Hour of Reckoning (Donatella Book 2)

by Demetrius Jackson

  When he entered the room a motion sensor light activated and he pulled the door closed behind him to keep from illuminating the corridor. Conducting a quick survey of the room, he realized the motion sensitive light only illuminated a portion of the room. Weary, he began to move forward. At the edge of the first beam another overhead light illuminated providing more visibility ahead.

  The room itself seemed empty as the silence engulfed him. He continued deeper into the room scanning left to right, right to left. As he turned his focus back in front of him, off to the right he perceived a slight motion in the darkness. He turned and froze. He stared into the darkness but didn’t see any additional movement. He continued to move forward.

  At the back of this room BJ had discovered a secondary room that was not on the original blueprints. They rationalized this could be the place that Jasmyn was being held captive. This would serve as Sampson’s first stop in the search for Jasmyn Thompson.

  If memory served him correctly, the interior room would be visible when the next light illuminated. As he neared the termination of the light’s beam, he was certain he was no longer alone. The aura of the room had shifted. Within the three steps it took to cover the distance between him and the end of the beam – he dropped to the ground just in time to hear a shot fly overhead.

  There stood a man in full black attire with both arms extended. The assailant was only 10 feet in front of Sampson, who scrambled to his feet and tackled the foe before he could fire another shot. The impact of being tackled and then hitting the ground was not enough to cause the assailant to lose his grip on the gun.

  He tried several times to aim the pistol at Sampson; however, Sampson had him by the wrist and the battle of strength and will was on full display. Laying on top of the man, Sampson took his right elbow and shot it into the midsection of his foe. The blow had no impact as the man on the ground wore a Kevlar vest covering his upper body.

  In pursuing this failed attempt, Sampson had released the left arm of the attacker who now used his free hand to connect with the kidney of Sampson with two brutal punches. Pain racing through his side and back, he began to loosen his grip on the man’s other arm. He closed his eyes and shot his head forward into the lower half of the other man’s face. The impact caused him to feel an instantaneous daze, but it also took out several teeth of his foe.

  He could tell that he now had the upper hand and he was determined to continue pressing forward. He elbowed the guy in the forehead as he maneuvered his right hand toward the gun. In doing so, he also shifted his weight across his torso looking to gain leverage. The assailant brought his left hand up toward the gun and both men struggled to gain control as all four hands wrestled for the best spot.

  During the struggle another shot fired harmlessly into the empty space and the battle ensued. Sampson knew this next attack would be useless, nonetheless, he shot a knee into his attackers left side. Once, twice, three times. Although he knew the pain would be minimal, the body tends to protect itself against harm and the man buckled slightly on each impact. This provided the window Sampson needed.

  He dropped his right hand down to his side and retrieved his pistol. Rolling to his right and off of the man, he raised his gun up, pressed the barrel to the side of his assailant’s neck and pulled the trigger. All fight instantly left the man whose body went limp and the gun fell harmlessly to the ground.

  Sampson’s face made contact with the cool ground and he let out several pants attempting to catch his breath after exerting so much energy during the conflict. He quickly took inventory of his body – no major issues, just some bruising. He quickly thought – three shots fired. Still no one came barging through the door. He pushed himself from the floor, oriented and continued in the direction of the interior room.

  The exterior of the room looked to be 30 feet in width and 10 feet high. From his vantage point he could not determine the depth. The onyx room had no windows – just a door situated in the middle of the structure. Sampson walked to the door, turned the handle and pushed the door open. Inside the room was fully lit – and empty.

  “Shit,” he said activating his mic. “Location Alpha is a dry hole – an empty room.” Frustrated, but not surprised, he followed up with, “Making my way to location Beta.”

  At the bottom of the escalator, Donatella did a quick survey of her new surroundings. In her immediate vicinity she didn’t spy any adversaries, but her intuition told her they were nearby. Moving through the cavernous space she recounted the fact that Sampson should be breaching the museum. She had to trust he would achieve his task while she pushed through hers.

  With each step she thought through how she would end this conflict. Terri would not allow herself to be arrested – she would fight to the bitter end. Donatella was willing to do whatever was necessary and would match her adversary’s level of intensity.

  She heard a motor in the distance engage followed by another. No doubt another trap, but she moved forward. The short hairs on the back of her neck stood erect when she eyed what sat in front of her.

  The gates to both her left and her right had been closed leaving a narrow corridor leading into the library space. There was a low illumination being produced within the space. Upon entering the library, she was amazed by the sheer size. The width of the library reminded her of the width of a football field. The length was roughly double the size of a basketball court. In all the space was nearly 30,000 square feet. Undaunted, she continued walking into the room with her senses on high alert, eyes darting side-to-side.

  The door to the entrance sprung closed with an echoing thud; however, the sound didn’t break her stride. Directly in front of her four men dressed in black head to toe stepped from behind sliding bookshelves. To her right four additional individuals appeared – two appeared to be women. On her left, three men stepped forward.

