Out

(A/N: Additional chapters are on patreon.com/TheGreatestHunter)

.............

Jeremy moved quickly, tossing Enzo off his shoulder and over the stair railing and quickly descended the stairs as fast as he could, ignoring the sound of Enzo's body colliding with the floor, and made his way back into the lab, his mind moving through possible routes and deciding on which one he wanted to take.

'I have less than 2 minutes to get back outside before the car I drove goes up in smoke. If they're truly professional, they would already be doing a sweep of the vehicle, but unless they check the wiring under the dashboard, they'll never be able to find the faulty wiring. The resulting explosion will provide all the attention and cover I need to walk out of here under the guise of rescuing others. Meaning, I could just hunker down, cover the stairs with my weapon, and wait for the boom.' His mind moved faster than his body, as he got to the cabinet containing all the chemicals. His practical side. The side that led him to put himself in life-threatening situations over and over again, just for the experience, moving against his logical mind with his permission. Already deciding to not stall the 1 minute 58 seconds and instead, take out every single individual upstairs and then ride his stolen car out of this place.

His hands moved quickly. Tearing open the cabinet and taking out a few well organized and labeled chemicals, that were no doubt tested on the vampires to see their various effects, but for him, all they would provide was a good smoke screen and an even better sleeping agent that, while slow acting, would have an immediate effect on cognition and reflex.

He had barely poured the first combination of chemicals into a single beaker before the door leading down below was hastily opened. However, he didn't move to look. He knew without a doubt that that was just their way of attempting to breach, but at the same time, get him to make a move, since they truthfully had no idea what they were dealing with inside.

'The door is open. No doubt they'll count down from three next and then breach. 1, 2, 3,' he pulled his weapon and in the same motion aimed directly at the now open door and fired two shots, his eyes never leaving the chemicals that he was still mixing. Only allowing his ears to register the sound of bullet hitting something other than wall, and then the sound of someone rolling down the stairs, followed by distinct shouts that he couldn't hear clearly. Then, he got brought his hand back and proceeded to finish up mixture #1.

'One individual down. Based on lack of groan or shuffling of body, likely either dead or incapacitated. At least a four man team based on the number of weapons heard fired. They will wait for a moment to see if I either emerge or continue shooting.' His mind analyzed as he began working on his second mixture. His face focused, and lacking any signs of the tension that the situation should demand, as his movements were methodical. Precise.

'Definitely a sub-par operations team. It would have been better to immediately infiltrate and in a fast strike as soon as they arrived to find the door open, which would have had the highest chance of catching the target off guard after their silent entry, which is the entire reason I left the door open. The fact they did not, shows that in their methods, they reasoned it would be better to occupy the only exit and wait for me to emerge and then open fire, like we were playing peek-a-boo. A common action when presented with an easy and safe solution than the risk that comes with assaulting a target of unknown origin...and it's also the reason they will lose.' He finished the second mixture and casually tossed out the first one resulting in the sound of glass breaking behind him. 'Starting now.'

He took a deep breath, picked up a small labeled bottle and threw it on mixture number one, and then held his breath, knowing the gas would spread quickly.

Then, he picked up another labeled bottle and poured its contents into mixture #2, and watched as the entire space quickly became ingulfed in a thick smoke.

Though, he wasn't bothered by it, because he was already moving and hoisting Enzo back over his shoulder.

'1 minute 32 seconds until boom. Plenty of time.'

He moved to where he knew the stairs to be. Their view already obstructed, just like his body now was, by the smoke, and began his ascent, his eyes and ears trained ahead, knowing that at any moment one of those subpar operators could say fuck it and start firing into the smoke that was traveling out of the door in a desperate move to actually hit something.

Which is why, he gave them no time to say fuck it.

As soon as the smoke obscured the door and he was able to clear it without being seen and fired upon in the narrow passage, he was running out into the open floor, Enzo playing the role of shield in front of his body, and sliding behind a desk a few feet in front of the door, as the smoke continued to drift out and bullets started to fire on his new location.

