Chapter 33 - The Cartel's Ultimatum
Nathan pushed the heavy SUV to its absolute limits, tearing through the city streets at breakneck speed.
The rain had returned, a torrential downpour that turned the asphalt slick and treacherous. But Nathan didn't slow down. The words of the disgraced agent echoed violently in his mind: A mercenary strike team is already in the city.
He hit the speed dial on his dashboard console.
"Dad?" Ethan's voice crackled through the speakers, sounding tired but calm.
"Ethan, listen to me very carefully," Nathan said, struggling to keep the panic out of his voice. "Where are your mother and Emily?"
"Mom is in the kitchen making tea. Emily and Uncle Michael are watching a movie in the living room. Did Agent Collins catch the mole?"
"She caught him," Nathan said quickly. "But the cartel knows where we live. They're coming tonight. Right now."
A heavy, terrifying silence fell over the line.
"Ethan?" Nathan shouted.
"I hear you, Dad," Ethan replied, his voice instantly shifting from a teenager to the brilliant tactical mind that had outsmarted a cartel cryptographer. "How much time do we have?"
"I'm ten minutes away. FBI SWAT is mobilizing, but they are at least twenty minutes out," Nathan estimated, running a red light, narrowly avoiding a massive semi-truck.
"Ten minutes is enough," Ethan said coldly. "Dad, tell SWAT to approach without sirens. If the mercenaries hear them coming, they'll accelerate the breach."
"What are you going to do?" Nathan asked.
"I'm going to lock the castle," Ethan replied.
In the basement of the Harper mansion, Ethan hung up the phone and sprinted up the stairs.
He burst into the kitchen, his face pale but fiercely determined.
"Mom! Uncle Michael!" Ethan shouted, his voice cutting through the peaceful domestic scene like a knife. "We are under attack. The cartel is coming."
Claire dropped her teacup; it shattered against the hardwood floor.
Michael instantly stood up, shielding Emily behind him.
"What?" Claire gasped. "Nathan said the FBI had the money!"
"It's not about the money anymore," Ethan said, running to the central smart-home control panel mounted on the hallway wall. "We have to lock down the house. Uncle Michael, take Emily and Mom to the panic room in the sub-basement. Do not come out until Dad opens the door."
"Ethan, you are coming with us!" Claire demanded, grabbing her son's arm.
"I can't, Mom," Ethan said, his fingers flying across the digital keypad, overriding the standard security protocols. "If I go in the panic room, I lose access to the exterior servers. I have to control the house from the primary terminal in my room."
"I am not leaving you out here alone!" Claire cried.
Suddenly, the massive front windows of the living room shattered violently.
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Three tear gas canisters rolled across the Persian rug, instantly filling the room with thick, blinding, choking white smoke.
The siege had begun.
