With renewed determination, I continued my search, evading every possible contact. I knew that if I didn’t get to Mr. Ross in a few minutes I would be discovered because of the gang member I had killed.

There was a hallway leading to some very small compartments but it was heavily guarded by six men, three at each entrance. I thought about shooting them when Larry’s voice echoed in my head.

“Don’t think of shooting them. If you do, you will have more than fifty men rushing towards your location. From the infrared indications, there is someone sitting down as if he were a hostage in room three. I think you should use your knife,” Larry said.

“Copy that,” I replied, whispering so that I could not be heard by the men. I felt Larry just wanted to enjoy himself or get me killed because with a silencer I could have killed the first three and thought out something about the other three.

The first man noticed I was coming and tried to reach out for something he was holding. I threw the knife at him, and with a few steps I was near him, took out another knife, and it landed on his neck. The other two saw what happened and rushed at me. I dodged the first blow from the first man and hit the second with my knife, dragging out his intestine while stabbing the other several times on his back.

The other three started shooting at us, not minding whether the shot was going to hit any one of their members. I used the man I had stabbed in the back as a shield and shot at them with my silencer. I watched as the three of them went down immediately after they were hit.

“No guns! Cassie, no guns!” Larry said he was too late. How can I engage men with my knives in a gunfight?

“Larry, they shot at me first. Did you not see them shooting?” I asked as I was already getting annoyed. It looked like he was taking sides with the dead men.

“Where is Mr. Ross?” I asked.

“I thought I told you earlier, room three, men have started approaching your location, so try and hurry,” Larry said, sounding very concerned. I put back my silencer and took out the machine gun. Now this was the real deal, I thought.

Finally, I got to the third room. It was a small, dimly lit room tucked away in one of the corners of the building, where I found him. Mr. Ross was battered and bruised, but he was alive. Relief washed over me as I approached him, silently unlocking his restraints.

“It is okay Mr. Ross, I am here to take you home,” I said in an assuring voice.

“Please can we hurry so that we can meet up with your team? These guys are dangerous from all indications,” said Mr. Ross.

“There is no team, I am here all by myself, and all the team you need,” I said.

“You! No, it’s not possible! You are just my daughter’s age and a woman,” Mr. Ross said, feeling disappointed.

“Trust me, there is no man that can do what I do. I am on your team for now. Deal with it. Let’s go before you put us in a precarious position,” I said, dragging him out of the chair. He was very reluctant.

As I freed Mr. Ross, I whispered urgently, "We have to get out of here quietly. A car is waiting outside for us."

Mr. Ross nodded weakly, now there was this gratitude evident in his eyes. We moved stealthily through the building, avoiding gang members where we could, as led by Larry in my head through the small pin earpiece. I couldn't help but glance at my watch. We had to make it to the exit before the group coming from the south of the building got to us.

“Hold on,” Larry said.

There was a group of men approaching us. The only escape route available was a room on the left. I told Larry to let me take on the men but he insisted that the two men inside the room were better than taking on the eight men en route toward our position, so we entered the room and I shut the metal door behind us.

“Welcome Mr. Ross, you have finally come to join me,” it was Zach, the leader of the Martinez Gang. He took over from the dead Martinez when the former was killed.

“As I said, I don’t want any trouble, you can have all you want, I am ready to send all the money you requested,” said Mr. Ross, trembling with fear.

“No one is paying any ransom today or ever, we are walking out of here alive whether you like it or not,” I said, weighing every option of escaping I had in the room.

“Hmm the legendary Cassie, why would they send you to your end?” Zach said with a wicked smile that drove fear more into Mr. Ross.

“So you know the code but also know I have the right to defend myself,” I said.

“You have no right here, you bust into my stronghold and steal my asset, no lady, you have no right,” he said.

“Then you must know I am not dying today, neither is Mr. Ross,” I said.

“This is what I will do, pointing his gun at me, I will allow Sanchez to have a go at you, show him what you have, since they claimed you were one of the best, no guns,” Zach said.

“Hmm,” I smiled and gave Mr. Ross the machine gun, “okay, let’s go when I am through with him, I am coming for your head,” I said.

Zach was just laughing like he had won the lottery, it was so disturbing that Mr. Ross and I looked confused. It was when Sachez stood up, that I realized the meaning of the laughter.

“You see, you like overestimating yourself so much,” Sanchez said, and with one swing of his arm, I was down on the floor.

“Cassie, are you okay?” I heard the voice of Larry from a far distance in my head. All I could say was “Damn, you are fast!” as I stumbled back to my feet again.

Both men were now laughing and Mr. Ross looked pitifully at me. I saw that he had lost hope of leaving the building and I knew I had to do something too or we were both dead.

I rushed at him, and he threw another punch, though very swift. I understood his movement as I dodged it and kicked the back of his knee. He fell on one knee and was almost taller than me still. I scratched his eyes with my fingers, the right one first, then the left.

His eyes gushed out blood, he could hardly see. He took out his knife and started flinging it aimlessly as his blood blinded him from seeing me. I took out my knife and with three cuts I was done. One in the stomach, one in the chest, and one in the neck.

Zach was clapping, “I give it to you, that was a good fight but you are dying now,” as he approached me, Mr. Ross shot him with the machine gun. I rushed towards him and grabbed the gun from him.

“Larry, get us out of here quickly,” I said.

“Jump through the back window. You will be landing in the big waste bin, your car is packed two hundred meters north of your position,” Larry said.

I dragged Mr. Ross to the window. He was afraid to jump so I pushed him from the window into the bin as the other gang members were almost breaking through the door. One of them came out from no where and started shooting sporadically at me and I dodged.

I took out my gun and shot him in the forehead. I shot the other five. They were straight shots, and the remaining two were shooting at me. I did not know how many bullets got to me but I saw that I shot both of them, one on the head and the other not sure where I shot him, but he also got me as I fell from the window into the bin. It was a bad fall, because of the shot that got me. I lost my balance and was not in control of the jump.

Suddenly! Everywhere became dark and quiet and slowly I lost consciousness. All I could see faintly was Mr. Ross, who was kneeling by my side and actually begging me to wake up and not die on him now. Everything faded into the darkness of my mind as I finally lost consciousness.