The Storm After

Chapter 9: A Hero's Desperation

(1 Hour Ago...)

William remained still. He hadn't heard anything for a while now and when he decided the coast was clear, he poked his head up. He looked around, surveying the area around him and saw that no one was in sight. He let out a sigh of relief. He had stowed away on the van Alex and John had used to travel to the factory. He got out of the van using the back doors and hopped off. He looked around him, the vast landscape of the glades and how different it was in comparison to the central areas of the city. There was a lot of run-down buildings and trash everywhere. He turned his gaze towards the factory that was in front of him. It was huge, encompassing a huge amount of the area. He saw that the entrance had been forced open and assumed that it was because of Alex and John.

His heart was beating fast, his nerves shook his entire body and he had no idea why he had come here. What was his plan? He didn't know what to do, how he was going to do anything. The only thing he knew, was that he wanted to see Oliver. That thought had overwhelmed his mind and it was something he wanted desperately. With that, he slowly proceeds into the building.

[X]

The infiltration team had made their way through the factory. The interior was very large, with numerous corridors and a few large areas. Alex and John proceeded together, each covering one another's backs. They had not run into the enemy yet and with the areas that they had passed through, it seemed that there were not many people within the building, When they had reached the second floor, they came to a stop by a doorway. They treaded lightly, careful to not make any sounds. John peered inside, moving his head slowly and made out three figures in the room.

"There's three of them in there, and I recognise one of them." John whispered to Alex.

"Who is it?" Alex asked in a whisper.

"His name is Anatoly... an old acquaintance of Oliver's." John replied. Alex gave him an inquisitive look. "But... he's allied himself with the enemy, so we'll have to take him out." John turned his gaze back to the room and thought about a plan. They didn't want to make any noises, so shooting them would not be favourable. He looked at his hand, the one that was still injured and tremoring. He knew he couldn't risk shooting. "Okay, here's what we'll do. I'll go in first, you cover me. Once I get to one, you take out the other. As for Anatoly, we don't have to worry about him..." John said.

"Hmm? Why's that?" Alex asked.

"He's... more of a talker, than a fighter..." John said.

"Oh, alright..." Alex said. She pulled out her pistol and readied herself. She gave John a nod to signal she was ready. He noticed her pistol had a silencer on it, it appeared she came prepared and it gave a John a sense of relief. He returned his own and proceeded to move in.

He moved in slowly, crouched low so that they couldn't see him. Their backs were turned and were looking at the front. John neared one of them and jumped on him. He put his arms around the goon's neck and began to put him in a choke hold. The other two began to react and shifted their attention to him. Alex didn't let them have time and shot the other one in the leg. He collapsed and was on his knees. Alex ran into the room and saw that John still had his man in a hold. She turned to the one she shot and used the butt of her gun to knock him out. The impact immediately took him out and he laid, face forward on the floor. Anatoly began to stammer and tried to pull out his gun. Alex kept moving, she slided over the table and spun her body to kick the gun out of his hand. John finally put his man out as well and came up to join her.

"Nice moves there." John said, he was impressed with her skills.

"Thanks." Alex said, she smiled at his compliment. She pointed her gun and told him to back up to the wall.