Chapter 7 - The Home Invasion
The front door exploded completely off its hinges and crashed onto the foyer floor.
Deafening shouts echoed through the house as tactical laser sights pierced the darkness.
I grabbed Caroline by the arm and shoved her toward the hallway.
I scooped Maya up into my arms and yelled at Caroline to find Lily immediately.
We sprinted upstairs just as the first wave of mercenaries flooded the living room.
Gunfire ripped through the drywall sending clouds of white plaster dust into the air.
My body moved entirely on instinct relying on years of muscle memory I could not explain.
I fired three precise shots over my shoulder and heard two heavy bodies hit the floor.
We reached the top of the stairs and Caroline dragged a terrified Lily out of her bedroom.
I pushed the three of them toward the secret crawlspace hidden behind the air vent.
I ordered them to crawl into the surveillance room and lock the heavy steel door.
Caroline begged me to come inside with them but I knew the door would not hold forever.
Someone had to stay behind and draw the heavily armed men away from the children.
I shoved the vent cover back into place just as boots pounded up the wooden staircase.
I ducked into the master bedroom and reloaded my stolen pistol in the dark.
A voice boomed through a megaphone from the front lawn entirely shattering the night.
The man outside called me Agent Mercer and ordered me to surrender the property immediately.
He stated that the syndicate did not care about the women or the children inside.
They only wanted the encrypted drive that I had stolen from them five years ago.
The mercenary promised that if I handed over the drive they would let everyone walk away.
I sat in the dark bedroom completely confused by his violent demand.
I had absolutely no idea what drive he was talking about or where it could be hidden.
I had been living as a boring accountant for five years and owned nothing of real value.
Then a terrifying realization suddenly struck my healing brain like a bolt of lightning.
The drive was the reason Maya was kept alive in the walls all these years.
I checked my pocket and realized I still had the crumpled photograph Maya gave me.
May you like
I pulled the picture out and stared at it under the moonlight streaming through the window.
The thick cardboard backing of the photograph had a small unnatural lump in the center.
