Chapter 31 - Breach at Bay 4
The element of surprise was our only currency against a superior tactical force.
As Director Hayes turned away from Petrov to signal the transport team, I triggered an EMP-laced data spike into the facility's local power grid relay. In a fraction of a second, the exterior halogen floodlights flickered and died, plunging Loading Bay 4 into an inky, red-tinted twilight powered solely by emergency backup generators.
“Secure the perimeter! Power fluctuation!” shouted the lead contractor, raising his carbine as his squad scrambled into defensive positions.
Before they could establish a coherent crossfire, Ethan threw a flash-bang grenade into the far corner of the hangar. The blinding white flash and deafening concussive blast instantly disoriented the guards, sending them stumbling backward into stacks of wooden crates.
I moved like a ghost through the smoke, closing the distance in three long strides. Using non-lethal CQC (Close Quarters Combat) techniques, I swept the legs of the nearest contractor, sending him crashing hard onto the concrete floor, before delivering a sharp strike to the base of his helmet that rendered him instantly unconscious.
The second guard swung his rifle around, but Ethan was already there, stepping out from behind a steel pillar to catch the barrel, twist it upward, and disable the man with a swift strike to the solar plexus.
Within twenty seconds, all six contractors were neutralized without a single shot fired from our end.
I kicked open the reinforced door of the control office. Director Hayes whirled around, his face draining of all color as he stared down the barrel of my Glock. Petrov, still chained to the chair, let out a raspy, bitter laugh.
“Well, if it isn’t the ghost of Lake Tahoe,” Hayes stammered, attempting to smooth down his wet silk tie with trembling hands. “Captain Avery. You’re committing an act of high treason by interfering with a federal national security custody transfer.”
“Treason, Director Hayes?” I stepped inside, the barrel of my pistol hovering inches from his bridge of his nose. “Or are you just terrified that Petrov is going to tell the Department of Justice who really authorized the illegal surveillance and offshore money-laundering network?”
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Hayes swallowed hard, sweat beading on his forehead. “You have no idea what you’re meddling in. Project Ironclad wasn’t a rogue operation. It was a sanctioned national security mandate to secure foreign energy grids before our adversaries did.”
“By framing innocent officers and selling state secrets to private syndicates?” I asked coldly, pressing the cold steel slightly harder against his skin. “Let’s see how well that defense holds up in an open federal court once we upload these encrypted files to the Senate Intelligence Committee.”
