Escape Pt. 2

As Reed and the hostages ran towards the extraction point, gun shots could be heard behind them. At that the same time shots could be heard in front of them as well. However those shots weren't directed at them. It was Aily's team attacking the warehouse, clearing out the guards that separate them. giving Reed and the hostages a clear passage.

"Hurry, the exit isn't that far now! Reed yelled as he carried Lillian in his arms. They were now 200 yards from the extraction and Aily and her team could be seen in the distance, finishing up the last of the guards.

"Come on, the way is clear," Aily waved at Reed who was running her way with the hostages right behind them.

Passing Aily's team who was watching their back, Reed finally reached the extraction point where Tyler and his team were waiting him. Upon seeing Reed, Tyler immediately noticed Lillian who was as pale as a ghost in Reed's arms.

"Here, take her." Reed gave Lillian who was in his arms to Tyler and explained immediately, "That person in your arms is Lillian Myers and the reason why we came here in the first place. She is also wounded so treat her carefully. The first I want you to do is place her and the weakest of the hostages into one of the escape vehicles and after your done with that, I want you or someone from your team to drive back to base asap so the hostages can get the medical treatment they need.

Once your done with that, you can then deal with the rest of hostages by fitting them in whichever vehicle you see fit. While you do that, I'll be helping Aily's team keeping back the guards."

Tyler nodded as he was able to absorb every word Reed said and ingrained it into his very soul." I got you loud and clear boss. Once I'm done with all of what you told me, I'll immediately radio you and Aily's team to retreat."

"Good", Reed nodded and ran back to where Aily and her team were. At this moment Aily and her team were hiding behind metal crates , using it as cover from the oncoming hail of bullets. The smell of gun powder was in the air as the guards and Aily's team took turns firing back at each other. The process was a rinse and repeat situation.

When the guards started shooting Aily's team, they would immediately hide behind cover, preventing a single bullet from reaching them. And when Aily's team retaliated, shooting back at the guards, they too would then hide behind their cover of metal crates. However, Aily and her team were trained by Reed personally, giving them the advantage over their opponents. The advantage being that they were able to pick off a few guards who had their head out for a second too long,

Meaning that unlike Aily's team, the number of guards shooting at Aily's team were dwindling slowly.

When Reed arrived at the gunfight he immediately got behind cover which was the same one Aily was personally using to protect herself from oncoming bullets.

After Aily shot at a guard in the lungs, killing him instantly and got behind cover. She noticed Reed who was crouched next to her behind the metal crate and said with a smile, "It's about time you came."

"Are you ok?" Reed asked Aily with a concerned look on his face. Even though Aily just smiled at Reed, looking as if she had no problems with herself, Reed knew that behind that mask of her, she was struggling internally.

Knowing that Reed saw right through her, Aily no longer pretended to be ok and answered honestly "I'm fine, it's just that I feel a little sick. I have never killed anyone until now, so this sort of feeling is understandable. I knew this day would come and prepared myself mentally everyday. However in the end, all the mental preparation I did was for naught. Aily tighten the grip she had on her handgun. "In the end, when I first shot and killed someone, the feeling of dread overwhelmed me. Even so, I still moved on and fired at the next guard I saw, killing him too as I knew if I didn't fire, I would be the one laying on the ground as a corpse and he would be the one reveling above it.

"It's good that you understand. In this life of ours, all we can do is move forward and try our best to stay alive so that we protect our loved ones from harm. That feeling of dread when you first killed someone, fully remember that feeling and ingrain it into your soul so that you never forget it nor get used to it. If you were to get used to the feeling, your humanity would slowly chip away." When Reed finished his last sentence, he looked back to his previous life when he first joined the assassins world.

Only after a month passed since then and the amount of missions he accomplished already amounted over two hundred. At that time he killed all of his targets quickly and efficiently with not one bit of mercy. Each and everyone of them would beg Reed to allow them to live. They said that they would give Reed money, women, and many other things. However, they only got to say so much before their throat was sliced open.

Reed could vividly remember this is one specific contract he was given by one of his employers. The mission entailed the massacre of a family. This family did nothing wrong however their business was growing at a quick pace, threatening competing companies, leading them to their destruction. Reed could remember the father on his knees, begging him to kill only him and allow the rest of his family to live. The tears that poured from his eyes came out like a water was also combined with the snot that came out from his nose as it flowed down his face and onto the floor.

Even with such a miserable looking state that could even make the devil think twice, Reed however did not care a single a bit and still slaughtered the family. The husband, wife, and their two kids. All of them were killed in their own home which was soon lit up in flames and collapsed upon them. This contract was something Reed would never forget and keep in the back of his mind. The reason why he was no longer like that now as we was back then, was due to Amber appearing in front if him once again. Giving him the ray of light in his dark world.

"Thank you Reed," Aily's voice snapped Reed out of his short reminiscing daze. Though Reed didn't try to cheer her up, saying that everything is fine. He did give her a good reason to move forward and persevere. For her family, she would do everything to protect them. That reason is enough for her to keep on going.

Seeing that Aily was looking a little better then before, Reed knew he did a good job. The two of them immediately turned their focus to the guards firing at them and started to retaliate against them. With Reed's insane precision, the amount of people dropping on the other side increased quite a bit, causing the guards to be a little bit more defensive.

Soon after a few rounds of the two sides shooting at each other, Tyler's call of retreat finally came in. Everybody rushed into the escape vehicles and quickly disappeared down the road.