At the appearance of this third person, the captives wondered at the people who came to rescue them. After all, no matter how much someone looked at Trigger, no one could deny that he was just a teenager. He might don the style of an adult, but he was nothing older than eighteen. He didn't even look like puberty was already done with him.
Three years ago, Rowan just thought Trigger was just a short man with childish features. Duke and his colleagues dove into questionable things, so he didn't consider the possibility. However, just like how others see Trigger, this son was actually only seventeen.
Then again, he was born into the life of the Underground. It was not surprising that he would start young.
"How long do we have before the explosions catch up with us?" Scott helped Rowan up after ruthlessly kicking the dead mercenary off the painter. He didn't even care if the others stared at him differently because of his actions.
"I don't know. Someone else is responsible for that." Trigger only gave the man a once-over before looking in his sister's direction. "Hey, Arrow, aren't we missing three of them?"
Arrow glanced at the group. "It can't be helped. Three of them had already died before tonight. Let's just get them all out first before thinking about the other three."
Trigger nodded and gestured at everyone as if he were ten years older. "Follow us and don't stray too far. If you get caught, we won't stop for you."
By then, the group advanced again. Scott would carry Rowan, but the painter decided not to stick to him anymore. After all, even if he was wounded, he just made sure he was matching everyone's speed. After all, the others had all lost the initial energy brought by their release.
"Who are these people, exactly?" Scott asked as he walked next to the wounded painter. He eyed the two people who got close to Rowan now. It was only three years, and this wild thing had already forgotten all the taming Scott did to him.
"Oh, don't you just want to know…?" Rowan scoffed. He glanced at Scott's expression, which looked both angry and terrified. This guy had brushed shoulders with Duke a couple of times now, and finding out how brutal Duke could get should frighten Scott.
It would be best if Duke could keep this man away from him until the day Rowan could enact the perfect revenge. After all, he was too busy fixing himself in those years he should be planning about Scott's death in full detail.
Of course, Scott was displeased by Rowan's answer. He would force the other to spit out the words, but this was not the right place and time. Rowan's friends had the guns, and Scott didn't have leverage. It would wait; he could wait for something that was destined to happen.
At a corner, they heard more footsteps converging toward them. The captives grew apprehensive, but some people in black-blue tactical uniforms just passed them by. They were surrounded by those people as if guarding them from all threats.
"Sir, the whole outpost is now compromised. The Hellhounds are guarding all exit points." One of the men went close for a report. Since Rowan and Scott were nearby, they got to hear it.
"Good, Duke and the others should be enough to deal with all of them. Let's proceed to the third extraction point." Trigger didn't sound like a child or someone new to this kind of operation.
Of course, he wouldn't. He had done more dangerous missions under their group than this. They just didn't normally do extraction missions involving civilians. He was even more of an ambush and assault operative. He despised missions like this.
Since he was not happy with this mission, he needed to end it as quickly as possible. He looked at the people and then at the armed men. "Carry everyone else. We need to pick up our speed. Be extra careful with that rider, okay?"
The armed man issued the order to the others, and some swung their guns behind them. The encirclement grew smaller as they carried the captives around their shoulders. No one complained as they were all exhausted; they were using up so much energy just to breathe.
Trigger swung his gun back to his arms and let the people pass him by. He decided to cover the back as two others went up ahead to secure the path for them. They were already at this juncture; he wouldn't let the mission fail now.
…
When the smoke began to reach the basement floor they were in, Arrow pursed her lips. They were proceeding slower than preferred. However, she couldn't walk fast with just her and one other to take care of all the captives. She needed to wait for these people to find them.
By now, she could only imagine the state of the outpost from the outside. This was just one outpost, but Duke poured his anger on this place. Even if it was dangerous to destroy the place while the captives were still inside, they were sure the captives were too deep into the basement to be even hit.
They just had to deal with the smoke. Ventilation was still important down here, and they couldn't disable it. That invited the smoke toward them, but it was better than to have everyone else fainting from the thinness of the air.
"Are we there yet?" Scott used his hand to cover his nose and mouth. The smoke was quickly descending, and some of them were beginning to cough. He also noticed how Rowan stopped walking more frequently. The captives were reaching their limit.
"Just a few more steps. We're close to the exit." Arrow gave a guarantee. She just received a cue from Trigger that the path was clear. "We should hurry if you don't want to stay down here longer."
When the captives soon saw the light from the end of the path, they knew they were already out. They just needed to climb the stairs that led to the exit. Even if the light they saw was fierce and scorching, at least it was the outside.
Arrow got everyone to take a sharp left to avoid the flames in front of them. The other mercenaries were also gesturing for them to continue walking briskly. When the mercenaries raced to a spot, they pulled on some heavy fabrics that obscured the extraction vehicle for the captives. It was a big truck that could load more than a dozen behind it. It also looked armored, despite not being resistant to a bombardment.
"Get in." The mercenary closest to it gestured for them to continue. However, he suddenly saw something in his peripheral vision. He then ran off to stop the incoming captives.
Bang! An armored vehicle crashed into their car at breakneck speed.