Han Xin heard one of his troops yell just before the terrible sounds that followed. The sound of two different pieces of metal grinding against each other was awful. The door to the bomb shelter was forced open as a result of the impact. At first it was unclear what had impacted the shelter, but it definitely was not a bomb. There were no flames bursting and the way the wall was forced inward was altogether different from a bomb.
As more members of his team came rushing toward the opposite end of the shelter it became clear what had happened. A helicopter had crashed into the wall. And this was certainly no accident. Han knew at that moment not only was Qi Lian still alive, but she was here. It was his worst fear come true.
Han turned to his technicians.
"You fire as many nuclear weapons as you can, do you understand? We will handle the problem outside. The rest of you get up and let's go. We have some business to take care of!" Han shouted.
The Red Tide soldiers closest to the door began clearing the rubble out of the way. Han Xin walked to the door and began pushing the remnants of the helicopter out from the building. Several of his soldiers flanked him with guns drawn as protection. Han was using the metal as a shield to protect himself from any bullets that might begin to fly. Once the helicopter was far enough out the Red Tide soldiers filed out quickly, looking for their attackers.
Once they got out from the edge of the building, bullets did begin to fly and they seemed to be coming from several different directions. Several of the Red Tide soldiers sustained injuries thanks to catching stray bullets in various body parts. Red Tide soldiers began running in various directions attempting to find the sources of the bullets.
Once all of his battle ready soldiers exited the building, Han Xin crept out. He knew he would be the primary target so he proceeded with caution. Han took a look around after sneaking out, trying to find his target in Qi Lian. At that moment Han felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He turned to see Qi Lian, who had stabbed him while still fighting with several Red Tide soldiers.
Han reached back and grabbed the knife from his shoulder. He yelped in pain as the blade exited his body and then focused his attention on Qi Lian.
Qi Lian was surrounded by about a dozen Red Tide soldiers at that point. They had come to Han's assistance, as any good soldiers would to protect their leader.
As good as Qi Lian was, and she was good, there was no way she could survive a fight with that many Red Tide soldiers. Han smiled as they all moved closer to her.
Qi Lian was actively fighting with 4 of the soldiers as it was and she was barely able to hold them off. Then Han heard bullets firing from off in the distance. They were being fired into the group that was attacking Qi Lian. And they were effective. One soldier was shot in the head and several others were injured in various ways.
Han was able to see the direction the bullets were coming from now. When it became clear the shooter was reloading, Han began running in that direction as fast as he could. His injured ankle was feeling significantly better than it had been earlier in the day and he once again was able to make use of his superhuman speed. Han began zigging and zagging to avoid the bullets which were flying in his direction.
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Han had an idea of who was shooting at him. And he knew if he was correct he would have all he needed to end this fight with Qi Lian.
As he got closer he found one last burst of speed, before finally slamming into two men with his shoulders. The impact knocked both backwards a significant distance. Han walked over to the now bloodied and dazed men. One of them he did not recognize, but the other's face was quite familiar.
Han reached down and snapped the neck of the man he didn't recognize.
"NO YOU BASTARD!" He heard Clayton say.
Next he reached down and picked up the now battered Clayton. He ripped the gun away from Clayton's hand. Clayton attempted to punch Han, but Han quickly moved out of the way, landing a punch of his own. The force of this blow knocked Clayton unconscious to the ground.
Han picked Clayton up and threw him over his shoulder. Now Han began walking back in the direction of the fight. He could see that his soldiers had split into two groups. One group which was fighting Qi Lian, and another group which was fighting another group of people.
Han saw that one of the men in the other group was clearly superhuman, in the way that he fought. But he was on the losing end of that fight. He was completely overwhelmed by the Red Tide soldiers, who now had him on the ground and were kicking him forcefully.
The others were human, Han could tell by their movements as well. One was trying to beat on the back of a Red Tide soldier to no avail. Another was hiding behind the cars and a third was firing his weapon at the soldiers, that is until one came over and grabbed the gun from him.
"You have fought valiantly Qi Lian. Truly I am impressed. But your pathetic makeshift unit has failed. The launch of nuclear weapons has begun and you will die here today. But I will make you a deal Qi Lian. Your precious Clayton and the rest of your team, with the exception of the super soldier, do not have to die right now. If you give up peacefully I will let them go. And if they find shelter quickly enough, they will survive." Han yelled in the direction of Qi Lian.
At that moment the fighting stopped. The soldiers had rounded up Qi Lian's "military" unit and the only one who was even left to fight was Qi Lian herself. Han's troops backed away from Qi Lian giving her the chance to respond.
Han could see Qi Lian surveying the scene. She looked first at Clayton's unconscious body laying on the shoulder of Han Xin. She could see the battered Jeffrey who was being propped up by two Red Tide soldiers. She was able see Martin and Dhruv and Noah standing in a line with a Red Tide soldier behind each of them.
Han could tell that Qi Lian was trying to quickly analyze her options. But she really had none. This time he had truly won the war. There was no escape for Qi Lian, and his offer to her was quite generous.
Han had been so laser focused on Qi Lian that he hadn't noticed until now the eerily familiar noise that was coming from the sky. This time he pinpointed it right away. That was a helicopter, or rather several helicopters. The noise became louder and louder. This was more than several helicopters, it was a lot of them. Han couldn't make out how many, but there were more than he cared to count. And they all seemed to be converging on Fort Tilden.
Qi Lian used the confusion as an opportunity to knock down a few Red Tide soldiers. She ran toward the soldiers who were holding her makeshift military unit.
"Get down!" He heard Qi Lian yell.
"Kill her!" Han ordered.
Just then bullets once again filled the air, but this time in far higher abundance than before. The helicopters were shooting at them. Han began to run, forgetting that he had Clayton on his back. At that moment it didn't matter. Getting to safety was all he was worried about.