Chapter 157: Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal Storm The Fort.
Leo heard that the men inside the fortress had been mobilized, With heightened senses he could catch these things quicker than others. He reached the sealed door, and took a deep breath, there was a thin layer of cement that was blocking the wooden gates.
The young man took a deep breath and then after jumping on the spot three times he dashed forward. The time didn't permit him to act sophisticated with anything else. His shoulder made contact with the cement wall and with a dull bang, the wall trembled, before visible cracks appeared on the surface.
The young man walked back to the initial position before he charged ahead once more and this time he was faster than before. Earlier, he was still holding back thinking that the recoil from the collision might be too much for his body to handle, but he realized that the cement wall wasn't very sturdy; it was just standing there.
The second collision caused the cement wall to crumble apart. Leo located a huge lock hanging from the door and he took out his submachine gun and fired five shots on the lock, taking it apart with a clink. Then he kicked the huge door with all his might and it flung open.
Five seconds later, his people rushed in with Snow in the center. They all knew that the lady wanted to go in but they had to protect her at all costs. Leo looked at them and decided to make haste instead of asking why she came in.
He knew that the hatred she had for Hector was even bigger than his hatred for Carole. The young man said, "They will be coming over, be careful and mind the shadows. They have hidden guards."
The people nodded and they began to move in small teams. Leo and Snow made a team by themselves and the battle began. Ten vs twenty, tactical shooting battle.
Leo took the point because he had the night vision and Snow followed him covering the rear, she was minding the flank and the rear with great vigilance. Leo noticed that her stance while moving was standard and she asked, "Where did you learn this?"
Snow knew what he meant and said, "When I was in high school, I enrolled in the royal cadet program. The instructor was a retired special forces operative, and I continued to train myself, even when I was inside the Marlin Mansion, I would move around like this to ingrain it in my being."
Leo remarked, "Impressive, I had to watch movies and copy them to the point where my mother sent me off to summer camps where they trained boy scouts."
Snow smiled at his story and then she fired a bullet from her handgun. The enemy came across them and she was quick to deal with them, there would be no surrenders and she was not going to hold back either.
Just when they were about to enter a corridor, Leo sensed something and pushed her back and distanced himself from her, a spray of bullets was now embedded in the spot where they were. Then he raised his gun and shot at the source, the assailant was quick, and took cover behind the corner wall.
Leo looked briefly at Snow, who gave him a thumbs up. The young man quickly reloaded his gun and fired again while signalling that he would be dashing over to the enemy.
Snow nodded and Leo tossed his sub-machine gun to her, as he dashed through the corridor. Snow came and took his position while she maintained her cover, and was slightly surprised to see that Leo was already at the end of the corridor and he took out his handgun before firing two shots.
Then Leo gave her a thumbs up and called her over. Snow checked her rear before rushing to his side, and she found two men on the ground, their hands were shot through and their faces were pale.
Leo asked, "They are Hector's personal guard, right?"
The young lady nodded, and said, "Why not kill them?"
Leo shook his head and said, "That old bastard must be hiding somewhere in this maze, they can lead us there."
Snow nodded, she aimed the sub-machine gun at one of the guards and turned his face into minced-meat by emptying the entire clip on it. Leo was shocked, and Snow said, "One of them is enough to lead the way."
He nodded woodenly, while the other guard was shocked and scared. He said, "I will lead you there but please kill me quickly."
Snow replied, "It would be my pleasure, now can you stand up and move along. We don't have the entire night for you assholes."
Leo looked at his wife and said, "Love, you are so sexy when you are aggressive."
Snow was caught off guard, and looked at him bashfully. The guard on the ground was stunned by this public display of affection, and the next second he received a full blown kick in his ribcage by Snow, and groaned as he slowly stood up from the ground and Leo pushed him away with his foot.
He said, "Move, and no street smarts because while my wife would kill you quickly, I would be stabbing you with a knife till you die. The pain would be unimaginable."
The guard shivered and quickly nodded as he led them ahead through the winding corridors. The fortress was a maze, and the pathways were complicated. While they moved around, Leo and Snow received the news that the enemy forces had been dealt with from time to time.
Soon they arrived at the narrowest corridor of the fortress and the guard said, "He is in the…"
Bang!
Before he could say anything a bullet caused his head to splatter around like a burst watermelon. Leo and Snow hid in cover quickly before they heard a calm voice, "Mister Cardinal, since you have come this far, why not come out and face me?"
Leo chuckled and said, "Do you perhaps think that I am some super human? You have multiple weapons on you and yet you want me to face you head on, such a skill you have."
The other party said, "If you think that is the problem, I would like to challenge you for a fair duel. What do you say?"
Snow looked at Leo who said, "No. You are not good enough for a fair duel. Just stand there guarding that old dog for the rest of your life."
Snow thought of something when she said,"You think that he would be able to run away using the secret tunnel? Well, bad news, I have planted explosives at the exit and if he dares to cross, his body would turn to shreds of meat laying around for the vultures to feast on."
Steven replied calmly, "That's impossible."
Snow chuckled and replied, "Why? Because you own this place? How many people do you think have the blueprints on it? I am one of those who bought the rights to this house long ago. If you wish for mercy, then kill yourself, because after all that posing, I will not allow you to walk away."
Steven was caught in a pincer, he was planning on letting the old man run from the escape tunnel and that way, the old man would at least look after his poor family, but if the old man died, then who would look after his family?
Thinking of this, Steven asked, "If I give up here, can you take care of my family?"
Snow thought for a bit and asked, "Why expect that from an enemy?"
Steven sighed and said, "Because they are the only people in this world who have accepted me with all my flaws. So, I wish to repay them."
Snow looked at Leo, who nodded, and she said, "Fine, I agree, now come over, and drop your weapons. You have five seconds."
Steven was quick in disarming himself and then rushed through the corridor, he was taken down by Leo in one punch, directly knocked out of his senses.
Snow aimed her gun at the door at the end of the corridor, however, Leo could see that her body was shaking a little. The young man said, "If you want, I can handle this guy."
The young lady took a deep breath and said, "I will handle him, just help me with the door?"
Leo smiled and nodded as he said, "After this, I will kiss you so hard."
Snow chuckled and said, "Babe, we are definitely twisted in our heads."
Leo chuckled and waved his hand as he said, "As long as we don't destroy the world, it is all fine."
They moved through the corridor silently, their steps didn't make any noise, when they reached closer to the door, the young man could sense someone behind the door, and they had a weapon aimed at them.
Leo waved for Snow to stick closer to the wall, as he thought about how to breach the door.