Her tactical goggles revealed heat signatures moving frantically through the building. Two guards appeared at the end of the hallway, their rifles sweeping back and forth through the smoke. Trina pressed herself against a corroded wall, controlling her breathing. The first guard passed within inches of her position. She struck like a viper.
Her hand clamped over his mouth while her other arm locked around his throat in a rear naked choke. He thrashed, but her grip was iron. Within seconds, he slumped unconscious. She lowered him silently to the floor. "Joey, you see something?"
The second guard called out, moving closer. Trina waited until he was just past her before stepping out. He spun, raising his weapon, but she was already inside his guard. Her palm strike crushed his nose. As he staggered, she grabbed his rifle barrel, twisting it away while driving her knee into his solar plexus.
He doubled over, gasping. A precise strike to the base of his skull put him down. Screams echoed from somewhere ahead. Trina moved faster, checking corners as she advanced. The corridor opened into a processing area filled with rusty hooks and ancient machinery.
A third guard stood there holding a terrified teenage girl in front of him like a shield. His pistol pressed against her temple. Stop right there, he shouted. One more step and I'll kill her. The girl sobbed, trembling in his grip.
Trina raised her hands slowly, appearing to surrender. "Let her go," Trina said calmly. "You don't want to make this worse for yourself." "Shut up. Put your weapon down now."
Trina carefully lowered her Glock to the floor. As she straightened up, her hand brushed the smoke grenade on her belt. In one fluid motion, she pulled the pin and rolled it toward them. Dense white smoke erupted between them. The guard instinctively loosened his grip on the girl.
That split second was all Trina needed. She surged forward as the girl broke free, tackling the guard before he could aim. They crashed into a metal table. His pistol skittered away across the floor. The guard was bigger, but Trina had years of combat training.
She blocked his wild punch and countered with sharp elbow strikes to his face. When he tried to grapple, she used his momentum against him, sweeping his legs and taking him down hard. A quick arm bar hyperextended his elbow until something popped. His scream cut off as she choked him unconscious. "Are you hurt?"
Trina asked the girl, who huddled against a wall. "No," she stammered. "There are others in the freezer. Show me." The girl led her to a massive walk-in cold storage unit.