  Although she didn’t sense any movement directly behind her, training told her she needed to check. She quickly looked over both shoulders – empty. Satisfied, she realized 11 assailants surrounded her. She could not see their faces; however, the intent to kill poured from their body language. She took a moment to look over each person and the immediate scenery surrounding them. Within each individual view, a plan began to materialize.

  She spoke into her throat mic, “Library, lights.”

  On the other end of the connection, Marcellous Thompson had been pacing back and forth both furious and anxious. Special Agent Dabria made it clear he was not to enter the building. Instead, he would be on the other end of the comms directly connected to the special agent. He was to keep the line open and only speak if confirming a command. So far, the comms had been silent and he was left to stew.

  In the room they secured a block away from the museum he couldn’t help but to feel useless. His wife was in peril and he was told to sit still and wait. He could be of some assistance, but the agent hadn’t even given him a chance. Hell, he was the one that tracked them to the airport and knew they were on a plane.

  When the voice from the comm awoke in his ear, he was momentarily shocked. He froze in his tracks and quickly replayed the transmission in his head. Then he repeated, “Library, Lights. Confirmed.”

  He took the three steps back to the computer and began to recall the directions he received from BJ as they were going over the plan. From wherever he was located, BJ managed to hack into the security system for the museum. Understanding he would need to be in continuous contact with Detective Sampson, BJ quickly wrote a program that would allow Marcellous some rudimentary control over different elements within the building. Once such thing had been the lights.

  Typically, there was a complex set of commands needed to operate the different sections of the building; however, BJ simplified the interface that Marcellous would be interacting with for this mission. Utilizing the floorplans that he had secured, BJ mapped each room to only their corresponding lights forgoing the section configuration developed by the engineer.

  Marcellous scr
olled the alphabetical listing of rooms and quickly found ‘Library’ sitting in the middle. He placed his finger over the touchscreen and pressed the button. The button which had been colored green turned red once depressed.

  Back in the library Donatella waited like a coiled cobra for Marcellous to extinguish the lights. During her training with Master Yoshida, her Krav Maga sensei, they trained for scenarios in which they would be greatly outnumbered by their enemies. One of the most grueling training sessions she endured was the blindfolded battle royale.

  During this intense one on seven session you were blindfolded against heavily armed combatants. Your task was to defeat them utilizing your senses and familiarity with the environment. Donatella found this to be a challenge of her mental and physical fortitude; however, like all of the training thrown at her, she soon mastered this discipline as well.

  Outnumbered, 11 to one, she decided to even the playing field – and once again she would be the aggressor. The lights flickered once and then plunged the library into darkness.

  Donatella sprung to her right concentrating on the last known location of the assailant closest to her. With a speed born through violence she hit the combatant squarely in the solar plexus with an open palm. Most of the blow had been absorbed by the vest he wore across his chest; however, the force of the blow was enough to cause him to stumble. She followed up the attack by sweeping his legs, knocking the assailant to the ground. She swiftly pulled a Shinobi throwing knife from its sheath plunging the tip of the blade through his carotid artery. A warm spray of blood shot from his neck as his heart continued to push blood through the arteries.

  She extracted the knife from the dying man’s neck and in one fluid motion while perched on one knee she flung the throwing knife through the darkness encompassing the library. The blade arched through the air, silent in its flight. Donatella didn’t wait for the impact, instead she rose quickly and ran to her left.

  Just before she heard the initial volley of gunfire, she heard a body hit the ground, two down she thought. She recalled a table roughly five feet from her starting position. She slid through the table’s opening extracting her Sig Sauer P226. Ears tuning for the slightest sound, she heard the sound of gun brushing against leather 30 degrees to her left. The sound was consistent in his movement thus the enemy was stationary. She turned the requisite 30 degrees and fired two shots in quick succession.

  She was rewarded with the sound of metal clanging against the floor followed by a muted thud. The intensity in the gunfire continued to fly harmlessly above her with only a couple making contact with the table.

  She could hear the footsteps of the remaining two men on the left. They were attempting to regroup – mistake on their end. Silently, she army crawled from underneath the table, stood from her prone position and ran toward the direction of the sound. Not wanting to give away her location, she pulled the retractable baton from its holder, popping it open with a quick flick of the wrist. She heard the sound as it shot to its full length; however, with the chatter of gunfire she was sure the two men close to her position had not noticed.

  To their detriment, they began speaking much too loudly to accommodate the sound of the overpowering gunfire. Donatella, in a backhanded motion, connected the baton with the kneecap of the man closest to her. The metal on bone made an audible crunch. The unsuspecting foe yelled out loud from the surprise and brutality of the impact against his knee. Instinctively, he brought his hand down to his affected area. What started out to be a backhand, turned into a forehand coming back toward her body. This motion connected with the extended elbow shattering the articular capsule and the lateral ulnar collateral ligament.

  The arm hung useless next to his body as he screamed in pain once again. The quick violent attacks finally materialized within his brain and his body crumbled to the ground. He would be out of the fight. His partner realizing they were under attack struggled to extract his sidearm. Similar to their elevated voices, this delay in extracting his weapon aided in his demise.

