"Ah!" Mika screamed as a throwing star suddenly appeared, narrowly missing her. She turned and ran up the stairs in a panic.
"Mika's in trouble!" Gerard yelled through his earpiece. "Luke, protect Mika!"
"Understood." Luke Hobbs, accompanied by his 11 heavily armed team members, opened the rear door of their van and moved out in a tactical formation toward Mika.
Just as they advanced a few meters, the windows of Mika's apartment shattered. Two assassins, dressed in all black with their faces covered, jumped from the third floor, hurling more throwing stars at Mika.
Luckily for Mika, she had already stumbled from her fear, missing a step on the stairs and tumbling down painfully. This accident saved her life, as only one of the five or six throwing stars grazed her arm.
A sharp series of metallic clinks followed as the stars struck the marble. Luke Hobbs raised his M4 rifle and fired a burst at the two assassins who had just landed. His shots turned them into Swiss cheese.
The rest of the tactical team quickly pointed their weapons around, moving cautiously toward the now-motionless Mika. When they reached her, Luke knelt down and checked for a pulse. After confirming she was alive, he glanced up at her apartment. Through the broken window, he spotted another assassin, staring at him from behind the glass. The assassin made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand.
Without hesitation, Luke raised his rifle and fired a spray of bullets toward the assassin, but missed.
Suddenly, a flurry of throwing stars came flying out of the darkness toward Luke's team.
The assassins, hiding in the shadows, used the distraction to move stealthily while continuing their attack. Three tactical team members were killed instantly, and one was critically injured.
"Take cover! Take cover!" Luke shouted, dropping to the ground as he fired back in the direction of the throwing stars, taking down one of the attackers. He scooped up the unconscious Mika and dragged her behind a nearby car, shouting into his radio, "Cover! Cover!"
The surviving team members, now alert, returned fire while finding cover. Thanks to their numbers and firepower, the battle raged on for several more seconds. But it came at a high cost—after losing three more men to serious injuries, they finally managed to kill the last three assassins hiding in the shadows.
When the gunfire ceased and they no longer sensed danger, the remaining members cautiously approached their fallen comrades. The distant sound of sirens gave them a brief moment of relief. Supporting their injured teammates, they retreated to their van, driving off quickly toward the hospital.
At the hospital, after delivering the injured to the emergency room, Luke grabbed Gerard by the collar in the hallway. "You son of a bitch! You didn't tell me we were up against ninjas!"
"Calm down, Luke!" Gerard, knowing he was in the wrong, tried to explain. "I'm sorry, man, but even if I had told you we were dealing with ninjas, would you have believed me?"
"Huh?" Luke and the remaining tactical team members froze, realizing he had a point. They wouldn't have believed him. "Fuck!" Luke cursed, furious as he thought about the losses. Out of the 12-man team, only five remained standing, with three dead and four critically injured.
If there had been more than six assassins, they might have been completely wiped out.
Letting go of Gerard, Luke growled, "Tell me everything. My men didn't die for nothing."
"No problem," Gerard said, secretly pleased that Luke was now seeking revenge. During the fight, Gerard had hidden in the van and witnessed everything. The last thing he wanted was to face those deadly, merciless assassins again.
Meanwhile, David Maslow, who had just been rescued by Black Ghost, stared in horror at the five bodies lying in his living room. He had barely entered his home and hadn't even turned on the lights when someone grabbed him from behind and threw him against the wall.
Moments later, several throwing stars hit the spot where he had just been standing, striking the person who saved him. However, the stars clinked harmlessly to the ground, failing to penetrate the savior's body.
Then, six black-clad figures engaged in a brutal fight in his living room. In the end, the person who had saved him—wearing a black mask with dark lenses over the eyes—killed the other five and vanished into the shadows.
"As long as you continue investigating Ozunu, they won't stop trying to kill you."
"Who—who are you? Show yourself!" Maslow yelled, holding his gun toward the direction of the voice. "Why did you save me?"
There was no response. Cautiously, Maslow walked over to the light switch, turned it on, and saw five dead bodies sprawled across the floor. On the wall, a piece of white paper had been pinned with a throwing star.
Maslow approached the note and saw that it contained a set of coordinates and a hand-drawn map. In the center of the map was the word Ozunu. He quickly realized that this was the location of Ozunu's headquarters.
Just then, his phone buzzed with a text message from an unknown number. Maslow's blood ran cold as he read the message: it listed his ex-wife's address.
The message continued: "If they can't kill you, Ozunu will come after your children. They'll kidnap them, train them, and you can imagine what will happen when they return."
Rage replaced the fear in Maslow's heart. Clenching his teeth, he dialed a number and promised the person on the other end numerous conditions in exchange for their help. Once that was done, he immediately called his ex-wife.
"Ring, ring, ring." Gerard's phone buzzed in his pocket. Seeing that it was Maslow, he picked up. "What's going on?" he asked.
"You already know?" Maslow replied.
Gerard then explained everything that had just happened. After a brief pause, Maslow said, "Come back. I have a job for you."
"Understood. I'll be right there."
"By the way," Maslow added, "how's Mika?"
"She should be okay."
"Good. See you soon."
As soon as Gerard hung up, Luke grabbed him by the arm. "I'm coming with you. Don't even think about ditching me."
"Fine," Gerard agreed immediately, as he had planned to bring Luke along anyway. "But everything you see and hear from now on is top secret."
"No problem."
Luke quickly briefed his remaining teammates, then got into the car with Gerard and headed to the office building. Upon arriving at Maslow's office, Gerard introduced Luke and Maslow to each other before they sat down.
Maslow hesitated for a moment, glancing at Gerard. Gerard understood and reassured him, "Boss, I guarantee we can trust Luke. If it weren't for him, taking down three assassins on his own, we might not have made it back. Mika wouldn't be alive either."
"No, you're wrong, Gerard," Luke interrupted, shaking his head.
"What do you mean?" Gerard asked, surprised.
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