Chapter 15 - PREPARATIONS IN THE DARK
By 6:30 p.m., twilight had descended over the industrial sector along the riverbank. Rain began to fall again—a cold, steady drizzle that turned the dirt paths between the rusted shipping containers into dark tracks of mud.
Inside a derelict maintenance shed overlooking the Sector 4 rail depot, Maya Bennett sat on an inverted wooden crate. She was dressed in dark tactical attire—a rain-resistant shell jacket, heavy utility trousers, and sturdy combat boots. She sat with a small cleaning kit, meticulously wiping down the bolt carrier group of her rifle before reassembling the weapon with practiced, silent efficiency.
Alexander stood near the broken window frame, looking through a pair of high-powered night-vision binoculars at the open yard below.
"They won't come with four men, Dad," Maya said softly, her voice steady over the sound of rain tapping against the corrugated tin roof. "Carmen Robles doesn't know how to operate without overwhelming force."
"I know," Alexander said without lowering his binoculars. "She’s already deployed a six-man outer perimeter team along the eastern security fence. They arrived twenty minutes ago in two silver vans."
"And Javier?"
"He's in the armored sedan parked near the main gate. He looks terrified." Alexander lowered the optic, turning to look at his daughter in the dim gloom of the shed. "Are you sure you want to be the one on the ground, Maya? You don't have to face them directly. I can handle the exchange alone."
Maya reinserted the magazine into her rifle with a firm CLICK, pulling the charging handle back to chamber a dummy round before easing it forward into battery.
"They came after me because they thought I was the weak link in your life, Dad," Maya said, her brown eyes burning with a dark, sharp intensity under the shadow of her cap. "They thought I was just a civilian girl in a wedding dress who would cry and sign whatever paper they put in front of me. I need Javier to look me in the eye when his mother's empire collapses."
May you like
Alexander stared at her for a long moment, then reached out, placing his massive hand on her shoulder, squeezing tightly.
"The line is set," he said softly. "Master Sergeant Hayes and two of my former team operators are holding the high ground on the grain silo three hundred yards south. If anyone draws a weapon before I give the signal, the range is cleared."
