Chapter 6 - The Battle for Steel Manor
The tactical engagement inside Steel Manor lasted less than twelve minutes.
Marco and my private security team, all veterans of elite special operations units, operated with ruthless efficiency in the darkened halls. We knew every inch of the estate; Victor's mercenaries only knew what they had seen on satellite blueprints.
Flashbangs echoed through the grand foyer, blinding two contractors as they tried to breach the main staircase. Marco neutralized them from the mezzanine above, while I flushed out three more attempting to secure the master study.
By the time the storm outside reached its peak, thunder rolling across the Illinois woods, eleven of Victor's mercenaries were disarmed and secured on the floor of the marble entryway. The twelfth was unconscious near the back patio.
I walked out the front doors into the pouring rain, clad in a black tactical jacket, holding a heavy halogen spotlight.
Parked fifty yards down the winding driveway, just inside the broken iron gates, was a black armored SUV with running lights off.
I walked toward it slowly, unhurried, the spotlight beam cutting through the torrential downpour and hitting the SUV’s windshield.
Through the glass, I could see Victor Vance sitting in the driver's seat. His face was pale, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. He put the vehicle in reverse, slamming on the gas to back out into the main road.
POP-POP.
Marco, standing on the upper balcony of the manor, put two high-caliber sniper rounds cleanly through the SUV’s rear tires. The vehicle swerved violently, skidding off the pavement and crashing into a massive oak tree at the edge of the driveway.
I walked up to the driver's side door, shattered the reinforced window with a steel-tipped tactical baton, reached in, and pulled Victor Vance out into the mud by his expensive collar.
Victor sputtered, coughing, clutching a bleeding forehead where he had hit the steering wheel. "Steel... wait! We can make a deal! Half of Apex! I'll give you fifty percent of the overseas military contracts! Millions!"
I threw him face-first into the wet grass, placing my boot firmly on the center of his back.
"Julian died because he was a good man who trusted his family," I said, looking down at him with utter disgust. "You abandoned his memory. You tried to slaughter his children."
Federal law enforcement strobes suddenly illuminated the rain-slicked trees as a convoy of black suburban utility vehicles and local police cruisers tore through the shattered gates. FBI HRT officers poured out, rifles raised, taking control of the scene.
Special Agent Sarah Martinez stepped out of the lead vehicle, pulling up her jacket collar against the rain. She looked at Victor pinned under my boot, then at the eleven captured mercenaries being escorted out of the manor by my men.
"Ryker," Martinez said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought we agreed you were going to call us before the shooting started."
"They were trespassing, Agent Martinez," I replied smoothly, lifting my boot and letting two federal agents step in to cuff Victor. "And I believe you'll find everything you need to lock this monster away for life on the drive I'm handing over to your grand jury in the morning."
Victor was dragged to his feet, crying out as the handcuffs snapped around his wrists. "You can't do this! I'm the CEO of Apex!"
"Not anymore," I said, stepping back into the shelter of the porch. "Now you're just another inmate."
I walked back inside, peeling off my wet jacket and tossing it to a security guard.
I descended the stairs to the sub-basement vault, punching in the eight-digit pin code. The heavy door unsealed and swung open.
Mrs. Gable was sitting in a chair reading a storybook, while Owen and Lily were curled up under a blanket on a plush sofa.
When the door opened, Lily sat up instantly. She looked at my face, checking for any signs of injury, then looked at my hands.
"Did you win the game of hide-and-seek?" she asked softly.
May you like
I crouched down in front of them, wiping a speck of rainwater from my cheek, and offered them a warm, tired smile.
"We won," I said. "The game is over. Forever."
