FRAGMENTS ; Simon Riley

Chapter 33.

 ROSALIE.

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"Now or never."

The ground shook violently, before an explosion near us ricocheted loudly, mixed with the sound of numerous helicopters that flew over the area. I leaned against the nearest wall as a few pieces fell on the ground, my wide eyes landing right on Simon. "They're not ours." I whispered beneath my breath, the realization hitting me hard.

"Not our supports." He confirmed my words, his fingers immediately finding their way to the intercom's button.

Everything was happening in a blur. Crossfires could be heard from outside, my stomach was still twisting into tight knots, my head burning and spinning constantly.

We were so close to the enemy, yet so far.

He walked away from me with quick steps, speaking through the intercom to Laswell and Price, but I couldn't focus on the words I was hearing.

Retreat.

Negative, keep pushing to the target.

It was just the two of us in here, the Watcher's sight couldn't grasp on any enemy present in the following tunnels, right after the blind door that awaited us.

We didn't know if we were going to get out of this mission alive or dead, and we didn't care. This mission had to end quickly, it had gone too far. "Roger that." With a click, the intercom went dead.

I tried to calm my breathing and racing heartbeat, while he came closer and placed his hands on my shoulders, his eyes looking straight into mine with a determined and serious expression. His lieutenant side was coming in, the cold and deadly soldier that he was.

A dark cloud fell over his deep eyes, and for a moment I saw Ghost, not my husband. How bad could it be?

"Listen to me, carefully."

I swallowed the lump, my hands shaky as I held onto his arms and forced myself to focus on him. The ground beneath our feet shook again. "We must carry on with the mission, there's no way for us to retreat right now. Do you hear me?"

With a weak nod, I replied.

The air was thick with dust as explosions shook the entire building, we passed by the main entrance toward the bunker -- from here and on, there was no turning back.

The walls of the tunnel seemed too narrow as we moved deeper into the enemy's stronghold, the lights getting more dim the more we proceeded ahead. A strange, metallic scent of blood clung around us, as if there was a fight already going on. It was just all too confusing at this point.

Simon was a step ahead me, his boots thudding softly against the floor, our intercoms buzzing every now and then, signalling that the signal was about to get lost into the depths. Now, it was complete survival.

No more Laswell, no more Price or the team as a backup.

"Keep moving." My husband muttered, voice steady but low. We couldn't risk making too much noise, we had to keep our presence hidden for as long as possible.

And I didn't need to be told twice, pushing past my fears and bubbling anxiety.

His face, usually impassive behind the mask, was lined with tension, his jaw clenched tight. I had seen him in worse situations in the past, but this one strangely felt different.

The silence felt infinite -- too odd, and with every step, the tunnel seemed to grow tighter, darker and colder. Perhaps it could've been my impression, as if the walls pressed in on us, the path almost claustrophobic.

We moved deeper, the ground we walked on deliberately, pulling us downward.

"Hold." Simon whispered suddenly, his gloved hand up in a silent signal to halt.

I froze, my back stiffening, my heart picking up the pace. His hand slid to the grip of his rifle, fingers curling around it as he leaned against the wall, his posture trained to detect any suspicious sound.

"Five targets," He muttered, his eyes narrowing to focus, "And they're coming up fast, right ahead."

Nodding, I followed almost immediately at his side, moving like two shadows in the darkness. We passed a series of rusted pipes, marking the edge of the tunnel, slowing as we neared the perfect intersection where the group was passing.

Simon signaled me again to stop, the noise of footsteps growing closer as they came just around the corner. He went to the left, leaving me to the right.

The footsteps grew louder, and within a fragment of a second, he acted instantly, darting forward to catch the first soldier by surprise. At the same moment, I dealt with my own target, slamming the butt of my rifle in to the back of the soldier's head, knocking him out before dragging him in the shadows with me.

We didn't have time to check up, moving quickly as we opened fire against the others. 

The last one barely made it out alive -- actually not. Simon was on him while he tried switching mags, disarming him with a quick twist of the wrist and putting him down with a brief strike to the neck. "Clear." He stated, cracking his own neck slowly to drain the current adrenaline. 

I let out a sigh, not noticing I had been holding my breath. "We're almost there." I nodded, joining his side to continue our march, tension mounting each step.

We were getting closer to the objective, the bunker lay just beyond the network of the tunnels, and with it, perhaps, the enemy's command center. Or main bunker, whatever hid.

As we rounded another corner, Simon suddenly staggered, a sharp gasp escaping his lips. "Hey- Simon?" My heart picked up the pace once again, a sense of dread spreading through my chest. 

Turning toward him, I caught him clutching his shoulder, blood seeping through the dark fabric of his uniform, his face paling as the wound made itself present. "I'm fine." He grunted, shaking his head to wave away my worries, though it didn't work at all, "Keep moving, Rose."

But I didn't hesitate. I grabbed his arm and steadied him, "You're clearly not fine. They got you, haven't they?"

It wasn't anything small, a bullet had hit him in the shoulder and he was trying to make it seem insignificant. "We'll deal with it later, after we get the bloody bastard. Now we need to keep going." There was no space for arguments. He pushed past by me, ignoring my glare. 

I knew him well enough to know that once he set his mind on something, nothing would stop him, not even myself. 

So.. we pressed on, Simon moving slower now but still full of determination. The explosions on the surface couldn't be heard now, we were complete oblivious to what was happening up there.

And after what felt like an eternity, we finally reached the entrance to the bunker, a thick steel door.

Stopping in front of it, I took a deep breath, as I watched him take out an explosive charge from his gear. "The heart of the mission, it's on us." He spoke lowly, placing the charge on the door and pushing me behind him as we stepped back.

The countdown began.

It was now or never.