They had found the Obelisk.
That meant the mission objective had been achieved.
Now they only had to escape.
To Ethan Müller, the hacker’s report sounded like salvation itself.
The Tyrants were still driving the Americans backward, fighting with terrifying ferocity and even beginning to seize the initiative.
But Ethan saw something the others could not.
They were burning through the last of their strength.
The American firepower continued to escalate. It hadn’t overwhelmed the Tyrants yet, but if the battle dragged on much longer, their destruction was only a matter of time.
There were only twenty Tyrants.
Inside this base...
There was an entire U.S. Army division.
So far, the Americans had relied almost exclusively on infantry. Their armored forces had yet to enter the fight.
Any competent commander, after witnessing what these monsters were capable of, would already have requested heavier support.
Once that happened, Hydra’s insider would have no legitimate excuse to delay the deployment of armored units any longer.
Unless he chose to expose himself.
Ethan knew that would never happen.
The sleeper agent wasn’t one of Howard Wytest’s direct subordinates. Helping this operation at all had been nothing more than a favor to an old veteran of Hydra.
There was no chance he would sacrifice decades of cover for Ethan’s sake.
They had to leave.
Now.
While the Tyrants could still hold the line.
Ethan sprinted through the warehouse at full speed toward the hacker’s position.
He had barely reached him when a new sound echoed across the battlefield.
Helicopters.
His face immediately paled.
Apache gunships.
More than one.
Cold sweat broke across his forehead.
This was the disaster he had feared.
As the berserk Tyrants continued suppressing the American defenders, five AH-64 Apache attack helicopters swept over the battlefield.
They had been stationed on the base all along.
Ever since the fighting began, their pilots had been waiting in fully armed aircraft with engines already running.
Had Brigadier General Talbot not been misled by Hydra’s sleeper agent, they would have joined the battle much earlier.
Now they had finally received authorization.
They arrived almost instantly.
Although the Tyrants had long since lost most of their reason, instinct screamed that the aircraft posed an even greater threat than the soldiers below.
Every one of them abandoned the infantry and turned both M60 machine guns skyward.
Streams of tungsten-core armor-piercing rounds filled the night.
But the fire was scattered.
The Apaches circled constantly.
Without the Tyrants suppressing the infantry anymore, American ground forces were free to interfere with their aim.
Their accuracy plummeted.
And even when bullets struck home...
The helicopters’ armored fuselages were designed to withstand heavy-caliber fire.
The incoming rounds caused only limited damage.
The Apaches answered immediately.
Their 30mm chain guns roared to life.
The depleted uranium armor-piercing shells tore through tank armor.
The Tyrants’ makeshift protection offered no chance of survival.
Armor shattered.
Bodies burst apart.
For twenty uninterrupted seconds, five helicopters poured fire into the battlefield.
When the barrage ended...
Every Tyrant lay dead.
Howard Wytest’s painstakingly assembled Tyrant Squad had been annihilated.
Even monsters that surpassed human limits could not stand against modern weapons of war.
Inside the warehouse, Ethan’s hands trembled.
He hadn’t witnessed the massacre firsthand.
He didn’t need to.
He heard the relentless thunder of the Apache cannons.
Then...
Silence.
The Tyrants’ radios went dead.
The deafening exchange of gunfire outside vanished as well.
The battle was over.
There was only one possible outcome.
Escape was no longer an option.
He took a slow breath.
Then, to his surprise, calm settled over him.
"Gentlemen."
"It has been an honor serving alongside you."
He straightened his uniform with deliberate care.
"I intend to die as a soldier."
He turned toward the warehouse entrance.
Before he could leave, the hacker and the two Hydra operatives stepped into his path.
The hacker smiled.
"Commander..."
"How could we let you claim all the honor for yourself?"
"We’ll die with you."
Ethan looked at each of them in turn before stopping on the hacker.
"No."
"You stay."
The hacker frowned.
"Why?"
"I’m a hacker, but I’m also a soldier."
Ethan looked toward the Obelisk.
Its storage crate had already been opened.
The artifact rested in plain sight.
"Someone has to clean this up."
"The Americans must never discover what we came here for."
"Our organization cannot be exposed."
The hacker followed his gaze.
If the Americans learned the objective of this operation...
Hydra’s existence might be uncovered.
Ethan spoke quietly.
"Your mission is the most important one."
"The organization’s survival comes before everything."
"We’ll buy you as much time as we can."
Without another word, Ethan left with the two combat operatives.
This time...
The hacker didn’t try to stop him.
There wasn’t time.
Hydra came first.
He grabbed the crate containing the Obelisk and dragged it violently onto the floor.
Then he shoved neighboring storage crates from their shelves, scattering them across the warehouse.
Next he hurried toward the record archive.
As he ran, he deliberately overturned smaller containers to create as much chaos as possible.
Finally he reached the handwritten ledgers.
Pulling a grenade from his belt, he removed the safety pin.
"Hail Hydra."
The explosion ended his life.
It also obliterated every inventory record in the archive.
Ethan heard the hacker’s final salute.
Then came the blast.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Now it was his turn.
The two Hydra operatives who had left with him were already dead.
Only the SUV they had driven into the warehouse had provided enough cover to keep him alive this long.
His own condition was grim.
A bullet had torn through his left arm.
Another had pierced his left side.
Blood soaked his uniform.
Breathing had become increasingly difficult.
He knew he wouldn’t last much longer.
The hacker had completed his task.
There was no reason to keep struggling.
Slowly...
Ethan bit down on the poison capsule hidden inside one of his teeth.
As the toxin spread through his body, he whispered his final words.
"Hail Hydra."
The assault force Howard Wytest had assembled was completely wiped out.
From the opening shot...
To the final death...
The battle had lasted fifty-six minutes.
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