When the lights in Steve's villa suddenly died and gunshots rang out, Handsome Rob and Left Ear, waiting outside in the car - and Lyle, monitoring from the base of the hill; were all startled.
"Charlie!"
Handsome Rob, who shared the deepest bond with Charlie after years of partnership, yelled into his comms immediately.
He desperately hoped for a response from his old friend.
But the line remained dead.
After nearly two minutes of silence, Rob's eyes were red with worry.
"Left Ear, do we still have explosives in the car?" he snapped at the passenger seat.
Left Ear looked grim but nodded. "Just a few improvised charges made from blasting caps."
He saw Rob pull a pistol from his waistband and his expression changed.
"Rob, are you crazy?"
Getting caught for theft meant a few years in prison. With a good lawyer, they could be out sooner.
If the heist failed, the worst the victim usually did was beat them up.
But if it involved murder? Or an armed assault? That was a different ballgame.
Especially with Steve.
Steve might kill people in Europe, but in the US, even he wouldn't dare commit murder in front of witnesses.
Sure, US law allowed homeowners to use lethal force against intruders to protect their life and property (Castle Doctrine). But the government always investigated afterwards.
Steve was living under a fake identity. He couldn't withstand a federal investigation.
Moreover, the gold was stolen property. He definitely didn't want the police digging around.
That was why Charlie's "suicide bomber" plan was viable—it forced a stalemate by threatening to blow everything wide open.
But if Rob charged in with a gun and started a firefight? That escalated everything to a point of no return.
Rob didn't care anymore.
His best friend wasn't responding. He had to save Charlie.
"I'm going in alone!"
Without waiting for Left Ear to argue, Rob grabbed the explosives from the back seat, raised his pistol, and sprinted toward the villa.
Left Ear shouted after him to no avail.
Gritting his teeth, Left Ear slammed his foot on the gas and drove the car toward the villa too.
Steve drove the car laden with "gold bars" back to the villa.
Before he even reached the house, he heard shouting.
The armored SUV that had rushed back earlier was parked by the front door.
Steve saw his men running toward the side of the villa.
He grabbed his radio. "Report! Have you found the intruder?"
"Main gate is clear!"
"Boss, someone took out the distribution panel with a crossbow bolt. There's more than one of them."
"Security company has been notified. They're sending a repair crew."
"Boss, we spotted an intruder! He's heading for the east garden!"
"Backup generator spinning up in ten seconds."
Hearing the reports, Steve prepared to get out of the car.
Suddenly, a thought struck him.
He instinctively turned the wheel, pointing the headlights toward the cliff at the rear of the property. He flicked on the high beams.
Steve's face twisted in rage.
In the stark beam of light, he saw a figure sprinting toward the cliff edge.
And the figure was carrying something in his arms.
Steve couldn't see clearly what it was, but remembering the screams from inside the villa earlier, his expression darkened.
He grabbed the radio and screamed, "Team Two! To the cliff! Now!"
Steve jumped out of the car. The gap leading to the backyard was too narrow for the vehicle.
To prevent blocking his men, he abandoned the car but left the engine running and the high beams on to illuminate the target.
He grabbed his AK, slammed the door, and sprinted toward the cliff.
Hunter, carrying Stella (still tied to the chair), dashed for the cliff edge.
With Stella as baggage, climbing over the three-meter wall was impossible.
Rappelling down the cliff was the safer, faster option.
"Mmph!"
"Mmph!"
Stella struggled constantly, trying to communicate something.
Hunter ignored her.
He wasn't in the mood to chat until they were safe. This woman was beautiful, yes, but right now she was just a heavy, smelly liability.
Relying on his double-human strength, Hunter reached the cliff edge in seconds.
Just then, two beams of light cut through the darkness.
High beams.
"Shit. Steve spotted us."
Hunter gritted his teeth and pushed his speed to the limit.
Two seconds later, he was at the edge.
He deliberately set Stella (still chair-bound) down on her side, facing away from him so she couldn't see his face or his Inventory.
He quickly pulled a rappelling rig and rope from his Personal Inventory and clipped it to his harness.
Just as he was about to tie the rope to the piton he had left days ago...
A sudden sense of danger screamed in his mind.
He instinctively rolled to the side!
Rat-a-tat-tat!
A burst of automatic fire tore up the ground where he had just been standing.
"AK!"
There was no cover on the cliff edge. Hunter scrambled, rolling frantically to avoid the hail of bullets.
Desperate, he pulled one of the hand grenades Dom had given him from his Inventory.
He pulled the pin and hurled it toward the muzzle flashes.
BOOM!
The explosion silenced the AK instantly.
Hunter didn't know if he hit the shooter, but he knew the rest of Steve's men would be swarming the area any second.
He leaped up, ignoring the dirt and grass on his clothes, and rushed back to the anchor point.
"Are you okay?"
He shouted at Stella while frantically tying the rope to the piton.
"Mmph!"
Hearing a response that wasn't a scream of pain, Hunter relaxed slightly.
He was about to grab her and jump.
But then, something clicked in his memory.
He stopped cold. He crouched down and inspected the piton.
A cold sneer crossed his face. He pulled a sledgehammer from his Inventory and smashed the piton hard, driving it deep into the rock.
Clang! Clang!
"You insidious bastard. Almost got me."
Steve and his men had found the pitons days ago. Instead of removing them, they had loosened them.
If Hunter hadn't noticed and had jumped with his full weight (plus Stella), the loosened piton would have ripped out of the rock.
He would have fallen to his death.
Hunter silently marveled at Steve's viciousness.
But now wasn't the time for admiration.
He put the hammer away and pulled out a knife. He slashed the ropes binding Stella to the chair.
Freed from the furniture, Stella immediately reached up to pull the gag from her mouth.
"Let's go!"
Hunter didn't give her a chance to speak. He clipped her harness to his, creating a tandem link.
He grabbed her tight, jumped off the cliff, and plunged into the darkness below.
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