The Missing Pattern

The Reckoning Part 17

The old building stood tall, a silent sentinel amidst the bustling city that had long ago forgotten it. Its windows, now shattered and boarded up, cast eerie shadows across the debris-littered floor. The sunlight fought its way in, painting the scene with stark contrasts of light and dark that danced with the dust motes in the still air.

My pulse throbbed, electric. Ten new missing girls on top of the other missing ones, with just one lead—the last dark thread connecting them to a living nightmare. Inside that crumbling shell of a warehouse waited Cortez and his men, and I was prepared to bring them down by any means necessary. This time, I wasn't here just for justice. I was out for blood.

I raised my hand, signaling for my team to move forward. Reese stepped up beside me, her expression steely, her eyes scanning our entry points with laser focus. Calvin positioned himself right behind us, and I could see the backup units getting into place. I tapped my comms. "We've got three access points," I said. "Reese, you, me, and Calvin will take the main entrance. Ford, lead half of SWAT to the east. Bailey, you take the rest around to the west. No one gets out of here."

The warehouse loomed before us, massive and eerie, a twisted labyrinth of rusted metal, rotting wood, and thick dust hanging in the air. Over the comms, team members checked in one by one, confirming they were in position, ready to strike. Ford's voice crackled through, "Kitty, we're all set on the east side." Then Bailey chimed in, "We're ready. Say the word."

I could feel the weight of my Glock 17 pressing into my palm, the cool steel a stark contrast to the fire burning in my veins. My shoulder throbbed beneath the sling, but the pain was nothing compared to the rage that had taken hold of me. I was beyond mercy now. Beyond reason.

Cortez's men had been given every chance to walk away—hell, they had *multiple* chances. But they'd chosen this, and now I was going to make sure they understood exactly what they'd done.

I pressed the button on my comms and spoke low but firm. "Move in," I barked over the comms, my voice low and seething. Calvin and Reese fell in behind me, ready for whatever was coming, their eyes sharp, their weapons primed. We moved through the warehouse like shadows, every step deliberate, every breath steady. But beneath it all, I could feel the hunger rising. My heart was a thunderous beat in my chest, but my hands were steady as a stone. This was the moment I'd been waiting for.

This wasn't just a raid. This was a reckoning.

We swept through the maze of corridors, each corner revealing deeper shadows and more silence. I could feel the tension in the air, like something waiting to explode. Every now and then, I'd catch Calvin's eyes checking in on me, his look fierce but somehow protective, like he was just waiting for me to give him the signal to unleash hell.

As we reached a corner, voices drifted through the warehouse, muted but distinct. I held up a hand, signaling for Calvin and Reese to follow the sound. We moved like shadows, each step careful, controlled, every muscle coiled and ready to strike.

The voices grew louder as we approached a room. Through the half-open door, I spotted a table covered in weapons, and a man standing over it, oblivious to our approach. Cortez's men, maybe even one of his lieutenants.

I didn't hesitate. We burst into the room, guns drawn, catching the man off guard. He froze, his hand reaching for one of the pistols on the table.

Reese's voice boomed through the room. "FBI! Freeze!"

For a split second, everything paused—like the calm before the storm. The man's eyes flicked to me, and I saw it. The fear. The realization. He knew. But instead of surrendering, he lunged for his weapon. Fucking idiot.

The room erupted into chaos. Guns blared. Bullets screamed through the air, each one a death sentence waiting to be carried out. I dropped behind a stack of crates, my heart hammering in my chest, my body pulsing with that dark hunger I could never quite silence. This wasn't just a raid. This was payback.

I steadied my breath, my hand tightening around the grip of my Glock. I took aim and fired—bang. The bullet slammed into one of Cortez's men in the leg, sending him crashing to the floor with a shriek, his hands clutching the wound, blood spilling out in torrents, staining the concrete beneath him.

"You could've made this easy," I muttered, barely a whisper, my voice a growl that rattled with barely contained rage. "But fine. This is the way I prefer it."

I watched the man writhe in agony, and for a brief moment, I felt nothing but a savage satisfaction. Each of you will need a trip to the hospital before prison. That's if they survived.

I peeked out from behind the crates. My eyes locked on another bastard, gun raised, aiming straight at me. His finger twitched, ready to pull the trigger. Not today, motherfucker.

I ducked, the bullet whizzing past so close I could feel the heat of it on my skin, but it didn't matter. I wasn't scared. I was *hunting*. I leaned out, steadying my aim, and fired—bang. The bullet tore through the air, slamming into his shoulder, his scream piercing through the noise of the gunfight as he stumbled back, clutching at the wound, his face contorted in pain.

Good. That's what you get. Pain. Fear. The same things you've been dishing out to everyone else.

I glanced over at Calvin. He was in his element, eyes cold and focused, firing with lethal precision. One shot, one kill. It was like a dance to him, smooth and calculated. He took out another one of Cortez's men, dropping him with a perfect shot to the chest.

But it wasn't enough. Not by a long shot. I wanted more. I wanted *them* all to feel it.

More gunfire erupted from deeper in the warehouse, the shouts of men desperate to escape, to fight back. But they were trapped. They didn't know it yet, but they were already dead. Our team was pushing from all sides, forcing them into a corner.

Reese glanced at me, sweat slick on her face, her jaw set. She was feeling it too. "We've got them cornered," she said, his voice cutting through the din. "They're running out of places to hide."

"Good," I hissed back, slamming a fresh clip into my Glock. My heart raced, not with fear, but with something darker. Something hungrier. I leaned out from behind the crates, eyes scanning the room, looking for the next target. A man near the door tried to make a run for it. I fired—bang—and he went down, clutching his thigh, collapsing onto the cold concrete.

The room was a warzone—screams, the crack of gunfire, the sour, metallic scent of blood and gunpowder thick in the air. It was beautiful. Pure chaos.

"Kitty, left side!" Calvin's voice cut through the madness. My body moved without thought, instinct taking over. I spun, just in time to see a man charging toward me, gun raised, eyes wild.

Nope. Not today.

I dropped to one knee, leveled my gun, and fired. *Bang.* My shot hit him square in the chest, and he collapsed backward, his body hitting the floor with a sickening thud, his breath a gurgling choke as his blood pooled beneath him.

"FBI! Stand down!" Reese shouted again. But it was pointless. These men—these animals—were beyond reason, beyond fear. They weren't going to stop until they were dead.

I gritted my teeth, my anger bubbling over. They had no idea who they were dealing with. They thought they could survive this. They thought they could get away with it. But they were wrong.

I signaled to Reese and Calvin, my eyes flicking toward a hallway on the left. They nodded, following me as I led the way deeper into the maze of the warehouse. We weren't done. Not by a long shot.

Every step I took only stoked the fire in my chest. The sound of their groans, the sight of them writhing in pain—it wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. I needed more.

I could hear their footsteps ahead—Cortez's men, the scum of the earth, running out of places to hide, trying to scramble for an escape they didn't deserve. They didn't know it yet, but I was going to hunt them down like the animals they were.

And when I found Cortez, when I finally cornered him, there would be no mercy.

Not a single one.