Rainbow Six: Bloodlines

"EL LEÓN" - Chapter 13

     Jackal floated up the stairs like a wraith haunting a house. He was but a shadow, relishing the gift of no power to the villa in the dark of night.

     Had he not been on-mission, Ryad would have taken a moment to admire the glowing moonlight streaming down through the large skylight window above.

     Ryad wished he hadn't left his Eyenox Scanner behind at Adrian's safehouse. A few days without it now made him realize how much he depended on it in the field.

     He wasn't called Jackal because of his scanner, though. Footprint detector or not, Ryad was a hunter through and through, and he would not be denied his prey. Not tonight. Not when his brother's murderer was so close.

     The man moved quickly, sticking to shadows, trying to find something that resembled an art studio or showroom. The clock was running out. His career and future be damned, Ryad was going to reach the Senator before the others did... and now that he could hear Caveira and Nomad bridge the gap between their units over the radio, he knew he was the odd man out.

     Now that Rainbow and Ghost Recon were teamed up, the odds were worse for Ryad than they had already been.

     He found himself picturing Mira, unconscious and alone with Karen Bowman back at the Ghost safehouse. He wondered how she was faring.

     Would he be allowed to see Elena before Six had him decommissioned and locked up for treason?

     Jackal shoved the thoughts away when the hushed voices of two men floated to his ears. He kept his weapon ready and glided along a carpeted walkway overlooking an open foyer below, venturing periodic glances behind him.

     He rounded the corner, out of view of the great room. The voices grew louder, and Ryad saw shadows of two men flickering across the hallway ahead from an open doorway.

     Ryad checked his six again before stepping carefully forward, hugging the wall as he advanced, getting close enough to hear their terse whispers.

     "- back in there and kill the mother fucker."

     "I won't stop you."

     "I... I'm not fucking crazy, right?"

     "No."

     "The Senator just murdered Mendoza. Tell me you saw that shit. Tell-"

     "I did."

     "- not going fucking crazy. That man is insane. What the hell do we do?"

     Ryad's eyes widened at the mention of Senator Costa. He paused, still safely out of sight. The men sounded confused.

     This was as good a time as any.

     Jackal made sure his mic was switched off, braced his weapon against his shoulder, and rushed into the doorway. "Hands up."

     Both security guards froze at the sight of him. One of them scoffed. "Fuck you."

     "I said put your hands up."

     The guard on the right didn't reach for his gun, but he turned slowly to confront Ryad with angry eyes. "And I said, fuck you."

     Ryad didn't avert his eyes. "Senator Costa - where is he?"

     Both guards looked at each other for a long moment. The mouthy one flashed Ryad a wry grin. "Who are you with? Police? CNI?"

     "I'm going to ask one more time: where is the Senator?"