Chapter 35 - The Ambush in the Dark
Marcus and Kieran fired in synchronized rhythm.
Through the blinding strobe flashes and the swirling sea of chemical foam, their suppressed rounds struck with clinical precision. Two of the heavily armed mercenaries collapsed onto the slick hardwood floor, their weapons clattering away as the non-lethal sensory overload left them completely incapacitated.
The remaining two intruders on the terrace scrambled backward toward the safety rail, blinded and coughing violently as the fire retardant burned their eyes and throats.
"Federal agents! Drop your weapons or you will be neutralized!" Kieran roared, his voice echoing off the concrete ceilings with the force of an oncoming train.
From the elevator shaft came the sound of a heavy steel cable groaning under tension. The second strike team was preparing to blow the emergency access hatch in the ceiling.
"Veta, can you lock down the elevator hoistway?" Sloan shouted over the screeching alarm sirens.
"I’m doing it!" Veta yelled back. Her eyes were laser-focused on the tablet’s diagnostic screen. "I’m overriding the magnetic safety brakes. Dropping the elevator car three floors down to seal the lower shaft!"
With a single swipe, Veta purged the hydraulic pressure in the secondary lift mechanism.
A thunderous mechanical crash reverberated through the structural pillars of the penthouse as the empty elevator cab dropped thirty feet, triggering the emergency wedge-brakes with a screech of shearing iron. The cables snapped taut, completely jamming the hoistway and trapping the secondary assault team between the thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth floors in a reinforced steel cage.
Muffled curses and frantic pounding echoed from inside the shaft.
On the terrace, the remaining two mercenaries realized their extraction route was gone and their backup was entombed in concrete. They threw their carbines onto the tile, raising their hands in desperate surrender.
"We surrender! Hold fire! Hold fire!" one of them screamed, choking on the white foam.
Marcus moved forward like a wraith, kicking the weapons over the terrace ledge into the private drainage gully and securing the men’s wrists with zip-ties within ten seconds.
Sloan let out a shuddering breath, pulling Veta into a fierce, trembling embrace. "You're okay. You're safe. God, Veta, you were incredible."
"I told you, Mom," Veta whispered, a faint, triumphant smirk breaking through her pale face. "Nobody touches our home again."
Suddenly, the distinct rhythmic thumping of twin rotor blades shook the penthouse windows. A blinding searchlight cut through the darkness from above, illuminating the drenched living room in brilliant daylight.
A megaphone boomed from the sky: *"This is the Federal Bureau of Investigation Tactical Response Unit. Ground personnel, stand down! The building perimeter is secured!"*
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Kieran lowered his weapon, exhaling deeply. "The cavalry actually made it on time for once."
***
