Page 46 of Holding the Line
Chapter Eleven
Eli watched the screenas Oren squared off against two figures near the northeast perimeter.The overhead drone feed zoomed in, showing the fight playing out in stark infrared.Even in grainy heat signatures, Oren moved with precision—grappling, twisting, and taking one down with a brutal throw that left the attacker motionless.
“Damn,” Ty muttered beside him, eyes narrowed.“He’s still got it.”
Then it happened fast.
A second attacker emerged from the trees, lunging low.Oren pivoted to meet him—but not fast enough.The blade sank into his shoulder, and Oren staggered.Ty bolted upright.
“Oren!”Ty called out.
Pfft.
The harsh hiss of compressed air barely registered before Blake crumpled against the wall beside the monitors.Eli turned in time to see him slide, unconscious, a dart protruding from his neck.
“What the—?”Eli started, but Ty was already turning, too, reaching for his sidearm.
Another hiss.Pfft.
Ty grunted, stumbling as a dart slammed into his shoulder.He kept moving, powered by sheer force of will, until a second dart struck him in the neck.
“Big bastard,” the man said with a sigh, covered from head to toe in black tactical gear.“Always gotta shoot the tank twice.”
Ty dropped to his knees then keeled over.
“Marsh?”Eli said as he backed toward the center console.His comms that had been humming with activity was now oddly silent.Something was jamming them.
The man turned to him.“It’s your turn, Eli.We have to go.”
Eli’s blood went cold.
The man removed his mask.Never a good sign for the one being taken if Hollywood was anything to go by.
“Who are you?”Eli whispered, dread beginning to settle within him even more.“What the hell do you want with me!”
The man winced.“Look, Eli—please, just let me explain.My name is Kai and I—”
“Explain?You drugged them!You’re working for him!The Colonel!You’re—God, you disgust me!”
Kai’s voice was raw.“The Colonel has my sister.He’s going to kill her if I don’t bring you to him.”
Eli’s mouth opened, but no words came.The man really was explaining why he was working with that psychopath.