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“Let’s keep pushing them up,” Cruz said. “Forcing them where we want them.”
We moved through their fortress like death itself, eliminating resistance and herding the survivors. Each floor and corridor brought us closer to our true targets.
When the topfloor stretched before us, we knew we’d reached their inner sanctum. Through the glass walls of their conference room, I saw them - Ronan and his three killers. Pandora’s Box, trapped in their own web.
“There’s nowhere left to run,” Cruz murmured.
Storm initiated the final sequence. Every exit was sealed, and every escape route was blocked except for the spot where Santari waited in the wing. In the conference room, Ronan’s face twisted with rage as he realized what was happening.
I pushed through the doors with Cruz and Storm flanking me. “To have once called you brother reminds me that I’ve made reprehensible mistakes in life.”
Ronan’s eyes turned into a mask of fury.
“We’ll make sure to never do that again.” I glanced at Cruz and Storm. “Won’t we, fellas?”
“Damn right,” they agreed.
“You…” Ronan’s rage twisted his features. “You’ve been behind everything.”
“Did you really think you could kill our true brother, kidnap our woman, and live to talk about it?”
“Tsk… I thought even you knew better than that.” I glanced at the others. “But I see you’ve got back up. So, you’re feeling… safe, is it?”
“Fuck you, nigga!”
My eyes widened, and I smiled. “Fuck me?” I pointed at myself then glanced at Cruz and Storm. “I think he’s mad.”
Cruz grunted, his face creased in lines of anger. “I say we put him out of his misery.”
I nodded. “I say you’re right. What do you think, Storm?”
“It’s now or never.”
I chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe Storm’s the lesser violent one out of the three of us, and yet, he’s about to kill the fuck outta y’all.”
Ronan’s teamspread out - the biggest one on the left side of him carried a mountain of muscle. He moved with surprising speed as another coiled like a cobra, ready to strike. The third carried himself with a fighter’s confidence. Their positioning blocked the exits behind them as if we would be the ones to run.
“We’ll just see about that,” Ronan mocked.
The mountain rushed Cruz first, closing the distance with impressive speed. Cruz ducked the initial swing, turned quickly, with a fierce grip and toss that sent him crashing into a control panel. Sparks showered as circuits shattered.
Storm engaged the fighter as they weaved between machinery. The fighter grabbed a loose pipe from a workbench, swinging it in lethal arcs. Storm caught the pipe mid-swing, using it to yank his opponent off balance, and slam him into an electrical box.
The cobra came at me while Ronan circled. His kick swept low, but I vaulted onto a maintenance platform, catching his follow-up punch and driving his face into a junction box. He staggered back with blood streaming from his nose, as Ronan moved beside me.
Cruz’s opponent had him pinned against some industrial shelving with his massive hands reaching for his throat. But Cruz’s fingers found a wrench, and the heavy tool connectedwith the man’s temple. They crashed into storage drums, sending them rolling across the ground.
Storm’s fighter cornered him near the hydraulic press, whipping the pipe at a fast pace. Storm ducked one swing, then two, caught the pipe and twisted it, forcing it back against his attacker’s throat. The fighter struggled against Storm’s control, and it was a beautiful thing to witness.
The cobra recovered, coming in fast with a flurry of strikes. I lifted my foot and kicked his chest, cracking his ribs on impact with my steel toe boots.
“Aaaaaaaah fuuuuuck!”
I wrapped a set of chains that lay nearby around my fist and sent a punch to his face that sent his head snapping back, knocking him out cold. Ronan charged me, driving his shoulder into my spine before I could regroup.
We crashed into a control panel, destroying the monitor’s station, but I responded quickly, flipping to my feet. I seized a handful of exposed wire and whipped, wrapping Ronan’s arm and splitting his flesh open.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah, motherfucker!”