  During her evaluation of the room, she realized this particular combatant was taller than his buddies with an abnormally long torso. As a result, the vest he wore was poorly fitted. His chest was covered; however, his left and right kidneys were slightly exposed. Donatella swiftly rotated to his left side. Sensing her aiming point, she swung the baton with a ferocity that nearly lifted the agent from her feet.

  As the yell of anguish left his lungs, his body trying to protect itself arched backward exposing his windpipe. Unrelenting, she bounced the baton on the jutting Adam’s apple, silencing the yell and probably compressing the windpipe. She thought, five down – six to go.

  The remaining assailants, realizing they were firing in the wrong direction, trained their fire in the location of the yells. She quickly flattened herself to the ground as bullets riddled the still elevated body of the last man who was probably near death already. Their fire discipline and regard for their comrades had been displaced with fear and self-preservation.

  After a few moments the constant gunfire in the library ended abruptly and Donatella could sense the landscape within the library shifting.

  From her earpiece, she heard Detective Sampson say, “Location Alpha is a dry hole – an empty room. Making my way to location Beta.” SA Dabria let her frustration dissipate and once again focused on her task at hand.

  In the distance, directly in front of her starting position, she could hear the sound of the stacks rolling on its wheels. With her eyes closed, even with the room cast in darkness, she reoriented herself in the three-dimensional space. She listened for the slightest sound and felt for the slight shift in air current.

  She quickly moved up the left side of the room, now empty of potential danger, in a wider arc than probably necessary. Before coming level with the stacks, she heard a slight rustling. It was the sound of a man crouching and grappling for a table or a chair to presumably use as a shield. The sounds of his breathing would be faint to others; however, to her finely tuned ears it was a natural beacon. She extracted another throwing knife while listening to catch the rhythm of his breaths. Within two more inhalations, she had a bead on his location. The knife exploded from her hand and a second later the breathing had stopped. Later, when the body would be examined, the medical examiner would find the knife protruding the bridge of his nose directly between his eyes. Six assailants accounted for, now headed for the homestretch.

  She had expelled two rounds from her 15-round cartridge. With five enemies remaining, she liked her chances of disposing of them quickly. “Marcellous, library lights. Give me a three second countdown.”

  She kept her eyes closed knowing the initial burst of light would temporarily dazzle anyone with their eyes still open. She pulled her Sig Sauer from its holster crouching with the anticipation. The countdown began in her ear. When Marcellous hit one, she waited an extra second and then opened her eyes.

  Partially hidden by the stacks was a man crouched with his head slightly visible. Donatella fired two-shots and quickly shifted her gaze looking for another target. A woman caught in the middle of the room, obviously moving from the right side of the library back toward the stacks, had her arm covering her eyes. Donatella took aim at the arm and let off two more shots. Nine bullets remaining, three foes.

  Gunfire erupted from behind her and she fell to the ground. The shots whizzed by harmlessly and she had not been hit. She turned toward the threat realizing the man was simply firing and did not have a target in sight; however, this made him her next prime target.

  From her prone position, she could only see the lower half of his body. She fired a shot directly into the groin violently knocking the man from his feet. When his body hit the ground, head facing her, she fired off one more round and then rolled to her left and jumped back to her crouched position. One man and one woman remaining.

  She scanned the room darting her eyes to the stacks and then back to the right side of the library. She saw no forms and felt no movement.
The last two were either better at hiding than their comrades or they had been taken out by friendly fire. Though she would appreciate the latter, she wouldn’t count on it.

  She walked back closer to the stacks. She played back their configuration from when she entered the room and thought back to the sound she heard of them moving when in the darkness. The ones in the middle had been drawn closer together.

  She sprinted to the end of the stack closest to her and began traversing the remainder, one by one, until she reached the middle two. She momentarily paused and then with her gun extended she stepped out from behind the covering aiming down her sights – an empty row. She ran the calculation quickly through her head, this had to be right. She felt the movement coming from above her all too late.

  The man crashed into her with enough force to send her gun spinning under the stacks causing her to fall to the ground with him landing next to her. She scrambled to her feet as quickly as she could realizing he too was on his feet at the same time.

  He was quick sending a jab toward her face, which she parried pushing aside the blow with her right hand and countering with her left. The blow missed as he ducked and spun to his left. They faced each other, Donatella feeling exposed as her back was now to the opening of the room though momentarily covered by the stacks.

  He charged, deciding he would be the aggressor in this dance, looking as if he would try to sweep her leg; however, at the last minute he reverse pivoted and connected with her rib. She’d had worse impacts to her ribs; however, she had saw those coming and was always able to soften the blow. Admittedly, he caught her off guard and though the power behind the kick was lacking, she received 100 percent of the impact causing her to crumble slightly.

  She sensed his left fist moving toward her head and not wanting to take the full impact, continued her fold to the left down to the ground. He missed causing him to slightly go off balance. She aimed a straightforward thrust kick to the knee, but he shifted his leg at the last second, so she caught him with a weak attempt to the shin.