Page 75 of Two Chambered Heart

“Roger,” Jason’s voice filtered through the earpiece.

When they pulled up to the iron gates, they were already open. The truck slowed to a crawl as it edged towards the entrance of the drop point.

“Wait.” Archie’s voice was sharp in his ear. “I lost contact with Tac Op.” Kayden could hear Archie clacking away on his keyboard. They both slowed their bikes, and the truck stopped in front of them, having received their own directions from Archie.

“I don’t like this,” he said to them. “I have no video feed of the area. My recommendation is a retreat.”

“Let’s just make the drop,” Kayden said. “We’re already here. It’s probably weather-related.”

Archie let out a breath in his ear. “Jason?”

It was silent for a moment longer before Jason agreed to continue. Archie must have given the transport team the go-ahead, because the truck started its crawl forward again, and the twins revved the bikes back up and followed.

Kayden scanned through all the thoughts he could hear, searching for any hint that something might go wrong, but their team was hyper-focused.

They got closer to the warehouse at the end of the long driveway. There was so much commotion in Kayden’s head already from all the people surrounding him. He couldn’t pick up anything from around or inside the building.

Tension crackled in the air. Kayden could feel the hair on his arms trying to lift under his heavy leather sleeves.

A shiver of apprehension ran down his spine.

And then it happened.

The truck exploded in front of him, shrapnel shattering out in every direction. He swerved his bike to the side, but Jason wasn’t so lucky, a section of the truck flying right into his bike.

Jason was flung from the motorcycle.

Without thinking, Kayden threw himself from his bike and ran to his brother, pulling his helmet off for better vision.

Jason was already pulling himself up when he got there, flipping up his visor and drawing his gun.

Kayden could hear Archie shouting commands in his ear, but they must have been for the EP team. He wasn’t processing what his friend was saying, anyway. The remains of the truck were in a blaze, and Kayden was dragging Jason away from the wreckage. Jason’s bike was smashed into a warped twisting of metal in front of them.

Infantry spilled out from the warehouse, firing at their team. Behind them were a few notable faces of Krieg’s inner circle.

Kayden pulled a grenade from his vest and threw it hard into the thick of the group. It went off and they scattered, dispersing.

“You could have been a baseball player with that arm,” Jason laughed, eyes dancing with the thrill, before throwing his own grenade from his vest, getting it the same distance that Kayden had.

“So could you,” he replied more somberly.

Their EP team was already advancing, using flamethrowers to burn through the front line of Kreig’s men. The second line was using GM-94 grenade launchers to fire thermobaric projectiles.

The fire was causing a thick layer of smoke to congeal around them, and it was burning Kayden’s eyes and nose. The smell of burning metal and rubber, mixing with the scent of burning flesh, was its own disgusting cologne.

“Sorry, Arch. We should have listened to you,” Kayden coughed.

“Just get out of there.”

“We need to destroy the supply before we leave, and Kreig’s men. I’m not leaving anyone alive. Kreig has clearly lost it if he thinks he can pull this shit and walk away,” Jason countered, eyes narrowing at the mayhem.

Their EP team was already making steady advances, eliminating the first round of infantry and working their way through the second round of men who rushed from the building.

The air was heating, and Kayden was already sweating in his leather jacket. He grabbed an extra GM-94 from the trunk of an EP vehicle, tossing a second one to Jason.

“Nah, give me a flamethrower,” Jason said excitedly, handing the GM back to Kayden. They exchanged the weapons and sprinted towards the warehouse.

“Do you have any eyes on the perimeter?” Jason asked Archie.

---