Final Call for Mercy

40

Admittedly, this plan rode on luck, timing and our desire for no witnesses to be left behind. At this time, all the workers should be occupied. No one should be having time to look out the window. But, if they did, we wouldn't have qualms about taking them down.

The first three of the blue team landed successfully, giving a wave for the next three to begin their climb. There was not a sound, apart from the soft pattering of footsteps, that could give away our presence here. I watched, half holding my breath, as the next three went up. And so on and so forth until all twelve of the blue team had climbed and took their places by the edges.

"Blue Team in position," Perez spoke through the walkie. Despite the fact that I know he isn't my biggest fan, all throughout the operation, he's done his best to get along with my men and find a common ground to lead them through. I was glad for that, having expected him to cut and run if bullets started flying.

"Red team stationed as well," Gabriel said. I strayed away from my area of surveillance to check out the red team. Indeed, all fifteen of theirs were up and stationed, busying them themselves with putting on the rest of their gear.

"Purple, Yellow and Green enter," Mateo ordered, and, just as he said the words, the teams emerged from the shadows, following the formation Mateo had briefly explained.

"White team," he said, "stay on the lookout for stragglers. By now people will start noticing us. Pink, stay put until your cue is given. Everyone else, stay alert and keep moving. Confirm."

For the sake of order, only team leaders gave confirmations to Mateo and we gave them in alphabetical order of our team names. "Roger," I confirmed when my turn came.

Soon, all the ground level teams were making a spiral around the building, only stopping when they reached their designated points of entry. I kept my eyes on Purple, who would enter though a side door located off to the edge of our monitoring area. As of now, they hid behind containers, masks pulled over their heads. The colors in our jackets made it clear, even from the height I was in, who belonged where. It also served to point out who didn't.

"Straggler," I murmured toward Carlos as I caught sight of a factory worker emerging from a door in the building. The guy had the sleeves of his suit tied around his waist as he lit a cigarette and leaned against the wall. 

A still target was almost too easy. A lined my shot to his head, biting on my lip as doubts began to pop up in my mind like the stars you see before blacking out. I blinked them away, sliding my finger carefully over the trigger.

"All teams in position to enter." The words sounded distant in my mind. 

And as I prepared to shoot, the man's eyes began raking upward. Slowly, steadily until they saw us. Through the visor I could see clearly as he lowered his cigarette and heaved a sigh. 'Fuck,' he muttered.

And I pulled the trigger. I got my confirmation. The acceptance in his eyes—no one here was innocent.

"Pink," Mateo said.

"Roger."

"Just shot a straggler," I said through the earpiece. "Expect more to come."

Like a line of ants, Purple emerged from behind the containers, lining against the wall. Joasia, their leader, motioned for two to flank the other side of the door. Once they had, she moved to face the door.

"In position," Pink relayed.

"Three," Mateo began the count he had said. "Two." Something about giving us enough time to sync up. "One." I think it was more for the sake of building tension.

All together, the team leaders shot at the doors, blowing the knobs off their hinges and kicking the doors down. Joasia and the rest of Purple slipped inside, the sounds of guns going off instantly. From here, we couldn't help them inside.