Chapter 17 - The Ambush
Stella kept her assault rifle perfectly steady, completely unfazed by Silas's arrogant threats.
"Turn around and get on your knees," Stella ordered sharply, her voice echoing in the small office.
Silas slowly complied, dropping the heavy duffel bag of cash onto the dirty concrete floor.
"You think killing me will stop the cartel?" Silas laughed bitterly, a dark sound that chilled the air.
"My death is simply a minor inconvenience to the people truly running this operation."
Before Stella could respond to his cryptic warning, the heavy glass walls of the office violently shattered inward.
A massive barrage of high-caliber gunfire tore through the room, forcing Stella to dive aggressively to the floor for cover.
Silas did not survive the brutal onslaught; he was completely riddled with bullets, collapsing lifelessly onto the floor.
Stella crawled frantically behind a heavy metal desk, completely pinned down by overwhelming firepower.
The cartel mercenaries had regrouped outside the office and were aggressively advancing on her position.
"Jonah, I am trapped in the central office!" Stella yelled frantically into her earpiece.
Static aggressively crackled over the secure comms line, masking Jonah's panicked response.
"Stella, fall back immediately!" Jonah shouted, his voice barely audible over the roaring gunfire.
"Victor's syndicate just breached the southern gates; it’s a massive three-way firefight out here!"
Stella felt a cold wave of pure dread wash over her body.
Victor had not completely retreated after rescuing his daughter; he had patiently waited for Jonah and the cartel to weaken each other.
She was hopelessly trapped between two highly motivated, heavily armed rival crime syndicates.
Stella checked her ammunition, realizing she only had one full magazine remaining for her rifle.
She took a deep breath, preparing to make a desperate, completely suicidal sprint toward the loading docks.
Suddenly, the deafening roar of Jonah's armored vehicle aggressively smashed completely through the exterior wall of the warehouse.
The massive vehicle completely crushed the cartel mercenaries pinning her down, creating a chaotic cloud of dust and debris.
The passenger door swung violently open.
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"Get in!" Jonah roared over the absolute chaos.
Stella sprinted through the blinding dust and violently threw herself into the passenger seat just as a rocket-propelled grenade struck the nearby wall.
