Chapter 6 - The Trap Springs
The fury that surged through my veins was unlike anything I had ever experienced in combat. It was a cold, blinding white heat that threatened to erase every shred of my military training.
"David," Marcus’s urgent voice cracked through my earbud. "We’ve got a problem. Guard 3 just found the cut glass on the patio door. They know someone’s inside!"
Red alarm lights began flashing along the ceiling corridors. A loud siren began to wail across the estate.
"Secure the drive!" I shouted, pulling the data extraction key from the server rack as the progress bar hit 100%.
I stepped out of the server room just as two armed mercenaries rounded the corner of the basement hallway, their rifles raised.
"Freeze!" one shouted.
Before he could finish the word, I lunged forward, grabbing the barrel of his rifle and forcing it upward as a burst of gunfire shattered the ceiling tiles. I drove my elbow hard into his throat, spinning him around to use as a shield against his partner’s shot. The second guard’s bullet struck his partner’s body armor, and I swept the second guard’s legs out from under him, driving my heel down onto his collarbone with sickening precision.
Both guards were neutralized in less than four seconds.
I retrieved their weapons, clearing the chamber, and moved swiftly up the basement stairs toward the main hall.
Claire and Vance were rushing down the grand staircase, Vance carrying a silver briefcase containing physical bearer bonds, Claire clutching her coat and purse.
When Claire saw me emerge from the basement floor, covered in shadows, holding a captured rifle, she stopped dead in her tracks.
"David?!" she shrieked, her eyes going wide with pure terror. "How... how did you get in here?!"
Julian Vance panicked, pulling a small chrome pistol from his jacket and aiming it directly at my head. "Stay back, Ward! I swear to God I’ll shoot you!"
"Julian," I said, my voice eerily calm as I walked toward them, step by deliberate step. "You’re holding the weapon incorrectly. Your wrist is weak."
Before Vance could squeeze the trigger, a flashbang grenade thrown by Knox through the high glass skylight exploded directly above Vance’s head with a deafening CRACK and a blinding burst of white light.
Vance screamed, dropping his pistol as he clutched his bloodied ears, falling down the remaining stairs onto the marble floor.
Claire tried to run toward the back exit, but I moved faster than she could think. I blocked her path, grabbing her by the collar of her coat and spinning her around until she was slammed against the cold marble column.
"David! Please!" Claire sobbed, her face pale, tears smearing her makeup. "It’s not what you think! Vance forced me into this! He threatened to hurt you and the kids if I didn't help him!"
I leaned down until my face was inches from hers.
"I saw the video, Claire," I whispered. "I saw Valerie begging you for help while she was bleeding from her ribs. I saw you leave her alone to die for an insurance policy."
Claire’s fake tears vanished instantly. Her expression froze into a mask of pure, ugly malice.
"You're nothing," she spat at me, her voice venomous. "You're a broken soldier playing house! You could never give me the life I deserved!"
"You're right," I said softly. "I couldn't give you this life. But I can give you your next one."
I pulled out my phone, clicking the speaker button.
"Special Agent Hendricks," I said into the microphone. "The target property is secure. The primary server data has been transmitted to your secure server. You are clear for entry."
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Outside, the night sky suddenly lit up with dozens of red and blue flashing lights. The sound of law enforcement helicopters roared overhead, searchlights cutting through the fog to illuminate the floor-to-ceiling windows of the estate.
Federal agents, SWAT teams, and state police vehicles breached the front gates, swarming the estate within seconds.
