Chapter 13 - The Breach at the Barricades
The air inside the grand foyer turned instantly electric.
Toby, sensing the sudden shift, shrank back into his wheelchair, his hand instinctively reaching out to clutch the fabric of Karen’s gown. Karen placed herself squarely in front of her brother, her chin lifting, every protective instinct firing at once.
"A rogue tactical unit?" Elias asked, his tone devoid of surprise. "Captain Miller’s boys?"
"Miller himself," Marco replied, wiping rainwater from his scarred brow. "They’re using unmarked vans, claiming they have an anonymous tip about an illegal weapons cache inside the estate. They intend to breach the gates under the guise of an emergency federal raid, clear the way for Sal's men to sweep the house, grab the boy, and neutralize anyone who resists."
"And if they kill everyone inside, Miller claims it was a hostile shootout with an armed cartel," Helena deduced coldly, not a single strand of her silver hair out of place. "Predictable. Miller always lacked imagination."
"Elias," Karen breathed, panic clawing at her throat again. "If the police are involved—"
"They aren't police, Karen," Elias cut in, turning to face Marco. "The moment a badge takes Sal’s payroll, he is nothing more than an armed intruder on private ground."
Elias looked at his mother. "Take Toby to the vault beneath the wine cellar. The air filtration is self-contained. He will be safe there."
"Come, Toby," Helena said, her voice instantly returning to that sweet, comforting hum. She took the joystick of Toby’s wheelchair. "Grandma Helena has an entire room full of vintage comic books down stairs that my foolish son collected when he was your age. Come help me choose one."
Toby looked up at Karen, wide-eyed. "Karen? Are you coming?"
Karen knelt down, kissing her brother’s forehead. Her hands were steady now, hardened by the sudden reality of survival. "I'll be right behind you, Toby. Go with Mrs. Vance. I promise I’m okay."
Once the heavy reinforced door disguised behind the library bookshelves swung shut behind Helena and Toby, the mansion seemed to strip away its remaining domestic facade. Four more men entered from the rear corridors, carrying heavy ballistic cases. Within seconds, the sound of charging handles snapping into battery echoed across the high ceilings.
"Boss, do we call the state commissioner?" Marco asked, checking the magazine of a short-barreled rifle. "We can have the State Police surround Miller before he blows the gate."
"No," Elias said flatly. He walked over to an ornate mahogany sideboard, uncapped a crystal decanter, and poured two fingers of amber scotch. He took a slow, deliberate sip. "If the State Police intervene, this turns into a standoff. Standoffs bring media. Media brings cameras, and cameras will put Karen and her brother on the front page of every tabloid in the country. Their lives will never be peaceful again."
He set the glass down with a soft click.
"Sal wants a war in the dark. We will give him one."
"Elias," Karen stepped forward, her voice ringing clear in the hall. The men paused, glancing toward the woman in the crimson dress. "What do you want me to do?"
Elias looked at her. For the first time, there was an unmistakable gleam of respect in his dark eyes. Most high-society women he knew would have been weeping on the floor or hysterical with panic. Karen Connolly was standing tall, her eyes ablaze, ready to fight for her family with whatever meager weapons she had.
He walked over to her, reaching into his pocket, and withdrew a small, sleek silver cylinder no larger than a fountain pen. He placed it in her palm.
"Press the top button once, and it emits an ear-shattering acoustic frequency that disables anyone within ten feet without ear protection. Press it twice, and it deploys a pneumatic steel dart. Keep it in your hand."
Karen gripped the cold metal. "I don't know how to shoot a gun, Elias."
"You won't need to," Elias said, his voice dropping into a register that was fiercely intimate. "No one is coming through that door while I draw breath. But if the world ends tonight, Karen, you don't surrender. You never surrender."
A sudden, deafening *CRACK* rattled the heavy stained-glass windows above the entrance.
The front gates had been breached.
"Down!" Marco shouted as the courtyard erupted into a cacophony of screeching tires, shouting men, and the rhythmic, hammering roar of automatic fire.
The glass panels in the grand entryway shattered into a million glittering diamonds as high-caliber rounds tore through the front courtyard barricades. Elias moved with blinding speed, his arm wrapping around Karen’s waist and pulling her behind the massive reinforced stone pillar supporting the central staircase.
He didn't duck. He didn't flinch.
With one hand still anchoring Karen against him, Elias raised his weapon. Through the splintered wood of the front doors, Karen saw the dark silhouettes of tactical gear advancing through the rain, red laser sights cutting through the smoke.
"Leo, cut the substation grid," Elias spoke into his lapel mic.
Instantly, the entire block plunged into total, pitch-black darkness.
May you like
The gunfire outside hesitated. The lasers flickered against the blackness. And then, from the second floor balcony and the shadows of the courtyard, Elias's men unleashed hell.
***
