Success of the Broken Banner

Chapter 6: Take Her

My hands shot up in surrender, locking eyes with the shotgun-wielding stranger as I inched backward. His smirk seared into my brain as he sized me up, ice trickling down my veins.

"What's the play here?" I forced my voice steady, praying I could bluff my way out of this. His expression stayed carved from granite, offering zero reassurance. One slow step at a time, he closed in, shotgun never wavering from my face as he jerked his chin toward our bags.

"Let's not make this messy," he drawled, baring his teeth. "Hand over your stuff, and I vanish into thin air."

Kilo wasn't having it. "That's not how this goes down," he snarled, planting himself in the guy's path. At well over six feet of pure muscle, he made the would-be thief look like a scrawny rat. He jerked a thumb at the limp body he and Echo had hauled from the wreckage. "You want to join your buddy there, or do you need a demonstration on how to run away with your tail on fire?"

Without missing a beat, the guy whipped his shotgun out of sight, leveling it straight at Kilo's heart. The boom of the trigger echoed off the pavement, but Kilo was a blur of motion. He clamped onto the barrel like a vice, twisting it so the wild shot blew out a window in the building across from us.

Kilo's hands gripped the shotgun like a lifeline, ramming the muzzle into the man's throat. The force sent him crashing into a nearby car. A heart-pounding struggle exploded, Kilo battling to keep his opponent down as more men scrambled to intervene. Echo yanked my arm, towing me toward the dubious cover of a dumpster. "Stay hidden!" he yelled, storing a knife in my pocket before sprinting to bolster Kilo.

I peered around the rusted edge of the dumpster, my heart hammering against my ribs. The scene unfolding before me was a blur of fists and snarls, the air heavy with the tang of adrenaline and fear.

Suddenly, Kilo broke free. With a flash of agility that belied his bulk, he put some much-needed distance between himself and the snarling pack of assailants. His hand instinctively went to the assault rifle slung over his shoulder, but there was no time to retrieve it yet. Echo stood as our rear guard, his rifle trained on the threat while keeping a wary eye on me. We were outnumbered, and Kilo knew it. He jerked his head in a curt signal to retreat.

Echo laid down covering fire, picking off a few of the pursuers. Then he grabbed my wrist, hauling me after him as we followed Kilo's lead deeper into the town's maze-like heart. The crack of gunfire echoed off the buildings, and we instinctively dove for the cover of a parked car. It wasn't much, but it was better than being caught in the open.

My breath came in ragged gasps. We had to find somewhere to hole up, and fast. But for now, we could only keep running and hope our lead held.

With lightning speed, Kilo whipped out his weapon, bracing himself against the hood of a car. Bullets whizzed past my ear as he returned fire, creating a barricade between us and our relentless pursuers. Echo sprang into action, shedding his tactical vest in one swift motion. "Put this on and stay down!" he yelled, thrusting the heavy fabric at me. With a deep breath, he drew his own gun and darted towards a car across from Kilo, choosing a new vantage point from which to counterattack.

I huddled behind the car, the vest heavy on my shoulders. A deadly symphony of gunfire echoed off the buildings, each bullet a potential threat. Ricochets pinged off lamp posts, sending shards of glass flying from the shattered windows above. My heart hammered in my chest as I squeezed my eyes shut, praying for the battle to end.

Without warning, rough hands dragged me from my hiding spot. A terrified shriek tore from my throat. Kilo and Echo's heads snapped towards me, their weapons raised in immediate response to my cry of fear. I was trapped, clutched against a man's chest as a cold blade pressed against my throat. He glared at my comrades as he pulled me back, farther from safety.