Chapter 3 - THE BREACH AT THE GATES
The monitor flickered as the infrared cameras captured the figures moving methodically through the falling snow outside my gates.
There were four of them. No insignia on their tactical gear. No logos. But the way they moved—synchronized, carrying suppressed carbines, sweeping their sectors with lethal military precision—told me everything I needed to know.
They weren't local thugs. They were professionals.
“Boss,” Prescott said, his voice dropping into a low, deadly register as he drew his Glock. “They’re cutting the perimeter sensors.”
I looked away from the monitor and locked eyes with Elena. She had backed away, her hands pressed against her mouth, her face completely drained of color.
“They found you,” I stated, it wasn't a question.
“I had to use my transit card to cross the city line this morning,” Elena choked out, panic overriding her composure. “I knew they tracked public registries, but I thought... I thought I had more time.”
“Nobody gets past these walls without a war,” I said coldly.
I reached beneath my heavy mahogany desk, pressing a hidden steel toggle switch. A heavy motorized panel slid open in the wood-paneled wall behind me, revealing the illuminated interior of my private armory. Rows of assault rifles, tactical vests, and boxes of ammunition gleamed in the cool LED light.
Prescott didn't hesitate. He stepped into the armory, grabbing an M4 carbine and checking the chamber with a sharp, metallic click.
“Hale,” I ordered, stepping up to the console. “Activate the inner courtyard automated defense grid. Seal the main residence. And get a secure medical transport ready in the sub-level garage. We are moving Jonah and Blythe out of the hospital tonight.”
“Move them?” Prescott paused, looking back at me. “Boss, they’re on life-support-adjacent monitors. Moving them could— ”
“Staying here guarantees they die,” I interrupted, my voice cutting through any argument. “If Vance’s men are here, this estate is no longer a home. It’s a target.”
I turned back to Elena. She was standing by the window, watching the shadows move beyond the frosted glass.
“You,” I said, stepping right up to her. “You came here with a silver necklace, a forged-looking medical file, and a story about engineered leukemia. But right now, you are the only person in this room who knows how to read the decryption keys for my children's bloodwork.”
Elena looked up, her tear-stained eyes fierce and unyielding. “I told you the truth, Mr. Mercer. And if you want your children to see tomorrow, you need to trust me.”
Before I could answer, a dull, concussive boom echoed from the front of the property.
The entire estate shook.
May you like
A pillar of orange flame blossomed on the monitor as the outer security gate’s reinforced lock was blown wide open with a shaped explosive charge.
The war had come to my doorstep.
