Chapter 25 - The Airfield Standoff
The private airstrip in Jacksonville was surrounded by a tall chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Adrian slammed the SUV through the secondary maintenance gate, shattering the wooden arm, and raced across the tarmac toward a twin-engine Gulfstream charter plane idling near the hangar.
Its door was open, and Mateo stood on the metal boarding stairs waving his arms frantically.
“Get them on board! Move, move, move!” Mateo shouted over the scream of the jet turbines as Adrian pulled the SUV to a screeching halt beside the aircraft.
I unbuckled Oliver and Emma, practically throwing them into Mateo’s waiting arms inside the cabin. “Take them straight to the cockpit! Stay down!”
As I turned back to help Adrian, the third black SUV smashed through the perimeter fence behind us, tires screeching against the concrete as it fishtailed across the tarmac, cutting off our path to the hangar.
Three armed operatives tumbled out of the vehicle, raising assault rifles toward the Gulfstream.
Adrian didn't hesitate. He drew his carbine from the floorboard, rolled out of the SUV, and took cover behind the front tire, returning fire with lethal, disciplined precision.
Crack. Crack.
The first operative dropped instantly, a clean round through his tactical vest. The second scrambled behind the open door of their SUV, firing blindly toward our position.
“Adrian, get back!” I shouted, raising my own weapon from the passenger doorway and laying down suppressive fire, forcing the remaining gunmen to duck behind their vehicle.
“Sophia, get on the plane!” Adrian yelled over the deafening roar of the jet engines.
“Not without you!”
Before Adrian could argue, the final operative popped up from behind the SUV with a grenade launcher slung over his shoulder.
My heart stopped.
“Adrian, down!”
Adrian moved with preternatural speed. He dropped his carbine, drew his secondary pistol, and fired a single, desperate shot.
The bullet struck the launcher’s housing just as the operative pulled the trigger.
The explosion detonated prematurely, engulfing the enemy SUV in a blinding ball of fire and shrapnel, sending the final gunman flying through the air before hitting the tarmac motionless.
Flames licked at the asphalt as black smoke plumed into the Florida sky.
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Adrian stood up slowly, coughing through the acrid smoke, his clothes dusted with soot, his eyes burning with adrenaline. He sprinted toward the charter plane, grabbing the metal boarding ladder just as Mateo hauled him inside.
“Close the door! Take us up!” Adrian roared, collapsing into the cabin seat beside me as the Gulfstream surged forward down the runway, lifting off into the clouds.
