The Betrayal Chapter 25 ending (new writing mix and violence warning)

“Goddamn it!”

Benton perked up when he heard Channon’s curse on the TAC net. He pulled his rifle out from under her coat, looking at his companion. That last thing he needed, he mused, was for Almir to have killed Channon and Boston!

That would cut my firepower nearly in half, he thought, worrying his inner lip. And it will take every bit I have to kill that gladiator slave bitch!

“Channon!” he snapped. “Report!”

“Damn it,” she cursed. “I missed the bitch!”

A five-ton weight dropped on his shoulders in response. How in the hell could she have missed the bitch? He had planned it out perfectly, yet somehow, Almir managed to survive again? Just what in the hell, he wondered, would it take to kill her?

“What’s going on?” He asked as they tried to move into position. With the crowds, it was going to take several minutes for that to happen.

Stupid me, he chided himself. I should’ve done this before we made our move!

“She spotted us, sir,” Channon said, her breath sounding harsh in his earphone. “Somehow just before I shot, so we missed her.”

“Damn,” he cursed. “Where is she?”

“She’s in the kitchen with Kosloski,” Channon said. “We’re closing to follow them. Boston is pursuing!”

“Hold back, Boston!” he said over the net. “I repeat hold back! We’ll go after her together!”

“Negative, sir,” Boston said. “I have a bead on her!”

“I said no, Commander!”

Gunshots came over the net instead of a voice. Wincing, Benton heard two more shots and a cry of pain. After that, he heard nothing but the panicked sounds of the cooks.

God, why couldn’t people follow orders? He cursed silently.

“Come on!” he said to his companion, Major Alexandra Hipper. “We need to regroup!”

###

To Kate’s relief, the cooks were moving out of their way. Why it took so long, she’d never know. Who the hell knew how much precious time was wasted having to fight their way through them. She just hoped it was enough to allow them to reach the back door.

Jesus, she cursed silently as she bumped into a cook as she looked back the way they had come. Couldn’t the ****ing idiots tell that someone coming through with a goddamn gun in her hands meant business?

The kitchen door flew open and the armed man stepped through. An automatic rifle was in his hand as he turned towards them. These assholes really mean business, she thought, pulling Kolsoski down just as he started to fire.

The rifle made her ears ring in the enclosed kitchen. A stream of bullets tore into the cooks, cutting them down. An explosion of blood sprayed her face as a cook before her want down. Gagging, she spit blood from her mouth.

This ****er’s going down! She raged in her head.

Gritting her teeth in bloodlust, she raised her pistol. Firing from a kneeling position, she pulled the trigger one, two, three times. The sound of the bullets impacting with their target filed the room. Slamming back into the far wall, the man left a streak of blood on the wall as he slid to the floor.

“Get the **** up!” she screamed at Kosloski. “Move that ass!”

The remaining cooks panicked as they saw their comrades go down. Everyone raced for the door, making his or her escape even more difficult. If the trampling herd didn’t kill them, she mused, then the shooters would!

Squeezing through the door, the mass of humanity carried them outside. Battered on all sides, she looked for Kosloski. A wild-eyed cook shoved past her, causing her to lose sight of him for a moment.

Looking for Kosloski, she heard the crack of a rifle shot. The cook, who had nearly knocked her over, went down. His head exploded like an overripe melon, spraying her in blood and tissue. His headless body fell, eliciting screams from the survivors.

Spotting Kosloksi, she leaped at him. Knocking him to the ground behind a ground car, she heard another rifle shot. Behind her, at head level, the bullet blasted into another cook, turning his chest into a crimson rainbow.

Both of them hit the ground hard, the impact stunning them. Thank God for the car, she mused, as it gave them cover. This was turning into one gigantic mess, and there had to be a way out!

All because I stumbled upon their biological weaponry, she thought, self-incrimination washing over her in waves.

“You’re friends seem to want you and I dead,” Kosloski muttered.

“That’s no big surprise,” she said, sighing. “They’ve been trying to kill me for years now.”

“When will they stop?”

“Good question,” she said. “When I know the answer I’ll get back to you…”