Capítulo 169: 9. Trouble Is A Friend.
We waited for the go-ahead in the deep shadows near the enormous building. Our transport vehicles were parked in their designated spots, while the destroyers made sure that everything was in order for the teams to proceed. As the new seeker, I would be the last one to go. I would rely on my radar and wits to navigate, with Taylor and Tim as my backup. Our mission was to uncover any hidden weapon stashes, ambush guards, or drug labs.
In previous missions, we encountered unexpected surprises that were not properly checked, so I proposed a new role for certain missions. Seekers would be deployed to handle these situations, allowing the others to focus on rescue and destruction. Seekers would give the go-ahead for destruction or movement, giving the rest of the team their chance.
However, since rescue and saving efforts often took up most of the time, we would have the opportunity to thoroughly investigate. If there was nothing out of the ordinary, we would be free to assist anyone who needed help. Additionally, as the medic, I had to be prepared to act if anyone was injured or in critical condition.
When I received the go-ahead through my comm device, we swiftly ran across the yard, with Tim and Taylor flanking me and guns at the ready. We entered through the backdoor, which provided access to the basement, where we would start our investigation.
I reached for the door and spoke into my mic, "This is Seeker 1 going in, stand by."
I heard crackles as Ruby and David, the nearest destroyers, acknowledged the message. Opening the door, I stepped inside and placed a small charge in the door leading to the basement. With a faint pop and a slight smell of explosion, I blew it open. Tim went first and quickly flicked on the lights so we could see our surroundings.
The stairs leading down were steep and narrow, and we proceeded with caution. By the time I reached the bottom, Tim had already blown open the next door. We found ourselves in a long corridor with lights illuminating the way. This was no ordinary basement with heating and plumbing; there was something else hidden here. I approached one door, which was unlocked, and opened it.
There was a spacious hall filled with patient beds, each occupied by living patients who appeared to be restrained and drugged. There were about 15 to 20 patients in total.
I turned to Taylor and suggested, "Could you please check if this is the only hall? We need more people in here, but it's impossible to carry them up the stairs. We really need teleportation. This is frustrating."
Taylor went to investigate while Tim asked me, "What's your plan?"
I responded, "We need additional transportation and more staff. I have teleportation crystals, so we should install receivers in the vehicles. We also need a lot of people to take care of these patients. It's quite a challenge."
Suddenly, Taylor's voice came through my earpiece, informing me, "We have discovered at least 20 more halls, all filled with living patients. There's also a large drug warehouse and plenty of equipment."
Frustrated, I ran my hand through my hair and spoke into my microphone, "This is Flealeader. We urgently require extra staff. Gather as many people as possible and arrange several vehicles equipped with teleportation transceivers. We have an additional victim flood in the basement, about 400 of them, and the only way to rescue them is through teleportation due to the presence of many hostiles. Besides, it is not easy to get here, with steep and narrow stairs and no windows. Call for assistance from anyone nearby."
Jack, from the base, replied, "Roger that. Vehicles will be deployed within ten minutes. Hang in there. Anything else?"
I replied, "We've stumbled upon a significant amount of loot, including drugs and supplies. However, our main focus is the possibility of rescuing 400 more victims. We need to find suitable accommodations for them."
Jack assured me, "I'll take care of it. Colin is at the base, and he'll assist as well."
I turned to Taylor and said, "Alright, let's start searching for any signs of movement. If possible, try to bring them up the stairs. More help is on the way."
Taylor nodded, and I informed my team through the microphone, "Anyone available, we have an additional 400 victims here. I've requested more assistance, but let's see if we can start rescuing anyone already."
Several team members, including Luiz and Ruby, acknowledged and began making their way towards us. It was a dire situation, as this place would become freaking nasty if the guards arrived. We had no escape route yet, at least not according to the blueprints. So, for now, we were trapped until I could teleport the victims.
I started examining each room or hall one at a time, removing their IVs, assessing their condition, and waking them up. Most of them were groggy. Tim, Taylor, Luiz, and Ruby were assisting anyone who could walk, but the stairs were steep and narrow, making it difficult for them to navigate. Our progress was slow.
After 15 minutes, I received confirmation that vehicles and approximately 20 people were en route. It would take them 10-18 minutes to arrive, allowing us to quickly move more victims to safety. I was grouping victims together so that I could teleport 8-10 at a time, hoping that the recipients wouldn't be overwhelmed. I didn't know the extent of their injuries, but their pulses were steady, albeit slow. They looked pale, drugged, and sore.
