18 Floors Above the Apocalypse
Chapter 308

The main entrance was relatively large, making it convenient for both entry and combat. Directly attacking proved disadvantageous. Instead, Stella and Jasper planned to start at the smaller entrance, drawing some of the people inside towards them.

What mattered most at that moment was to gain a clear understanding of the situation inside the cave.

After a tense hour of waiting, the entrance suddenly lit up. A group of ten men, cradling their weapons like beloved children, sauntered out into the night. The beams of their flashlights danced erratically, and their voices drew nearer.

"Yo, dude, the Porras family called the cops and promised a fat ransom. You think it's a setup?"

"The Porras family is all high and mighty, thinking the police can save their boy. What a joke. Cops can barely save themselves these days. They're just going through the motions with the Porras, not really digging into anything. Don't sweat it. The boss has already tipped off Scarface. He'll keep the heat off us in town, making sure the cops are chasing their tails. Even if the Porras are playing us, what can they really do?"

"You got it. Let's give the Porras a merry chase, make sure they've brought the goods before we show."

"Ha, the Porras fortune is easy pickings. They'll cough up anything we ask for. That kid ain't worth a dime to me, but they're still willing to blow their cash for him. Once we get those 50 guns, we'll rally some more guys, storm the mansions, and make a real mess. Heads will roll, literally." "That punk had the nerve to kick me - once we get the loot, he's dead meat."

Their voices, brimming with arrogance and cruelty, faded into the distance, oblivious to the lurking shadows of Stella and Jasper.

Once the men were out of earshot, the pair crept closer to the sentry post.

The chill was bone-deep, and a biting wind didn't help matters. The guard, wrapped in his coat, stamped his feet to keep warm. "I'd kill for a warm bed right about now."

"Got women on your mind again, huh?"

"Who doesn't? We snagged a few lookers recently. After my shift, I'll have some fun."

The three men exchanged lewd jokes and took swigs of whiskey to fight off the cold. Half an hour passed before one of them shivered and said, "You guys keep watch. I gotta take a leak."

The remaining two paid him no mind, confident in their perimeter security.

That guy was probably just another excuse to catch some shut-eye. But what could they say? He was the boss, after all.

The man shouldered his rifle and headed for a wind-sheltered spot, eager for a quick break before a good snooze. As he fumbled with his zipper, a vice-like grip clamped around his neck, and a sharp blow to his waist sent waves of pain through his body. Jasper took him down, and Stella held a blade to his heart. "Don't move, or it's curtains for you, buddy."

Terrified, the man nodded vigorously.

"How many of you are there?"

"Sixty-eight."

"And your weapons? What's in the arsenal?"

"Thirty guns, explosives, grenades..."

Stella interrogated him about the cave's layout and the hostages.

The cave, a rarity on the coast, was mostly man-made, with just two entrances. The second was the one Stella had found.

The man was cooperative, revealing everything, even the markers near the entrance, in hopes of being spared.

There were still six wealthy hostages who were captured. They would lose their usefulness and be disposed of once their families paid the ransom. The women, kept for 'entertainment', fared even worse. Thirty-something were still alive. All told, there were over a hundred souls in the cave.

With the information they needed, Jasper snapped the man's neck and hid his body among the underbrush.

The pair regrouped to plan their next move.

Stella handed Kitty a glass bottle. "This is ether. Tie it to the Molotovs. The heat will speed up the evaporation and knock them out. But watch yourselves."

The ether, found in Director's study before, was scarce just fifty liters.

With limited space for gas masks, Stella could only provide the others with filter masks.

They timed their attack with precision-15 minutes apart.

The duo and the dog returned to their lookout on the back hill.

When the time came, Stella, armed with a submachine gun, tossed stones toward the cave entrance. The drowsy guards, startled awake, charged out, weapons ready. "Who's there?"

Jasper's aim was perfect, and each guard dropped to a silent, precise shot. The gunfire echoed through the dark woods.

In under three minutes, more footsteps thundered, and several men emerged from the cave.

Jasper held his fire, letting Stella take the lead. Through her night vision goggles, she dispatched them with rapid shots. Two who didn't drop to the first bullet were quickly finished off by Jasper's arrows.

Then, a group armed with torches and machetes spilled out, scouring the surroundings for the intruders.

To conserve ammunition, Stella and Jasper switched to crossbow bolts, eliminating the threat within a few minutes.

Sensing the overwhelming disparity in strength, no one else dared to rush out, opting instead to wait and listen.

When the time was right, gunfire erupted from the other side of the mountain. Panic ensued within the cave their stronghold had become a death trap.

Seizing the moment, Stella lobbed a grenade inside. The explosion was followed by screams of agony.

With Cooper standing guard, they stormed the entrance, finishing off the wounded, donned their masks, and threw a burning bottle mixed with ether deep into the cave, then collapsed the entrance to give those inside a taste of hell.

The entrance sealed, they collected the fallen weapons and slipped away with Cooper.

Circling back, they found Kitty had not only dealt with the sentries but also the reinforcements, and was already tossing incendiaries and tear gas inside.

The group didn't rush in. Anyone who came out was taken down. The rest were left to stew in their trap. In total, twelve tried to escape, and none succeeded.

After twenty minutes, the team, fully armed, walked in. Caution was their creed. They advanced without lights, guided only by night vision.

Anyone overcome by the ether was swiftly taken care of.

They walked a couple of hundred meters when suddenly there was a commotion in the darkness. Leveraging their equipment advantage, Stella swiftly and deftly took care of them. They proceeded cautiously and soon penetrated deep into the heart of the area. Deeper within, they discovered several rooms carved out of the rock-a living area, an entertainment space, and storerooms brimming with liquor, cigarettes, sealed food, medicines, and a variety of dry goods.

Lukas and the others were tempted but remained vigilant.

In a lavishly decorated room, reeking of tobacco and alcohol, the bed was still warm.

The cave had been cleared. Jasper had finally tracked down the kidnapped rich kids, and in the dim, squalid room, his gaze immediately landed on Bran.

The poor guy looked like he'd gone ten rounds with a heavyweight champ, beaten to a bruised and bloody pulp. His face was so swollen he could have been mistaken for a prize-winning hog at the county fair. Jasper mused that even Bran's own mother would have a hard time recognizing him.

They all crouched on the ground, all rendered unconscious by ether.

He counted them quickly-nine in total.

Something didn't sit right with Jasper. This felt like a setup.