Chapter 71: Knock Them All Down
Less than three minutes had passed since William fired the first shot that killed Clark. In that time, he had put a bullet in each of his two bodyguards' heads.
He then scanned the restaurant, spotting a security camera. William raised his pistol and shot it out. Moving to a window, he cautiously peered out at the street below.
The gangsters on the street were now advancing, moving in groups of two and three and using cover as they converged on the hotel. William retrieved a pair of binoculars from his storage space and scanned the street opposite the building. He quickly spotted Lesifer standing behind an SUV.
Found you.
Through the lenses, he saw Lesifer staring nervously at the restaurant balcony. He clearly hadn't expected William Devinshire, a young man who got rich selling video games, to be so ferocious. To think he would dare to grab a gun and open fire on dozens of mercenaries armed with AKs. In William's hands, the M4A1 had the devastating power of a machine gun.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen mercenaries had been cut down. These weren't common thugs; they were hardened veterans of the Albanian Civil War. Hiring this group had cost Lesifer two million dollars.
As Lesifer watched his expensive mercenaries get slaughtered, he was overcome with rage. He stood by the SUV, stomping his feet and cursing furiously.
William watched the hopping-mad Lesifer through his binoculars, then swept the area outside the hotel with his mental sense.
More than a dozen mercenaries had already breached the hotel entrance. William didn't hesitate. He pulled an AWP sniper rifle from his storage space and began to assemble it. It took him a little over twenty seconds to attach the stock, barrel, and scope.
*Click.* He chambered a round. Grabbing a chair, he placed it on a table to create a makeshift rifle rest. He set the AWP down, flipped open the protective lens caps on the scope, and pressed his right eye to the sight. The muzzle was aimed at Lesifer, over 200 meters away.
William took a deep breath. Through the scope, he could see two other men standing beside Lesifer. He quickly calculated the best way to take out all three of them in the shortest amount of time.
His plan set, William centered the crosshairs on Lesifer's head and placed his index finger on the trigger.
*BANG!* The rifle roared. William immediately cycled the bolt—*click-clack*—chambering a new round. Even as Lesifer's head exploded, William shifted his aim to one of the other men, who was still frozen in shock, and fired again just as the man started to dive for cover behind the SUV.
*BANG!* The second man followed Lesifer into death. The last remaining guard finally snapped out of it and bolted for the cover of a nearby building, but it was too late. Just as with the first shot, William didn't wait to see the result of the second. He had already pulled the bolt again, quickly and smoothly.
He fired at the mercenary's back as he took his first running step. Through the scope, William saw the bullet's impact lift the man clean off his feet and send him flying. He knew that man was finished.
No one survives a center-mass hit from an AWP at 200 meters. The powerful round would have torn a hole the size of a fist through his chest. He would bleed out in seconds; even if an ambulance were a minute away, it would be too late.
William dismantled the AWP and returned it to his storage space, taking care to collect the three spent shell casings as well. He checked the spare magazines secured to his tactical vest and screwed a suppressor onto his M4A1.
He did the same for his Glock 17, attaching its suppressor and placing three spare magazines on his left hip for quick reloading.
Just as he finished his preparations, the sound of AK-47s erupted from downstairs. The mercenaries had entered the hotel and were exchanging fire with security. William walked over to the restaurant's bar, found a bottle of whiskey that had survived the grenade blast, and took a sip.
He was waiting for the remaining mercenaries outside to enter the building. The hotel's security guards were pinned down in the lobby, but William had no intention of rushing to their aid just yet. He wasn't about to charge into the muzzles of a dozen AKs.
William continued to monitor the situation with his mental sense. When the last of the mercenaries entered the hotel lobby, he finished his whiskey in one gulp.
William grabbed his M4A1 and rushed to the balcony. Without a moment's hesitation, he leaped over the railing, dropping from the second floor.
While still in the air, William aimed his rifle at three mercenaries standing near the hotel entrance.
*Pfft. Pfft-pfft. Pfft-pfft.*
Before the three mercenaries even knew he was there, William's controlled bursts struck them. Puffs of blood mist erupted from their chests as they crumpled to the ground without a sound.
After killing those three, William landed and immediately took cover beside the doorway. He peeked around the frame, raised his rifle, and fired on two more mercenaries four or five meters away. They too went down in a spray of blood.
In less than ten seconds, he had killed five mercenaries. Nine remained. William stayed by the entrance, scanning the lobby once more with his mental sense.
The hotel security team was completely pinned down in a corner of the lobby, and he could tell one of them was wounded.
William's scan confirmed there were no civilian guests in the lobby. He was relieved; now he could act without fear of hurting innocent people.
After swapping in a fresh magazine for his M4A1, he turned and moved along the wall into the lobby. A security guard spotted him immediately, mistook him for one of the attackers, and raised his pistol. William reacted instantly, ducking behind a pillar before the guard could fire. After waiting two seconds, William carefully peeked out from behind the pillar, showing only one eye. Seeing that the guard hadn't shot, he made a series of quick hand signals.
He signaled that he was on their side and that they shouldn't shoot. He indicated that he would support them by attacking the mercenaries from the rear.
The security guard hesitated, momentarily stunned. He took in William's suit and bow tie, and noted the M4A1 in his hands was different from the mercenaries' AKs. Deciding to trust him for the moment, the guard gave a short nod and pointed his weapon back toward the attackers.
Seeing the guard's compliance, William slipped out from behind the pillar. He took a few quiet steps forward and fired controlled bursts into the backs of three mercenaries.
*Pfft, pfft, pfft.*
Three more mercenaries dropped to the floor. William was now inside the lobby proper. Even with the suppressor, the M4A1 wasn't completely silent. The soft *thump-thump-thump* of the weapon startled the remaining six mercenaries, who instantly realized that reinforcements had arrived for their opponents.
As combat veterans, they immediately recognized the sound was not from an AK. It was the distinct report of an M4, which surprised them. They thought they were facing Montenegrin special forces.
The mercenary leader ducked behind cover, grabbed his walkie-talkie, and yelled, "Support! We need support now! We're surrounded, get in here!"
To William's surprise, a voice crackled from the walkie-talkie on one of the dead mercenaries nearby: "Understood, we'll be there soon."
*Damn, they're planning to pincer me,* William cursed inwardly.
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