Nick entered the adjacent room and Amy quietly followed behind. When they reached the conjoining wall, Nick pressed his ear up against it. He listened for at least a minute, but could not hear a sound. The greatest enemy the world had ever known was likely on the other side. Nick knew that underestimating him would be foolish.
Just then, a baritone rumble reverberated through the wall. They both put their ears back against the wall and listened intently. The familiar sounds immediately resonated with them.
"Elevator!" they said in unison.
The two rushed out of the room and down the stairs. Amy followed Nick's lead as he raced down the spiralling staircase, being sure to stay close to the wall. Before entering any rooms or new space, he would look around the corners to ensure it was clear.
Walking into the grand hall of the exquisite mansion, they were completely exposed. Nick entered one of the adjoining rooms with caution. He had experience in situations like these from playing video games, but never in real life. Grand halls were ideal for ambushes because there were so many places the enemy could be hiding, and the player would be an easy target out in the open. Nick's palms were sweating profusely as he gripped the gun with both hands. His eyes darted around the room, scanning each nook and cranny.
"Wait," Nick said stopping in his tracks. "Do you hear that?"
"It sounds like it's coming from outside," Amy said.
They rushed through the grand hall and into one of the back rooms of the house. Through the window, they saw Gabriel racing across the large field on a four wheeler.
"Come on," Nick said, throwing caution to the wind and running as fast as he could through the house.
They burst through the door that led to the garage and saw an even more impressive collection of cars and bikes than at the estate in Serbia.
Amy was the faster of the two, so she pushed her way past Nick and straddled a 500cc dirt bike. "Hop on!" Amy said.
"Not a chance!" Nick exclaimed. "It has been five years since I have driven something and I have quite literally been dying a little each day waiting to drive again.
"But I'm a really good driver," Amy insisted.
"Remind me, didn't you end up in this predicament after falling off your motorcycle?"
"Yes, but me falling off that motorcycle saved your life."
"Alright, if you're so good, prove it," Nick said as he hopped on his own bike. He kicked down as hard as he could on the kick starter, but nothing happened. He was embarrassed. Amy couldn't help but laugh.
"Nick, you can't even start the bike!"
Amy kicked down on the kick starter and her bike fired up on the first attempt. The loud wail of the engine echoed throughout the garage as she revved the throttle a few times. On his third attempt, Nick finally kick-started his bike. He looked at Amy and winked at her. Amy released the clutch and cranked down on the throttle. The bike accelerated out of the garage, leaving behind a thick black tire streak on the polished tile floor. Nick did likewise and followed behind her.
The couple raced around the house and across the large lawn. The nubby tires dug into the soft grass, chewed it up, and spit it out the back end. They accelerated over the hill and saw another building on the compound, which they assumed was where Gabriel was hiding. The building was a large rectangular warehouse without any distinguishing features on its drab grey panels. Gabriel was nowhere in sight.
As they approached, a series of spotlights shined on them from above. They looked up and saw a swarm of drones hovering over them, tracking their every move. The drones began their assault on the moving targets. Bullets rained down from above in a storm of gunfire. Nick and Amy's dirt bikes fishtailed back and forth in the slick grass while they maneouvered to evade the onslaught.
As the drones passed over them, a few stray bullets peppered the external wall of the building. The couple arrived at the building at roughly the same time.
"So much for keeping a low profile," Nick said, dismounting his bike.
"We have to find cover before they come back around," Amy said, running toward the door.
"Wait," Nick said. "Remember, a level head prevails. Think strategically. We cannot just go in the front door. We need to be more tactful."
"What do you suggest?" Amy asked.
"This way," Nick instructed. "Follow me."
The two circled around to the backside of the strange building. There were no windows or other doors. By now the drones had made another pass at the building and were homing in on the targets.
"Nick..." Amy said, noticeably worried about the approaching doom.
"There!" Nick said, pointing to a small ventilation shaft.
Amy wedged her fingers in the ventilation grate and began pulling. The grate was fastened on too tightly.
"Amy, hurry!" Nick shouted, keeping a watchful eye on the drones as they made another pass overhead.
Flashes of light lit up the night sky as the heavy artillery displaced a thousand rounds per second. The guns rang out and hit the ground only a few feet from where Amy was standing. Pip Pip Pip Pip Pip! — The bullets hit the ground, spraying up dirt. A tiny rock hit Amy in the face. She screamed, sure that she had been hit by a bullet.
Nick fired back. He couldn't see any of the drones, but he pivoted back and forth like a sprinkler, firing blindly into the night sky. A few of his bullets hit drones, causing them to fall from the sky and crash to the ground. Before he could celebrate, he too was hit with a bullet.
"Ahh," he screamed as he fell to the ground.
"Nick!" Amy yelled. After spending the past five years without him, and now having him back, she wasn't prepared to lose him again. "Where are you hit?" she asked.
"In the leg," he said in pain.
"Here, put pressure on it, I need to get us out of here."
The drones circled around and disappeared from their sight. Amy grabbed the vent grate, but this time used her legs to get better leverage. She held onto the grate and pressed her feet into the side of the building until eventually the grate loosened and ripped off the wall. The force knocked her over and she tumbled backward onto the grass.
"Come on, Nick. Get in!" she said, springing to her feet.
With Amy's assistance, Nick scrambled into the vent. He was limping and bleeding badly, but there was no time to administer proper first aid. There was a much more pressing concern at the moment.
By now the drones locked Amy in their sights. More bullets ejected from the large barrels and battered the wall all around her. Sparks from the bullets hitting the building flew up and jolted her a bit, but she remained focused. It wasn't the first time that she faced such imminent death.
"Amy, grab my hand!" Nick screamed as he extended his arm. Amy wasted no time grabbing Nick's hand. Nick hoisted her up and she dove into the open ventilation shaft.
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