C531 The Warehouse Ambush

As the clock approached 17:00, the first vehicles arrived. Four black cars drove towards the warehouse and came to a stop near the entrance. From our different positions, we watched carefully, waiting to see who would emerge. Chris's voice came through our communication system. "Everyone, you can see the vehicles, right?" "Yes," Sarah answered. "Confirmed," Laura added. The rest of us acknowledged him. A moment later, the doors of the vehicles opened. Frank Potter stepped out of one car, accompanied by five men. He looked around briefly before turning towards the people who remained inside the vehicles. "Listen carefully," he ordered. "You all know the location we discussed. Get there and make sure your weapons are working. If Ann decides to escape, I want you ready to stop her. We may need the RPG." His men nodded. Without wasting any more time, two of the cars turned around and drove away, leaving Frank and his remaining men near the warehouse. I frowned as I watched them disappear. Something wasn't right. I glanced at Alicia, who was lying beside me with her rifle ready. "Wife, this doesn't look good," I whispered through our communication system. "Why would two cars leave before the meeting even begins?"

Alicia adjusted her position and continued observing the area. "I don't know. But if things go wrong, my rifle should be useful. Everyone, check your weapons and stay alert." Sarah responded almost immediately. "I think we're in a safe position, but I'll remain ready." "Good," Alicia replied. "Don't assume anything." We continued watching. For the next few minutes, nothing happened. Frank's men remained around the warehouse, occasionally looking towards the road as though they were expecting someone. Then, another four black cars appeared. This time, the vehicles approached from the opposite direction and stopped near the entrance. A woman stepped out of one of them. Six men followed her. For a moment, nobody spoke. We all knew that face. Samantha was the first to break the silence. "Is that Hanna?" Her voice carried so much disbelief that I briefly wondered whether I had heard her correctly. Laura looked towards Hanna. "Alicia, we have to kill her. Right now." But Alicia didn't respond. She stared through the scope of her rifle, her entire body suddenly still. It was as if someone had switched off the part of her mind responsible for making decisions. The woman she had spent so long searching for was standing right in front of her, yet she couldn't pull the trigger. "Cipher!" Chris called through the communication system. "What are we doing?" Alicia remained silent. I turned towards her, confused. "Wife, why aren't you taking the shot?"

She slowly lowered her rifle by a fraction. "I don't know," she whispered. "I just froze." I stared at her. This was Alicia Mooney, the woman who had faced dangerous criminals without hesitation, who had confronted people far more powerful than herself, and who had never allowed fear to control her decisions. Yet now, when Hanna was standing within her sights, Alicia couldn't act. Chris's voice came through again, this time filled with anger. "But she killed my nephew!" Nobody needed to ask which nephew he meant. Emmanuel's death had left a wound in all of us, and Hanna was the person who killed him. Chris continued. "Mike, what's happening over there?" I looked helplessly at Alicia. "I don't know, Chris. She's the one holding the rifle." Faith spoke next. "So, what do we do? I've already taken pictures of Hanna arriving. Should we wait for her to come out and kill her then?" Alicia finally lifted her head. "Yes," she said quietly. "I'll deal with Hanna myself." I wasn't convinced, but there was no time to argue. Hanna had already entered the warehouse. And whatever happened inside would determine what we did next. Inside the warehouse, Frank Potter waited for his visitor. Although five men had entered the building with him, only two remained standing beside him. The other three had quietly moved into position, hiding among the warehouse equipment with their weapons ready. Frank wanted the meeting to appear ordinary until the moment he decided to reveal his intentions. He checked his watch. Then the warehouse doors opened.

Hanna entered with four men accompanying her. She walked confidently, showing no sign of concern as she approached Frank. Her expression suggested that she considered the meeting nothing more than a routine business transaction. Frank smiled. "Ann. We meet again." Hanna stopped a short distance away. "Frank, I'm not here to negotiate anything with you. You requested your merchandise, and I've delivered it. Now pay me." Frank's smile remained, but something about it made Hanna suspicious. "Unfortunately, Ann, I can't do that." Hanna gave a small laugh. "Just as I expected. So, this was a game all along." Frank's smile disappeared. "Yes. But this isn't personal because of the merchandise. This is personal because of the Harris family and the Potter family." Hanna stared at him without showing any particular emotion. "And what does that have to do with me?" Frank laughed bitterly. "You're rebuilding the Harris family, aren't you? The same family that destroyed mine to take control of this drug business." He stepped closer. "They took everything from us. My family lost its power, its position, their lives and everything we had built. Now you think you can rebuild the Harris name and continue doing business as though nothing happened?" Hanna remained unmoved. "If you have a problem with the Harris family, take it up with them. I came here to complete a transaction, not listen to your family history."

