Blackout Protocol (killer man)

CHAPTER 3:TERMAC BETRAYAL

CHAPTER 3: TARMAC BETRAYAL

The wheels of the Antonov cargo plane slammed onto the wet tarmac of the

Lagos airport with a violent jolt. Outside, a classic tropical downpour

was turning the night into a dark, impenetrable sheet of falling water.

Krueger unbuckled his harness in the dim cargo hold, his instinct telling

him something was wrong before the engines even cycled down. The aircraft

hadn't taxied to the private executive hangar as planned; instead, it had

pulled into an isolated, unlit maintenance apron near the edge of the

perimeter fence.

Krueger adjusted the straps of his tactical vest, checking his primary

weapon. He had two spare magazines remaining for his sidearm. The three

million dollars was supposed to be wired to his offshore account upon

confirmation of the hit, but his secure sat-comm device had failed to receive

the network handshake signal for the past three hours. Total

silence from Virginia.

The cargo ramp began to hiss, lowering slowly into the humid, rain-soaked

night air. Krueger stood in the shadows of the interior fuselage,

watching the opening widen. He didn't see the standard logistical ground

crew. He saw three dark silhouettes moving in tactical formation,

carrying short-barreled automatic weapons fitted with suppressors. They

weren't here to guide him to a safe house.

KRUEGER

"Teriq, you cheap bastard. You couldn't even

let me clear the runway."

Before the ramp fully touched the concrete, the lead mercenary raised his

weapon. Krueger moved first. He dropped to his knee, firing three rapid

rounds through the gap. The lead operative fell backward into the

puddles. Krueger dove out of the cargo door as a hail of submachine gun

fire shredded the aluminum skin of the plane behind him, hitting the wet

concrete in a hard tactical roll.

The ambush had failed to take him in the first strike, but as Krueger

looked toward the airport perimeter gates, he saw three more black SUVs

tearing across the grass toward him, their high-beams cutting through

the rain.