Worried for his safety, I glanced back at Viper and said, “You sure it wouldn’t be better for you to hang back. Hawk and I—”
“Fuck no,” Viper growled. “I’ve been looking forward to getting a piece of these motherfuckers. Now, let’s do this.”
I nodded, then stepped forward. When I was certain that Hawk and Viper were set on go, I aimed my shotgun at the man I believed to be the Widow Maker, pulled the trigger, and killed him.
As soon as the Punishers realized what was about to go down, they each pulled out their weapons and dropped for cover, but it was too late. We’d already gained the upper hand. In a matter of seconds, a full-on battle had ensued. Bullets started whipping past me, plowing into the concrete walls, but I was too cranked up on adrenaline to care. Like a man possessed, I continued to charge into the crowd, firing off round after round as I took out anyone who stood in my way, and with each body that dropped dead to the ground, I gained a sense of satisfaction. As far as I was concerned, they had it coming. These assholes were stupid enough to think they could come into our territory and take us down, and now they were paying for that mistake with their lives.
The battle had just begun, and the causalities were mounting up. Those that were still in the game were in full panic mode, shooting wildly as they tried to stop us in our tracks. In hopes of gaining some cover, Hawk motioned for us to follow him behind a tall row of wood pallets. Once we were in position, Viper quickly looked me over, checking to make sure I was okay, then asked, “You good?”
I nodded. “Let’s finish this thing.”
After reloading my 590M shotgun with a second twenty-five-round magazine, I felt another kick of adrenaline pumping through me like an intoxicating drug. As I prepared to take my next shot, I glanced around the room and was pleased to see there were only a few Punishers remaining. We continued to push forward, dodging the bullets that whipped through the air. When they realized their end was imminent, several of the Punishers left their positions and tried in vain to stop our advance. When a bullet struck the wall above Viper’s head, my instincts kicked in, forcing me out of the protective shield of the wood pallets.
I’d only take a few steps when gunfire erupted around me, and I knew then time wasn’t on my side. As soon as I spotted the shooter, I aimed in his direction, and with a single shot, his lifeless body fell backwards onto the concrete floor.
I was standing in the wide open, surrounded in chaos, when I noticed Cletus lying on the ground with blood pooling around his body. I rushed over and pulled him out of harm’s way, but I was too late. He’d been shot in the chest, and he was struggling to breathe. I pulled him into my arms, and in a matter of seconds, my leather jacket was drenched in his blood. Cletus was still clinging to his gun in desperation, unwilling to stop fighting, and I knew then the guy would’ve made a hell of a brother. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get that chance. With his gun still clutched in his hand, he let out his last breath.
“Fuck,” I shouted as I eased him to the ground.
The deafening sounds of gunfire continued to erupt around me, but my focus was still on my fallen brother. When a bullet pierced my flesh, a stabbing pain shot through my arm. I swallowed the burning sensation, letting my mind shut down the thoughts of how much it hurt as I lifted my gun once again. I stalked towards the shooter and fired off a single round that immediately brought him to his knees. Once I was sure he was dead, I made my way back to Viper and Hawk. As I looked around at the Punishers’ casualties, a wave of satisfaction washed over me when I realized that Cletus wasn’t alone in his death.
Country and Rafe swept in from the back, and in a matter of seconds, they’d finished off the last of the remaining Punishers. A proud smile crossed Country’s face as he announced, “And that’s how it’s done, brothers.”
“Do a sweep,” Viper ordered. “Make sure we got them all.”
Without wasting any time, Hawk and I led our brothers through the entire building making sure we’d done the job we set out to do. Once we’d done a headcount, confident we’d gotten every last Punisher, I went over to Viper and said, “We’re good.”
“Well done, boys. I’ll let Billy know we’re ready for him.”
Rafe looked around the room at all the bodies and shook his head. “Dude’s gonna have one hell of a night with this shit.”