Frank's expression hardened. "You're the one rebuilding their empire. That makes you part of the problem." He raised one hand and gave a signal. The sound of gunfire immediately erupted throughout the warehouse. Hanna's four accompanying men barely had time to react before they were shot down. The men who had been hiding among the equipment emerged, their weapons trained on Hanna. For the first time, her expression changed. She looked at the men lying on the ground, then turned towards Frank. "Frank, you want to kill me?" He laughed. "Kill you? Not yet. I have questions that you need to answer first." He gestured towards his men. "Take her!" Two men immediately grabbed Hanna's arms. She didn't struggle as they restrained her. Instead, she looked directly at Frank, her expression becoming strangely amused. "Do you even know who I am?" Frank frowned. "I know exactly who you are. You're Ann Smith, the woman rebuilding the Harris family." Hanna laughed. "No, Frank. That's the problem. You think you know who you're dealing with, but you don't." She lifted her chin. "My name is Hanna Gupta. And touching me is the same as declaring war on the Gupta family." Frank's expression changed. "The Gupta family?" He studied her face, as though trying to determine whether she was bluffing. Hanna smiled. "Now you understand why you should have thought carefully before doing this." One of Frank's men approached him. "Boss, what do we do?" Frank hesitated for a moment before recovering his composure. "Take her to the car. We'll find out everything she knows about her suppliers and her contacts. I want names, locations, and the identities of everyone helping her rebuild the Harris operation."

He glanced at Hanna. "Once I've got what I need, I'll decide what happens to you." Hanna said nothing. Her silence seemed to irritate him more than an argument would have. "Move!" Frank ordered. His men began escorting her towards the exit. What Frank didn't know was that his plan had already begun to fall apart. Outside the warehouse, the sound of gunfire reached Tiger and Warner. Both men immediately turned towards the building. Tiger's expression hardened. "That's our signal. The boss said that once we heard gunshots, we were to move." Warner nodded. "Then let's go." They hurried towards the warehouse with their men following behind. On their way, they spotted two vehicles belonging to Frank's men. Warner recognised them immediately. "Those are Frank's reinforcements!" Tiger looked towards the vehicles. "Then we deal with them. Don't let them reach the warehouse!" The two groups opened fire. The sudden confrontation turned the area into a battlefield, with gunshots echoing between the buildings. Meanwhile, Samantha and Faith were hiding inside an old car near the warehouse entrance. They had chosen the vehicle as a temporary observation point, believing it would allow them to watch the movements around the building without attracting attention. When they heard the gunfire, Samantha immediately contacted the rest of us. "Guys, we just heard gunshots. Those came from inside the warehouse, didn't they?" I asked. "Yes. But..." Faith glanced towards the road behind them. "Well, We just heard more gunshots behind us." Alicia frowned. "What?" Laura let out a humourless laugh. "We should have killed Hanna when we had the chance. We could have taken our pictures and left." Nobody answered her.

At that moment, the warehouse doors opened. Alicia immediately raised her hand to signal me. "Mike, get your rifle ready. They're coming out." I picked up my sniper rifle and looked through the scope. The others continued taking pictures, recording as much of the scene as possible. Then I saw Hanna. Two men were holding her by the arms, forcing her towards a vehicle. Frank followed them, accompanied by two of his men. My eyes narrowed. Something was terribly wrong. Alicia watched the same scene through her scope. "Everyone, keep recording," she ordered. "Mike, stay ready." Then she spoke again, her voice suddenly cold. "Take out the men behind Hanna. I'll deal with Hanna and the people holding her myself." I looked at her briefly before returning my attention to the target. Alicia fired first. Bang! Bang! The two men holding Hanna collapsed. At almost the same moment, I pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! Bang! The two men accompanying Frank fell to the ground. However, Frank quickly realised the danger and ducked just as I shot his two men. Before I could take another shot, he turned and ran back inside the warehouse, disappearing through the back door to escape the scene.

