Rainbow Six: Bloodlines

"EL LEÓN" - Chapter 12

Senator Costa watched his men flinch when they heard the explosion from Caveira's grenade diversion. It rumbled like distant thunder.

Neither the floor beneath his feet or the ceiling above their heads in the large panic room even vibrated upon impact, and yet his paid security professionals were cowering in the dark like Ceuta was being hit by an earthquake.

"Fools," Costa growled. "The hell is the matter with you? Man up and do your jobs, for fuck's sake!"

The four armed guards stared in shock. The senator was usually a good-natured, easygoing man. His outburst, though brief, was astonishingly out of character.

Costa looked to his chief of security. "Tell me you have something, Mendoza. Give me good news."

Still in shock, the security chief glanced at his men before answering. "No, sir." He held up his smart phone in defeat. "I don't understand. They must have a signal jammer. There's no other way to-"

"How the fuck did this happen!?" Senator Costa thundered. "What the hell do I pay all of you for?"

Mendoza managed to remain composed. "Clearly this is a special forces element of some kind. We're not equipped-"

"You fucking think?"

"With respect, sir, I requested equipment upgrades and additional defensive elements over two months ago, and-"

"I told you no." Costa leered close. "Are you blaming me for your incompetence?"

Mendoza's own temper was beginning to flare. "No. I'm saying my hands are tied, and I was worried about potential weaknesses to a situation like this. You ignored me."

"I doubt a division of men at your disposal would do you any better. 'Chief of Security' - a title unfitting."

"Senator, if we had installed an escape tunnel from this very room - like I suggested - we wouldn't be having this conversation at all." Mendoza squared himself at his employer. "Ironic that a man with so much money is so cheap that he would neglect-"

The gunshot cut Security Chief Mendoza's words short. The man's head snapped backward, and he collapsed to the floor in a heap.

Senator Costa held his smoking handgun in midair for a long moment. His eyes washed over the body at his feet. Seeing his dead security chief staring vacantly into space suddenly made Costa acutely aware of his own mortality.

He turned and stared at his three remaining men. They were shocked, cringing and covering their ears. The shot in such an enclosed space had been deafening, and Costa's own ears buzzed in protest.

The senator finally lowered his gun. "Anyone else have something they want to say?" he asked loudly, knowing his men could hardly hear him.

The security guards were still staring in astonishment. One of them drew his weapon and aimed at the senator. His companions followed suit.

Costa, suddenly staring down the barrels of three guns, chuckled. He casually strode to the edge of the dim panic room and sat on the floor with his back to the wall. His chuckling turned into laughter, and the senator placed his handgun on the floor next to him.

One of the men stepped forward, his face a picture of confusion. "Señor Costa... are you insane?"

The senator's laughter grew louder.

The trio of guards looked at each other, bewildered, before the frontman turned his attention back to Costa.

"You just murdered Mendoza. You fucking shot him! Do you understand what you've just done?"