Chapter 8 - Siege at the Glass Fortress
The Glass Fortress was under siege. As our SUV crested the hill leading to the property, the night sky was lit up by the muzzle flashes of automatic weapons. Victor and his men were trying to breach the reinforced bulletproof glass of the main living room.
The three guards I had left behind were returning fire from fortified positions, but they were pinned down.
"Cut the headlights!" I yelled to Marcus.
We rolled to a stop at the edge of the tree line. We were coming up behind Victor’s men. They were so focused on the house they hadn't heard our approach over the gunfire.
"Take the two on the left. I'll take the right," I signaled to Marcus.
We moved through the snow like ghosts. The billionaire CEO was gone. In his place was a man defending his blood.
I raised my rifle, sighted the mercenary nearest to the patio, and squeezed the trigger. He dropped instantly. Marcus took out another.
Chaos erupted. Victor’s men turned, realizing they were flanked. A brutal firefight broke out in the snow. Bullets shredded the pine trees, sending showers of wood and ice down on us.
I moved from cover to cover, my focus absolute. Two more mercenaries went down under Marcus's precision fire. But Victor was nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the side of the house. Victor had used a breaching charge on the steel reinforced kitchen door. Smoke poured out of the side of the cabin.
"He's inside!" I shouted, breaking cover and sprinting across the open snow toward the breached door. Bullets whipped past me, but I didn't slow down.
I threw myself through the smoke-filled doorway, coughing, my rifle raised. The kitchen was a wreck of shattered marble and twisted metal.
I moved silently down the hallway toward the command center. The heavy steel door of the panic room was at the end of the hall.
Victor was standing in front of it, wiring a block of C4 explosive to the locking mechanism.
"Drop it, Victor!" I roared, leveling my weapon at his chest.
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He froze, turning slowly to face me. He held the detonator in his hand, a bloody smile on his face. "You're too late, Vance. You pull that trigger, my thumb slips, the C4 blows the door, and the concussive force turns your wife and kid to jelly inside that metal box."
Stalemate.
