She tapped three fingers against her palm, our old signal.
Everyone nodded.
As they understood.
I stepped back into the hallway.
Five guards were coming down from the fourth floor carrying duffel bags, keys swinging from one man’s hand.
Its the keys to the vehicles.
Perfect!
I stepped out, voice loud and sharp.
“Hey! The captives won’t shut up. Go quiet them down, will you?”
They grumbled, exchanged looks, and headed inside.
The second the last man crossed the threshold, I slammed the door shut and bolted it.
Thuds, grunts and groaned happened in the room, then exchange with silence.
When I unlocked it minutes later, all five were bound and unconscious.
My team wore their uniforms, faces covered, weapons slung over their shoulders.
Kenneth lifted one heavy bag and the zipper gaped open.
There were cash stacked inside the bag.
We all froze.
“Boss…” Chalia breathed.
“Take it. This will serve as evidence and we can use it for temporary funds” I said.
“You four report back to headquarters. I’ll send everything I’ve gathered. Arrange your flight home as soon as we’re clear.”
“I’m not leaving until the rest of the Ciffarellis are dead”
“Have you lost your mind?” Andrea stepped in front of me, hands gripping my shoulders.
“They killed your mother here! Do you want to end up the same fate?”
I said nothing.
I turned and walked toward the elevator instead.
“Team, listen well. Once we’re out, your mission is done. You’re dismissed.”
No one argued.
They fell into step beside me.
We took the emergency stairway empty, unguarded, exactly as I’d hoped.
“Wait here. I’ll bring the van around,” I said, unlocking the vehicle I’d spotted earlier.
Before anyone could protest, I climbed in, started the engine, and drove to the pickup point.
Then alarms blared.
Shouts erupted behind us.
“Imposter! Someone entered our territory! Close the gate!”
Gunfire sprayed toward us.
Kenneth, Carter, Chalia, and Andrea returned fire from the open side doors, covering me as I gunned the engine straight for the slowly closing gate.
We burst through seconds before it slammed shut.
Carter whooped.
“Nice driving, Captain!”
But more vehicles were tailing behind us.
“Fire at their tires! Keep distance!” I ordered, swerving sharply as bullets zipped past the windows.
My foot never lifted from the gas.
Then a ten-wheeler truck pulled across the road, blocking our path completely.
“Shit hold on!”
I spun the wheel hard, swerved onto the raised embankment running alongside the road.
The van left the ground, sailed clear over the rear of the truck, and crashed back down onto the asphalt on the other side.
“WHOA!” the team yelled in unison, but we were already pulling away.
╰┈➤
I drove until we reached the nearest city airport perimeter.
A red tracking light blinked on the dashboard.
I smashed it with the butt of my gun until it went dark.
“This is where I drop you,” I said, watching their faces in the rearview mirror.
“You’re not coming with us?” Andrea asked, voice cracking.
“I have to finish what I started.”
“It’s a suicide mission!” Kenneth slammed a hand against the seat.
“We barely got out alive! You have to come back with us! Report this and let the headquarters handle it!”
“No. This is my fight.” I snapped back.
“Your fight? Fine.” Kenneth’s voice dropped.
He drew his weapon and pressed the muzzle gently but firmly against my temple.
“I am not letting you throw your life away. And please forgive us.”
Before I could move, Chalia pressed something cold into my neck.
A sharp sting made me groaned.
My vision started to get blurred and my limbs went heavy.
I was about to pull myself but their faces, and everything started to fade until the everything went completely dark.
Please enjoy reading ⸜( •⌄• )⸝