Chapter 23 - The Siege Protocol
Protocol Citadel was the absolute, most extreme security measure the Two-Finger Shield possessed. It was designed for a catastrophic, direct physical assault on the foundation's primary leadership.
Within sixty seconds of my command, the Newport headquarters transformed into an impenetrable fortress. Massive, ballistic steel shutters violently slammed down over every window in the building. The external gates were electrically magnetized, and the elite security team heavily armed themselves, establishing lethal chokepoints in the corridors.
"Sarah, what the hell is happening?" Marcus demanded, racking the slide on a tactical rifle as he met me in the secure operations center.
"David escaped from Leavenworth," I said, my voice completely cold, the initial panic instantly replaced by a terrifying, absolute focus. "He had external funding. Someone on the outside financed the breakout. And he is coming here."
"I’m sending a heavily armed extraction team to your father’s house to secure him and Emma," Marcus ordered immediately, dispatching the tactical units via the encrypted comms. "They will be moved to the underground bunker in the secondary safe house within ten minutes."
"Do not let them stop for anything," I commanded, staring at the massive bank of security monitors displaying the rainy, empty streets surrounding our building.
"We have an FBI protective detail en route, but they are twenty minutes away," Leo reported, frantically typing at the main terminal, locking down the internal servers. "I’m scanning local traffic cameras for any anomalies."
I paced the room, my mind rapidly calculating David’s terrifying psychology. He wouldn't just launch a brute-force attack; he was too manipulative, too arrogant. He would try to bypass the physical defenses by exploiting a psychological vulnerability.
"He isn't going to break down the front door," I realized aloud, staring at the monitors. "He’s going to use a ghost. Leo, check the foundation's external maintenance logs. Did we have any external contractors scheduled for HVAC or electrical work this week?"
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Leo’s fingers flew across the keyboard. "Yes. A third-party electrical firm was cleared to repair the backup generators in the sub-basement three hours ago."
"The sub-basement," Marcus cursed, instantly understanding the breach. "They are already inside."
