Hell To Pay

Chapter 1: Operation Red Shark

Harper watched nervously, her hands splayed out to her sides, showing that she had no intent of moving. The man at her back didn't trust her, he kept the barrel of the gun pressed hard against her skull while his friend scrambled her computers until she cringed. There'd be no fixing it, whatever the hell they were doing.

"You can't do this." Geoff barked at them and she wished he'd shut his mouth before he got himself shot. A third man had his gun pressed into Geoff's cheek and he pulled it back just enough to slam it back down over his ear. He fell forward to the floor and several screams filled the office and Harper shut her eyes.

I want to go home now. She tried to hold still but she was shaking, her mind flashing everywhere, to every memory she possessed, everything she wanted to do different. Like today, she'd just call in sick and stay home. She'd had more than enough of this top secret shit.

"Please, let us go. Get whatever you want and leave us be, we're just the computer techs, we don't know-" Tatti got a slam over the head and Harper took note. Keep your mouth shut and you won't get pistol whipped.

"Hurry your ass up!" The one behind her snapped and she flinched.

The one they yelled at pointed at a flash drive he had planted in her computer and gave an exasperated shout, "I got it, it's just downloading. Two more minutes!"

They were the longest two minutes of her life. Each second passed by with a ragged heartbeat and a strange disembodied feeling in her mind. They were just here gathering intelligence, no one was supposed to even know about this, let alone interrupt them.

She and her team weren't supposed to be found. They were in a basement below a library where they were monitoring a couple of college students as part of a counterterrorism strike team. She was just here to gather evidence. The Green Berets were just here to take the students into custody the moment they had everything they needed, now those two men were dead in the hallway.

"Okay, okay!" The one fucking up her computers yelled.

"Done?"

"Done!" He yanked the flash drive out.

"Do it."

The moment he said it, several gunshots went off, the silencers on them creating low thuds, and Harper ducked and screamed. When she lifted her head, everyone else in the room was dead except for her and the three gunmen. The one behind her cursed and flipped off his safety and she realized she was still here by some stroke of luck.

"Fuck, Bali, someone will hear her scream!"

"Shut her up!" One of them turned his gun towards her and Bali shouted at him not to pull the trigger in fear that he might miss her and shoot him. Their hesitation was her one moment to act and she glanced towards the door. Bali was right in her way but she was eye level with his most precious cargo and acted, nailing him right in the groin with her fist.

Whatever low shouting had been happening rose several octaves and she pounced over Bali and towards the door, shoving it open as fear propelled her forwards. The cement wall of the basement sparked and dust flew off it as a bullet lodged itself right next to her head and she screamed, shooting up the stairs. It felt like one of them tried to grab her, throwing her into the wall as pain seared her arm, but somehow she kept running, up the stairs and out a second door before she stumbled into the library.

She was in the back, several cases of books in the way and she tried to pull one down against the door but it burst open. She screamed again and fled but the man's hand snaked around hers. Her training took over and she twisted, nailing him with an upwards blow to the nose that crushed his bones and he gasped, dropping his gun as his head popped backwards. She gave a swift kick to his instep, then the family jewels and brought her knee into his face, effectively knocking him out.