Speaking into my microphone, I asked, "What's the situation on the other floors? Are there any problems?"
Matt, one of our destroyers, replied, "There's heavy fire constantly. There are a lot of guards, but we're keeping them occupied. They haven't started coming our way yet. We're trying to divert their attention towards us. We've already cleared two floors."
I clicked my mic, realizing that they had eight floors to clear, with three currently being emptied. This would take some time.
As I organized the victims into groups, gunfire suddenly erupted around me, and I cursed under my breath, "Fuck it! We have hostiles here! Be advised!"
Luiz informed me, "No shit, Sherlock. There are at least 15 of them, and more are coming. It seems like they found another way in. They're coming from the east end."
I cursed again. I hated it when the blueprints weren't up to date.
I instructed Luiz, "Try to hold them off. Reinforcements and additional staff will be here soon. They should arrive in less than five minutes."
He grunted in response. I quickly moved from one hallway to another when five guards started shooting at me.
"Shit!" I exclaimed as I dove behind a heavy filing cabinet.
I pulled out my Glock and attempted to shoot back, but they took cover, making it difficult. I spotted my next escape route, took a deep breath, and sprinted towards it. I felt a bullet graze the back of my leg, but it didn't slow me down. The fact that it penetrated my bulletproof trousers meant that these guards had more powerful ammunition. I made a mental note to remove the bullet later at the base.
From my new vantage point, I could see Ruby taking out more guards while Luiz was maneuvering closer to me. Unfortunately, one guard managed to land a lucky shot on Luiz, piercing his vest. Without hesitation, I swiftly dashed over, grabbed him, and pulled him into cover. Ruby, along with Taylor and Tim now, provided cover fire. We were positioned near the east side where the guards were flooding in, but we had sufficient cover, at least for the time being.
Luiz was breathing heavily, his face pale from the bullet wound in his belly. Time was of the essence, and we needed to act fast to prevent the situation from becoming fatal. Ruby, who was closest to me, kept us safe and informed me,
"Extra staff is here." I reached into my pocket, retrieved the teleportation crystals, and threw them to her, saying, "If you can start moving the victims out as quickly as possible."
The sound of gunfire persisted, but I managed to secure us in a relatively safe position. Taylor made sure I had enough time to tend to Luiz, taking care of the shooters.
I spoke to Luiz, urgently but reassuringly, "Listen to me. I need to remove the bullet right now. I'm going to knock you out and take it out. Everything will be fine, and I won't let you slip away, too."
He weakly smiled in response. I opened my kit, prepared my supplies, and removed his vest, cutting open his jacket and shirt to expose the bullet wound. The bullet had pierced through several layers of our armor, so I had to retrieve it. I also had a bullet lodged in my leg, but I wasn't sure if it was the same one that had struck Luiz.
Damon and the pack had teleported to Brazil upon hearing Mimi's transmission. They were ready to provide support and assist in evacuating the victims. Additional personnel from the base had also arrived, and Mariella was more than prepared to help. After the incident at the bunker, Mimi had traveled to Brazil, and once they had regrouped, they had their own missions to carry out. They had just returned from a mission, so they came fully equipped and prepared. As they arrived, chaos ensued in the yard, and it took concentrated cover fire to bring the Salvatores to safety.
Mariella and the wolves, who had gathered most of the plants, were waiting in transport cars to assist the victims, along with Colin and a few other medics. Number four joined the others as they went in to provide aid.
Soon, the first set of victims was teleported and Mariella found herself overwhelmed. They had to quickly get everyone onto gurneys or seated, assessing them as they went. None of the victims were in good condition, and Colin was soon expressing his frustration. Each person had undergone some form of surgery, with stitches and possible internal injuries. The first car was dispatched to the nearest treatment facility, not the base, but to a hospital or clinic. He hoped that there would be no more serious injuries to deal with.
Numbers one and four headed towards the basement, while the others went to secure the remaining floors that hadn't been emptied yet, ensuring that everyone was evacuated. As they descended the stairs, they could hear gunfire, preparing themselves for whatever lay ahead.
Damon was completely focused on the mission at hand, not allowing himself to think about Mimi or any potential issues she might be facing. He was now prepared to take out their enemies. It irritated him as he stepped forward, encountering a disruption field that prevented him from using his powers or magic to create shields. However, he had to keep himself safe.
As they entered the large open spaces filled with halls, gunfire, and dead guards, Ruby approached them with urgent news.
