Chapter 5 - The Blackout
The grand foyer was plunged into absolute pitch blackness.
The heavy blast doors on all the mansion's windows slammed shut automatically.
An emergency siren began wailing from the estate’s security system.
“Someone just cut the main power grid,” one of the federal agents shouted in the dark.
I kept my knee firmly planted on Wesley’s chest, finally prying the gun from his fingers.
I grabbed the microchip from the floor and shoved it into my pocket.
Red emergency lights flickered to life along the baseboards, casting long, bloody shadows across the room.
My father barked orders, establishing a defensive perimeter in the center of the foyer.
“They have breached the outer gates,” my father warned.
Richard Pembroke was sobbing in the corner, clutching his knees to his chest.
“It is the syndicate,” Richard wailed.
“We missed our delivery window, and now they are here to liquidate us.”
Margaret finally looked terrified, realizing her own buyers were now coming to kill her.
I picked up June, who had started to cry from the sound of the alarms.
My father grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the hallway.
“You need to get the baby to the estate’s panic room right now,” he ordered.
I asked him if he was coming with me.
He shook his head, racking the slide of his sidearm.
“I have to hold the chokepoint at the front doors,” he said.
I didn't argue with a commanding officer.
I sprinted down the long, red-lit hallway toward the library, dodging antique furniture in the dim light.
I reached the bookshelf that concealed the reinforced steel door of the panic room.
I punched in the entry code Wesley had once carelessly mentioned during a drunken argument.
The heavy steel door hissed open.
I stepped inside the safe room, ready to lock the deadbolts behind me.
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I froze when I saw the silhouette of a man already standing inside.
He stepped out of the shadows, wearing full tactical gear and holding a suppressed submachine gun.
