Chapter 4 - The Darkness Falls
The heavy silence that followed the power outage was instantly broken by the hum of emergency backup generators.
Dim red tactical lights flickered on across the entire training compound.
"Singh, get those weapon shipment files uploaded using the satellite uplink immediately," I commanded.
"They jammed our satellite frequency, sir," Singh replied frantically, tapping his dark screen.
"Someone placed a military-grade signal blocker right outside our perimeter wall."
I realized Arthur Hawthorne was not just a corrupt businessman.
He was a high-level logistics manager for one of the most dangerous cartels in the world.
He had sent a professional hit squad to silence us before the sun came up.
"Tessa, initiate protocol midnight," I shouted into my analog radio.
"Lock down the infirmary and protect Lily with your life."
I grabbed my customized rifle and a pair of night-vision goggles from the armory locker.
I slipped out the back door of the operations center and melted into the freezing shadows.
The rain began to pour heavily, masking the sound of my tactical boots on the wet gravel.
Through the green tint of my goggles, I spotted four figures dressed in absolute black scaling the eastern fence.
They moved with a terrifying, silent fluidity that proved they were highly trained mercenaries.
They were not local thugs; they were cartel sicarios sent to clean up Arthur's massive mistake.
I flanked their position, moving silently behind a stack of rusted shipping containers.
"No lethal force unless absolutely necessary," I reminded my team over the encrypted earpieces.
"We need them alive to testify against the Hawthorne family."
I stepped out from cover and fired three precise, non-lethal rubber baton rounds.
The kinetic impact knocked the first two mercenaries completely off their feet.
The third mercenary spun around and fired a burst of suppressed live ammunition at my chest.
The bullets sparked violently against the metal container just inches from my head.
Before he could correct his aim, a trainee dropped from the roof above and incapacitated him with a taser.
The fourth mercenary panicked and sprinted toward the infirmary building.
I chased him across the muddy courtyard, my heart pounding with pure adrenaline.
He kicked open the infirmary door and raised his weapon toward Lily's bed.
Before he could pull the trigger, Tessa stepped from the shadows and struck him fiercely with the butt of her rifle.
The mercenary collapsed unconscious onto the linoleum floor.
I rushed into the room and checked on Lily, who was terrified but completely unharmed.
"Is it over?" she whispered, gripping the edge of her blanket.
"The first wave is over, but they will send more," I told her honestly.
I knelt down and pulled the black tactical mask off the unconscious mercenary's face.
I recognized him immediately from my time serving overseas in special operations.
He was a disgraced former ranger named Vance, a man who only worked for the highest bidder.
I tied his hands with heavy zip-ties and splashed a cup of ice water onto his face.
Vance gasped and opened his eyes, glaring at me with pure hatred.
"You are a dead man, Marcus," Vance spat, struggling against the heavy plastic restraints.
"Arthur Hawthorne does not have the money to hire your unit," I said coldly.
May you like
"Arthur didn't hire me, you idiot," Vance laughed with a bloody smile.
"Your ex-wife Marissa paid us two million dollars to ensure her stepdaughter never talks."