Her voice was calm, "Luiz has been injured. Mimi needs to operate on him. Taylor and Tim are providing cover fire, and we have medics teleporting in, but we need more supplies. The guards keep coming from the east side, even though it wasn't marked in the blueprint or detected in our satellite sweeps."
Number four cursed, knowing that he had a decent-sized medical kit with him. And field medic skills too, no need to missy's field butchery. Adam and Charles joined them, having overheard the conversation.
Adam spoke up, "Luiz is one of Mimi's oldest friends. I was there when she recruited him, and they go way back, so she won't lose him. Over a century ago, he was one of the original fleas."
Number four replied, "True, but we can still make the operation cleaner, so he won't need antibiotics for six months afterward."
They made their way towards Mimi and Luiz. Mimi was hiding behind some filing cabinets while Tim, Taylor, and Ruby provided cover fire, swiftly eliminating the guards that kept coming through a doorway. Damon had no idea what awaited them on the other side of the door. Adam and Charles took cover as well, cautiously approaching the area to get a better view of the situation.
Charles spoke into his mic, his voice tense, "Lepard, Demon, go around the east side of the building and find out where these guards are coming from. See if there's another way in."
Several more people arrived, helping to clear the vast halls filled with partially panicked victims who were just starting to regain consciousness.
I was just about to cannulate myself when I heard that more people were coming. I had my kit ready; Luiz was out, and I had just sedated him. I didn't need more than one hand for this because my other hand was inside the bullet wound, holding his vena cava to prevent bleeding. Of course, my blood wasn't fully effective due to that damn serum nullifying vampire blood. But being a strong vampire, my blood could still heal to some extent, which motivated me to perform this emergency surgery.
Suddenly, a voice nearby said to me, "Don't even think about it, baby. We're not going to just blunder. Move over, I'm coming, and we'll take care of him."
I told number one, "I won't lose him. His vena cava is still bleeding. I'm strong enough for my blood to heal somewhat, but that bullet has that damn serum again. I'm holding onto his vena cava. I need my blood to mend this before I can remove the bullet."
Number four came to the other side of Luiz, crouched down, opened his fancy medkit, put on several pairs of gloves, and grabbed a few instruments. He was on the other side of Luiz and administered an injection of something.
I said to him, "He's already out, no need to keep him down."
Number four replied, "Painkiller, it helps. And yeah, he'll be teleported as soon as I can stabilize him. No need to do full-on surgery here. We have no idea what bugs are in the air. Now, be ready to remove your hand. I'll clamp his vena cava, place a piece of Mcburners, and secure it with glue. It'll hold until the operation. I'll take out the bullet, not you."
I looked at him and asked, "How the hell do you have my invention?"
He replied, "It's our version, not official, so it's not useful in hospitals. But in the field, it's very helpful."
He took the clamp, turned on the lamp, and inserted his fingers into the wound. I could feel his long fingers probing gently. He was feeling around where the hole was. He had a clamp ready on his other gloved hand.
He grunted and said, "Now, take your hand off. I've got this."
I pulled my hand out, and he placed the clamp, beginning to mend the vein.
Number one pushed me aside and handed me a packet of wet wipes to clean my fingers. Fine. It was time to take out the bad guys then. I kept quiet about the bullet in my leg. I would remove it myself. I put my kit back into my pocket, grabbed my Glock, and prepared to take out the enemies.
I spotted Adam and Charles near the door, but they were trapped as guards continued to arrive. They had to remain in their positions because there was nowhere else to go at the moment. I reached into my pocket and took out a cold metal grenade.
Holding it in my bare hand, feeling heft on it, I approached them and said, "I'm going to give them a little gift, so be prepared."
They nodded in understanding. Just as the guards opened the door again, I pulled the pin and hurled the grenade into the hallway.
Adam spoke into his microphone, saying, "Lepard, it's time to listen. See if you can sense the explosion, Mimi just hit them with a grenade."
He acknowledged the message. It would be beneficial if they could determine where these guards were coming from. This mission was far from over. I could hear constant updates through my earpiece, informing me that the upper floors were still being evacuated. There were also drugs and other items present there.
I turned to Charles and said, "I believe there's an underground tunnel. They must have a second base nearby where these troublemakers are pouring in. This mission is intense."
He grunted and relayed my suspicions to the others so they could take action against the tunnel or identify its source. We had some explosives, so they might be able to use them to collapse the tunnel once it was located.
After my grenade had taken out most of the guards, I was ready to advance down the corridor. It was time to progress with this mission.
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