Chapter 3 - The Breach
Clara froze, the spoon dropping from her hand and clattering against the tray.
The three men did not look like the usual guards she saw patrolling the hallways.
They moved with brutal efficiency, their faces hidden behind dark balaclavas.
"Get away from the bed," the lead man barked, pressing the barrel of his rifle against Clara's temple.
Her breath hitched in her throat, but she slowly raised her hands and backed away.
Liam forced himself up onto his elbows, ignoring the excruciating pain in his abdomen.
"Who the hell let you in here?" Liam roared, his voice rattling the windows.
The leader didn't answer Liam.
He looked at the two other men.
"Grab the boss. We're moving him to the secondary location right now."
"Wait!" Clara yelled, stepping forward despite the gun pointed at her head.
"He can't be moved! The fixator pins in his leg will tear through the bone if he's not stabilized on a backboard!"
The leader struck Clara across the face with the stock of his rifle.
The impact sent her crashing to the floor, her cheekbone exploding in white-hot pain.
Liam's eyes widened in raw fury as he watched her fall.
"Touch her again, and I'll bury you alive," Liam hissed, his voice cold as ice.
The leader laughed harshly.
"You're not giving the orders anymore, Mercer."
The two men grabbed Liam by the shoulders and dragged him violently off the bed.
Liam groaned in agony as the metal rods in his leg twisted violently.
They threw him into a specialized transport wheelchair, ignoring his bleeding wounds.
As they rolled him out the door, the leader looked down at Clara, who was bleeding on the carpet.
"Tie the nurse up and leave her. She's not part of the package."
One of the men pulled a zip tie from his vest and reached for Clara's wrists.
Suddenly, a massive figure filled the doorway.
Leo stood there, holding a suppressed pistol in each hand.
He didn't say a word.
He simply raised his weapons and fired four rapid, silenced shots.
The two men holding the wheelchair dropped to the floor, dead before they hit the ground.
The leader spun around, raising his rifle, but Leo shot him cleanly through the chest.
The room fell terrifyingly silent, save for the heavy breathing of the survivors.
Leo stepped over the bodies and quickly knelt beside Clara, cutting the zip tie.
"Are you hit?" Leo asked urgently.
Clara shook her head, wiping the blood from her face.
Leo looked at Liam, who was slumped in the wheelchair, gasping in pain.
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"They breached the perimeter," Leo said grimly.
"They had the security codes, Merc. Someone inside this house just sold us out."
