Chapter 10 - The Unseen Puppet Master
The firefight inside the grand foyer raged for ten brutal minutes,
the air thick with the sharp smell of cordite,
plaster dust,
and smoke.
Gabriel Vance's mercenaries were hardened professionals,
but they were fighting inside my fortress,
against men who were defending their home.
One by one,
Gabriel's men fell to our coordinated crossfire.
Julian locked down the western hallway,
while Dominic,
having successfully secured the children in the deep vault below,
rejoined the fight from the rear entrance,
cutting off Gabriel's retreat.
Realizing his force was decimated,
Gabriel dropped his empty shotgun and ran toward the shattered front entrance,
stumbling over the bodies of his fallen men.
I vaulted over the mezzanine railing,
landing heavily on the marble floor twenty feet below,
absorbing the impact before sprinting after him.
I caught Gabriel on the wet,
rain-slicked driveway outside.
I tackled him from behind,
sending us both crashing into the mud beside a burning tactical vehicle.
Gabriel rolled over,
drawing a combat knife,
slashing wildly at my face.
I ducked under the blade,
grabbed his wrist,
and twisted it with brutal,
unforgiving force until the bone snapped with a sickening crack.
Gabriel shrieked in agony,
dropping the knife.
I drove my knee into his ribs,
pinning him to the muddy ground,
my boot pressed heavy against his throat.
"Where is District Attorney Sterling right now?"
I demanded,
staring down into his panicked eyes.
"Go to hell,
Ross!"
he choked out,
spitting blood onto my boot.
I leaned down,
pressing my pistol barrel directly against his knee joint.
"Wrong answer,
Gabriel.
You have three seconds before you lose the ability to walk forever."
"Wait!
Wait!"
he screamed,
his courage collapsing instantly under the cold threat.
"She's at the Federal Courthouse building downtown!
She's preparing a federal raid warrant for this estate right now!"
"A raid warrant?"
I asked,
my eyes narrowing.
"She used me to eliminate Marcus!"
Gabriel gasped,
struggling to breathe under the weight of my boot.
"She leaked the location of your son so you two would destroy each other!
She has twenty armed federal marshals moving to this location right now!
They're going to kill you,
take the evidence,
and claim it was a legitimate law enforcement action!"
Dominic ran out of the ruined front entrance,
his tactical radio buzzing furiously with reports from our street lookouts.
"Boss!"
Dominic shouted,
looking toward the main road.
"Federal sirens!
Three miles out!
Heavy convoys approaching!"
"Sterling is trying to close the loop,"
I said,
looking down at Gabriel Vance.
I clicked my pistol safety off,
striking Gabriel with the butt of my gun,
knocking him unconscious.
"Zip-tie him and throw him in the armored transport,"
I ordered Dominic.
"We're leaving the estate immediately."
"Where are we going,
Boss?"
Julian asked,
wiping blood from a scratch on his forehead.
"We're not running,
Julian,"
I said,
turning toward the garage where our heavy armored vehicles were idling.
"We're taking the fight to downtown Chicago.
We're going to breach the Federal Courthouse,
expose District Attorney Sterling to the entire nation,
and rescue my wife from the St. Charles safehouse."
I looked back at the house,
knowing that the safe room deep underground was impenetrable,
stocked with food and guarded by four of my most trusted bodyguards.
May you like
Lucas and Emily were safe.
Now,
