Chapter 98: Begin the Operation

Chapter 98: Chapter 98: Begin the Operation

The moment Zoe Sawyer spoke, all eyes were on her.

That was it!

’How could we have forgotten about that!’

Heath Hale carefully observed the guards in the four corners, then pointed to one of them. "Let’s go for this one first," he said. "He looks like he’s about to fall asleep. Zoe, see if you can get the door to appear behind him."

As he spoke, Sean Hughes at his side silently readied his tranquilizer gun. The moment they were through, he would immediately fire a dart.

They had to neutralize this group as quickly as possible.

Zoe Sawyer nodded. Following the same procedure as last time, she quickly moved the door behind the guard.

"Huh? Urgh..."

The guard heard a sound behind him, but before he could even turn to look, Sean Hughes took him down with a single dart.

Evan Keller, with his quick reflexes, caught the man, stopping him from collapsing to the ground and alerting the other three guards.

With the first one down, Zoe Sawyer handled the remaining three with practiced ease.

In just a few minutes, all three were taken down.

"Next up is the surveillance room. According to our informant, it should be next to the main entrance on the first floor." Following Frank Keller’s description, Evan Keller quickly pinpointed the location.

The white house was under surveillance. If they wanted to handle this quietly, the surveillance room had to be the first target.

After confirming the target, Zoe Sawyer quickly moved the door to the entrance of the surveillance room.

She had just opened a thin crack when she came face-to-face with a terrified expression.

’Not good!’

Sean Hughes fired his tranquilizer gun. The man was taken down before the warning could even leave his lips.

Evan Keller caught the man with a practiced move.

The team then repeated the process, taking down everyone in the surveillance room.

Once they confirmed the room was clear of any other threats, Evan Keller and Sean Hughes led their team through the doorway, crowding into the small space.

Officer Lee put his skills to work, deftly navigating the surveillance system while keeping an eye on the active monitors.

Soon, they noticed something was wrong.

On every floor, two guards would enter a patient’s room and, not two minutes later, come out carrying an unconscious person.

They were men and women of all different ethnicities.

The guards on the screen then headed purposefully toward the first-floor kitchen.

"What’s the plan? Do we go straight to the kitchen, or do we take care of the ones upstairs first?" Sean Hughes asked, pointing at the screen.

Heath Hale stroked his chin, thought for a few seconds, discussed it with Evan Keller, and then quickly made a decision. "Sean, you take your squad up the stairs and take care of the guards up there. The rest of you, follow Evan and head straight for the kitchen.

The moment anyone comes out, take them down!"

There were still many innocent people in the rooms upstairs. Those guards couldn’t be left to roam free; they were a liability.

"What about that director who was yelling at people? Where’s his office? Do we need to subdue him first?" Zoe Sawyer asked, remembering the man she had heard cursing in the white house the first time she was here.

’He’s a target, too. Shouldn’t we grab him?’

"The informant said the director only goes to two places at night: either the underground lab or his own home," Evan Keller said, shaking his head.

With their tasks assigned, Sean Hughes led his squad and crept quietly upstairs.

Officer Lee remained in the surveillance room, maintaining contact with everyone via his earpiece.

"Zoe, the kitchen. Get us there," Heath Hale said, patting her on the shoulder and telling her to move the door.

This was an emergency operation. The key was to catch them completely by surprise.

So everything had to be quick and decisive, leaving them no chance to counterattack.

The Chief had already gone through the provincial bureau to contact the local authorities. As soon as the victims were rescued, the locals would take over. They were probably waiting for the go-ahead right now.

They would leave the jurisdictional squabbling to the professionals and stay out of it.

Zoe Sawyer said nothing. ’I’m just a dispassionate, door-opening robot,’ she thought.

Upon entering the kitchen, Evan Keller and Heath Hale positioned their teams on either side of the entrance to the underground lab, just as they’d seen on the monitors.

About five minutes later, they heard footsteps coming from below.

"They’re coming!"

Heath Hale waved his hand, signaling for everyone to get ready.

At a signal from Barry Quinn, Zoe Sawyer moved the door to one side so it wouldn’t be immediately visible to anyone emerging. She readied a tranquilizer gun as well.

Soon, the hidden entrance between Evan Keller and Heath Hale’s positions opened, and a tall, burly man with a thick beard stepped out.

He was looking back as he walked, chatting with a companion behind him, completely oblivious to the ambush waiting on either side.

The moment he emerged, Evan Keller fired his tranquilizer gun.

Before the man’s companion could react, Evan Keller and Heath Hale sprang into motion, firing a volley of darts down the narrow passage.

They didn’t need to worry about accuracy. In such a narrow passage, there was nowhere to hide.

One of the men in the back realized something was wrong. He had just turned to run back and sound the alarm when Zoe Sawyer, who had already positioned herself behind them, took him down with a single shot.

The whole thing was over in less than a minute. The completely unsuspecting guards were all taken down by Zoe Sawyer and her team.

"Nice work!" Heath Hale said as he walked down the passage, giving each of the fallen guards an extra dose from his tranquilizer gun to make sure no one was faking it.

Just then, a report came in from Sean Hughes.

"We’re all clear up here," came his report as he directed his team to move the guards into an elevator. "But the people in the rooms are out cold. All the noise didn’t even stir them.

I suspect they’ve been drugged."

Heath Hale nodded. ’That must be it.’

If the sanatorium’s staff hadn’t drugged everyone beforehand, they couldn’t have guaranteed all the patients would be asleep during their operation.

"Good work. Move these guys to the main hall and keep an eye on them. We’re almost at the lab entrance," Heath Hale said, giving orders without breaking stride. He quickly reached the corner before the main door.

He looked at the reinforced door in the distance, noting the video intercom mounted on it.

’If we just rush it, we’ll be spotted before we even get there.’

"I’ll do it!"

Zoe Sawyer took one look and knew it was her time to step up again.

"Our informant said there are large vats against the wall directly opposite the door," Evan Keller said, recalling Frank Keller’s description. "See if you can open the door behind one of them, or to the side. Ideally, right behind one of the scientists."

Zoe Sawyer nodded. ’I know what to do.’

A moment later, the door opened once more.

A figure in a white lab coat appeared before them, head down, absorbed in their work.

"Who’s there!"