For a brief moment, everything seemed to stop. Hanna stood frozen between the fallen men, apparently unable to comprehend what had just happened. I kept my rifle trained on her. But something was wrong with Alicia again. She had a clear shot. Hanna was standing in the open. Yet Alicia wasn't firing. I adjusted my aim. "Alicia," I said through the communication system, "If you don't take the shot now, I'll do it myself." Alicia remained silent for a moment. Then she slowly lowered her rifle. "No, Mike. I can't." I stared at her in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?" She shook her head. I let out a frustrated breath. "Fine. I'll do it." I began adjusting my aim towards Hanna. Before I could fire, Alicia reached across and pushed my rifle away. "Mike, no!" I turned towards her. "What are you doing?" She looked at me desperately. "If we kill her here, the Gupta family will come after us. Do you understand what that means?" I stared at her. "She killed Emmanuel, Alicia!" "I know!" Her voice cracked, revealing the pain she had been trying to hide. "I know what she did. But if we kill her now, we could start a war with the entire Gupta family. We have to think about the consequences." The others had heard every word. Laura's voice came through the communication system, filled with disbelief. "If we let her go, she'll come after us anyway! How is that fair? Alicia, take the shot!" Samantha also spoke. "Cipher, we can't let her escape after everything she's done." Alicia closed her eyes briefly.

For a moment, I thought she might change her mind. But when she opened them, her decision remained the same. "No," she whispered. "I can't do it." That hesitation cost us our opportunity. Hanna looked around, quickly assessing the situation. She had lost her men, Frank was nowhere to be seen, and the people who had been holding her were no longer a threat. She didn't waste another second. She ran towards the nearest vehicle, climbed inside, and started the engine. She was confused, from what she planned, there was no sniper. No snipers just saved her life. "Hanna!" I shouted, although she was already moving. The vehicle pulled away. For a few seconds, none of us reacted. We had come to identify Ann Smith, and we had succeeded. We had also discovered that she was Hanna Gupta, a revelation that explained why she had been so confident throughout her dealings with the Harris Cartel. And it also connect to that boat that was passing at the border without inspection. But we had failed to capture her. And now, she was escaping. I looked towards Alicia, furious and confused. Before I could say anything, Faith's voice suddenly cut through the communication system. "RPG! Samantha, get out!" I immediately turned towards the old car. Faith and Samantha threw open the doors and scrambled away from the vehicle. A split second later, an explosion ripped through the air. BOOM! The old car was engulfed in flames as debris scattered across the surrounding area. I stared in horror. "Sam!" "Faith!"

Alicia immediately abandoned her position and rushed towards them. I packed up my rifle and hers as quickly as I could before following her. The others were already moving towards the explosion. Through the smoke, I saw Alicia running towards Samantha and Faith. But before she could reach them, several armed men appeared along the road. Tiger and his men had arrived. Seeing Alicia approaching, they immediately raised their weapons. "Stop!" one of them shouted. Alicia froze. Their guns were pointed directly at her. For a moment, She thought they were going to shoot. Then Hanna's vehicle, which had been speeding away, suddenly came to a stop nearby. The driver's door opened, and Hanna looked towards the men. "Don't kill her!" she shouted. "Take her with us. Now!" Tiger immediately turned towards his men. "Do as she says!" Before Alicia could react, the men hit her head with a gun and dragged her towards their vehicle. The engine roared to life. Then they were gone. Meanwhile, Sarah and Chris had reached the scene and were rushing towards Samantha and Faith. Samantha was lying on the ground, blood running from a wound on her head and on her abdomen. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't responding. Sarah dropped to her knees beside her. "Sam! Sam, wake up!" She gently shook Samantha's shoulder, but there was no response. "Please, Sam. Open your eyes!" Chris knelt beside them, his expression tense. "Sarah, give her some space. We need to check how badly she's injured." Sarah moved slightly aside, tears gathering in her eyes.

Faith was still conscious, but she was covered in scratches, and blood ran down her arms and face. "I'm fine," she said weakly, although her trembling voice suggested otherwise. Chris looked at her. "Faith, don't move around too much. We need to make sure you're all right." I finally reached them. Laura and Amanda arrived shortly after. My eyes moved from Samantha to Faith, searching for Alicia. I expected to see her beside them. She would never have abandoned her friends after an explosion like that. But she wasn't there. I looked towards the road. Nothing. I turned back to the others, my heart beginning to pound. "Where's Alicia?" Nobody answered. I looked at Sarah, then Chris, then Faith. "Where is my wife?" Sarah slowly raised her head confused. But her ficus on Samantha who was not moving. Alicia was gone. I had no idea where my wife was or whether she was safe. I clenched my fists, staring at the road where Hanna's vehicle had disappeared.