Free Sons of Abraham: Terminate by Joseph Ray

already squeezed the trigger and dropped the small man onto the floor. 
                  The duo salvaged what they could from the bodies, pulling unused clips for their pistols and a set of key cards from the small man.  They followed the hall, choosing to take the stairwell opposite of the one they’d used as a trap.  Bearden smashed the door open, his gun aimed up the stairs as Janys covered the other landing.  The duo moved on, taking the next flight of stairs.
                  They stopped at the next floor, number eighteen.  Bearden swore as the room was closer to being finished than the other two floors above, realizing that the next floor or the one after would have cameras hooked up to a monitoring station. 
                  “Oh that’s a bitch,” he muttered.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    3 CHAPTER THREE
     
                    Tana had excused herself, leaving Agent Calloway and Commander Dayne alone in his office.  The two men made small talk for several minutes, but business started to lift its ugly head, demanding for their attention.
                  “I assume you wish to talk to the prisoners?” Bastiian offered.
                  “That’d be smart,” Nathan replied.
                  Bastiian nodded and led him from the office.  They continued down the long hallway of light stone walls, passing several men in gray armor.  Each man stood to the wall and gave a deep bow to the Commander as he passed.  Nathan wasn’t sure if his back could have withstood a lifetime of such gesturing.  They passed several rooms, then reached a tunnel that led to the next floor.  Nathan had expected stairs, but he didn’t object as his legs were cramped from too much sitting. 
                  “You were disappointed when you met me,” Bastiian started.
                  Nathan’s mouth fell open in protest, but he couldn’t find the proper words to counter the Commander’s suggestion.  He closed his mouth, still searching for something to say as the Commander closed his eyes and nodded.
                  “I assure you, I am not insulted,” he continued.  “My armor is far more famous than my body, perhaps even my name.  The armory is on the way to the prison.  I will gladly show you.”
                  Nathan nodded as the tunnel leveled out.  They passed several large openings, each with rows of glass chambers.  Most were empty, but a few held the gray armor that Nathan had seen the newer recruits wearing.  The next chamber had one blue armor, with seven empty glass shelving units.  They reached the next room on the left.  The Commander pressed his thumb to a tiny pad on the wall, forcing the door to open. 
                  The heavy wooden door pushed open from its frame.  Bastiian shoved it the remainder of its journey, leading Nathan into the single chamber.  There, in the middle of the room, stood the gold and white armor of the Commander.  It was perched on a glass shelf system, divided by the size of the armor it contained.  The helmet was on the top shelf, its gold trim basking in the spotlights of the room.  The chest piece rested in the middle, the center unhinged, waiting for its wearer to need it.  Gantlets rested in narrow shelves to each side, two golden boots on the floor, and two sets of leg cover in the middle. 
                  They circled around the glass unit, allowing for Nathan to see the remarkable set from every angle.  The light glistened off the gold trim, the white seemed to absorb it.  On the back of the unit, a cape was hung, cloth made of fine golden silk.  His eyes went up, catching sight of the tail of hair that laid from the top of the helmet, flowing down the back to the base.  On the wall next to the glass unit rested an enormous shield, colored the same as the armor, and with fine etchings around the