Chapter 9 - The Siege
Arthur’s warm blood splattered across the wooden floorboards in a horrific, terrifying crimson arc.
I screamed loudly and instantly dove directly beneath the heavy oak table just as a second bullet completely shattered the kitchen window.
The deafening crack of suppressed sniper fire echoed ominously through the quiet, isolated mountain valley.
I crawled frantically toward Arthur, my ingrained nursing instincts kicking in despite the absolute terror fiercely gripping my heart.
I pressed my hands aggressively against the gaping wound in his chest, desperately trying to stem the massive blood loss.
Arthur coughed violently, dark blood rapidly bubbling at the corners of his pale mouth.
"The upload," he gasped weakly, his eyes darting frantically toward the damaged computer monitor above us.
I quickly glanced up and saw the progress bar stalled precisely at ninety-two percent.
The very first bullet had struck the primary router, completely severing the cabin's primary internet connection.
"They totally cut the signal," I told him, tears streaming rapidly down my terrified face.
"Backup satellite uplink," Arthur choked out, pointing extremely weakly toward a black briefcase resting under his desk.
I strictly kept one hand pressing firmly on his wound and stretched my other arm out to fiercely grab the heavy case.
I dragged it violently under the table and snapped the metal latches open.
Inside was a highly advanced portable satellite modem and a thick Ethernet cable.
"Plug it directly into the tower," Arthur whispered, his labored breathing becoming incredibly shallow and highly erratic.
I absolutely knew that standing up to reach the computer tower would completely expose me to the lethal sniper outside.
But if I didn't successfully finish this upload, Arthur’s tragic death would be entirely meaningless.
I took a very deep breath, violently grabbed the Ethernet cable, and rapidly launched myself upward from beneath the table.
I furiously slammed the cable into the back of the computer tower just as a heavy bullet tore completely through the sleeve of my scrub top.
The burning pain in my arm was incredibly intense, but the computer screen instantly recognized the new network connection.
The upload finally resumed, ticking agonizingly from ninety-two to strictly ninety-five percent.
Heavy combat boots suddenly began kicking aggressively against the solid oak front door of the cabin.
Gareth’s highly elite mercenaries had definitely arrived to finish the job, and they were actively breaching the perimeter.
I dropped back aggressively to the floor, grabbing Arthur’s discarded shotgun with violently trembling hands.
"Irene," Arthur whispered incredibly softly, his eyes completely losing their focus.
"Don't ever let them win."
Arthur exhaled a very long, highly shuddering breath, and his chest completely stopped moving entirely.
The progress bar on the screen loudly chimed, finally hitting exactly ninety-nine percent.
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The heavy front door violently burst entirely off its hinges, and three heavily armed men instantly stepped into the dark cabin.
I boldly aimed the heavy shotgun directly at the doorway and violently pulled the trigger.