'Still just a 3 man team,' he noted, counting the number of weapons firing upon him and waiting for the perfect moment to move, as the smoke was making it harder and harder for them to see. He only wondered if they could remember a floor layout as well as he could.

As soon as he heard the first gun *click* indicating an empty magazine, he was moving, launching Enzo's naked and smoke obscured body out of the safety of the desk and proceeding to quickly flip the other way, as he heard the body of his soon to be ally being met with bullets. But, there was nothing he could do besides thank the lad for his sacrifice, as he kept low and swiftly made his way to the sound of the one changing magazine in the smoke.

The man didn't know nor see, only felt the blade go deep inside the front of his throat, before being smoothly yanked back. The weapon that he had only just loaded, taken out of his hands before he could even fully register the pain he felt as his body reacted by reaching for his throat. His eyes went wide, as he watched the flash of light a few feet in front of him launching bullets at his comrades, no doubt doing to their bodies what they had done to that naked man's only a few minutes ago.

'42 seconds until boom,' Jeremy thought to himself, as he quickly stripped the one he knifed in the throat of his pants and shirt, and moved with quick steps to put them on Enzo, his mind telling him of the place where he should have landed after being thrown, and his eyes and ears staying aware of his surroundings for any movements.

'35 seconds,' Enzo had pants and was being thrown out the back window and into the shade that was blocking the sun, Jeremy nimbly following behind him and noting how useful vampire bodies were when it came to being meat shields and window breakers.

He quickly ran around to the side of the house and look out.

'Clear,' he noted, wondering how the sounds of gun shots failed to attract any attention on the property and concluding that somehow the sound didn't travel out. 'It would make sense for the lab to be soundproofed, but the main floor as well? That doesn't seem right.' And then, just as he was thinking that, he had an epiphany.

'How many times does crazy shit happen in the vampire diaries and no extras just show up like "hey, is everything alright?". Could this be an effect of whatever the hell it is that stops the extras from becoming aware of the crazy shit that goes on right in front of them? Like vampires suddenly super speeding away, or using compulsion on somewhere with people all around them? This will require more research.' He quickly and casually moved to the car that he parked in the driveway, noting the lack of external tampering, but still bending down for a quick look to see if a car bomb was attached.

'12 seconds,' his mind told him as soon as he sat behind the wheel, his fingers already moving to reconnect the wires that would set off a spark through the system and ignite the oil and gas in the car, however just as he was about to do it, he stopped. Started the car, and drove it through the front door of the house, rolling out right before the crash, and taking off immediately after.

*Boom*

He both heard and felt the explosion at his back as he ran across the street, broke the window of the first car he came upon, and quickly pulled it up to the house.

"Hey, is anybody in there!" The suspicious looking man wearing a hat, glasses, and gloves called out, as soon as he pulled up and hopped out of the car.

He quickly ran around the burning house, seemingly checking for survivors of the explosion, and miraculously finding one that looked to be half dead and covered in a bloody ensemble covering every inch of his body.

"I've got one," he yelled to the people that were starting to run up and gather around. "He was the only one I saw, quickly call an ambulance and the fire department!" He yelled out with great urgency to no one in particular as a very helpful frat looking guy ran up and helped him load the guy he was carrying into his backseat.

"I'll get this one to the hospital. Good luck, my friend," he told the polo shirt wearing young guy as he ducked into the drivers seat and plunged his screw driver into the ignition, not worrying about if anybody saw. After all, lives were at stake.

And then, he was blazing down the road. His good deed making him feel quite good about himself.

"Hm, I really should've gotten some blood for this guy before I made my move, because I'm certainly not giving him any of mine." He stated to himself, as he looked back at the no longer bleeding vampire in his back seat, and enjoyed the wind blowing through his hair from the open window at his side.