Page 81 of Wild Sentinel

Jack stepped into the room across the hall from us and hovered in the doorframe. We readied our weapons and prepared for the blast.

A microphone outside the bunker captured the audio. It played through the speakers on the security system.

"You better come up with a solution, fast," I told Adam.

“You know, I was working on one until you showed up and rushed the process,” he snapped.

"Can you control the drone swarm from this location?”

"As far as the system is concerned, it thinks I am on an authorized terminal at Meridian. I can input specific targets with my authentication code.”

"So you can target any location in the world?"

He nodded. It only took him a few seconds to catch on.

“You want me to target the bunker.”

"The directed energy weapon will vaporize anything in the area, yes?"

He nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, his fingers blazed across the keyboard.

"Fire in the hole," one of the goons outside shouted.

We plugged our ears and took cover.

KABOOM!

The blast rumbled the bunker, slicing through the locking pins, blowing the door clean off. It thundered to the ground with a clank. The overpressure in the bunker from the blast was enough to make your ears bleed. Debris showered in all directions, and a thick haze filled the air.

JD and I angled our weapons down the hallway and opened fire. Muzzle flash flickered, and bullets spewed into the mist.

Visibility was zero.

I put as many bullets downrange as I could.

A flurry of molten copper came back at me, rocketing down the corridor.

I ducked for cover, and so did JD.

The clatter of gunfire was deafening. Bullets bounced off the concrete walls.

Then came the flash bang grenades. They bounced and clanked down the hallway.

I closed my eyes and plugged my ears again and told everyone to do the same.

BANG!

BANG!

The tangy scent of combat filled the air. I angled my rifle around the corner again and opened fire. Brass shell casings ejected from the port and danced on the concrete.

I emptied the magazine.

Jack took over while I hit the mag release button, dropped the magazine out, and jammed another one in. I slapped the bolt catch, then fired at the goon squad. The rifle hammered my shoulder.

The air was still thick with haze.

This was my last magazine, then the show would be over.