Chapter 18 - The Whitaker Wrath
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I didn't remove my coat because I was surrendering to her demands.
I removed it because the tactical snipers waiting in the shadows needed a perfectly clean angle, and the thick fabric was obscuring their laser sights.
Suddenly, a tiny, glowing red dot appeared squarely on the center of Brooke’s forehead.
Then, another red dot appeared directly on the wrist holding the box cutter.
Then, four more dots painted the chests of the masked men standing beside her.
Brooke’s arrogant confidence vanished in an instant. She froze, her eyes darting around the massive, dark warehouse in sheer panic.
"What... what is that?" she whispered, her voice cracking.
The entire warehouse roof suddenly seemed to breathe.
Without warning, the high skylight windows exploded inward. Dozens of highly trained Whitaker tactical operatives dropped through the shattered glass on rappelling lines. They descended from the dark rafters and emerged silently from the shadows between the stacked shipping containers.
Suppressed rifle shots cracked rapidly through the air—thwip, thwip, thwip.
The heavy shotguns clattered uselessly to the catwalk floor. The masked kidnappers screamed in agony as their kneecaps broke and their wrists were precision-shattered by sniper fire. In less than ten seconds, every single hired gun was face-down on the rusted metal grating, a heavy combat boot pressed firmly onto their necks.
Brooke shrieked in absolute terror as a non-lethal kinetic round violently struck her right hand, tearing the box cutter from her grip and fracturing her wrist.
I climbed the metal stairs to the catwalk very slowly. Each step rang clearly through the silent warehouse.
Maisie sobbed when she saw me. I immediately cut her ropes with my blade and gently peeled the tape from her mouth.
"Mommy!" she cried, burying her face into my neck.
"I’ve got you, baby," I whispered, holding her tight. "I've got you."
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I handed her to one of my trusted operatives, who immediately carried her down to the private medical team waiting in the armored vehicles outside.
Then, I turned back to Brooke.
