Chapter 17 - The Battle of the Steel MillThe abandoned steel mill loomed like a rotting metallic skeleton against the dark lakefront, wind howling through its broken windows and rusted beams.
Inside the cavernous central staging area, Viktor Rostov and a dozen of his heavily armed mercenaries paced anxiously around a makeshift command table, waiting for an assault that they thought would come through the front gates.
They never heard the power substation go offline.
Click. Darkness.
In a fraction of a second, the entire mill plunged into pitch-black darkness, emergency red backup lights flickering weakly overhead.
"What happened to the power?" one of the guards shouted in Russian, raising his rifle.
Before Rostov could answer, the heavy steel floor beneath them shuddered.
Boom!
Gabriel and Mason breached the upper catwalks simultaneously, flash-bang grenades echoing through the cavern like rolling thunder. High-caliber rounds chewed through the shadows as Gabriel’s enforcers swarmed the facility from three different angles, overwhelming Rostov's men before they could even organize a defense.
I stood in the secure command vehicle outside, monitoring the tactical feeds on my tablet, communicating directly with Gabriel through our encrypted comms.
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"East wing is clear, Gabriel," I reported calmly, typing a rapid sequence to lock down the facility's exit gates. "Rostov is moving toward the loading dock on the south side. He's trying to reach a vehicle."
"I see him," Gabriel’s voice crackled back over the headset, cold and absolute.
