Chapter 8 - The Breach
“Get down!” Richard snarled, shoving Elena behind him as the first SUV slammed on its brakes, spraying gravel across the lawn.
The passenger doors flew open before the vehicles had even come to a complete stop. Two men in tactical gear stepped out, their faces hidden behind dark balaclavas, carrying heavy polymer cases and short-barreled rifles. They didn't look like local police or private security; they moved with the cold, mechanical efficiency of corporate black-ops.
“The package is compromised,” one of them barked into a shoulder radio, his eyes locking instantly onto me and the heavy vintage pistol in my hand. “Secure the girl. Neutralize anyone interfering.”
“No!” Elena screamed, lunging forward to block their path. “She’s finished with the baseline treatments! You don't need her anymore—the trial is over!”
The lead operative didn't even hesitate. With a swift, brutal sweep of his arm, he backhanded Elena across the face, sending her crashing hard into the side of the wooden house. She slumped to the ground, a dark line of blood appearing at the corner of her mouth.
“Mom!”
A terrified shriek echoed from the bedroom window. Lily had pushed the glass all the way open, her face pressed against the gap, her wide gray-green eyes staring down at the chaos in absolute horror.
“Lily, stay back!” I screamed, raising the pistol and pointing it directly at the lead operative’s chest. “Take another step and I swear to God I’ll put a bullet through your heart!”
The operative stopped, his rifle shifting toward me with terrifying speed. But before he could pull the trigger, Paul lunged out of the darkness from the side hedges, tackling the man’s knees with a ferocious, animalistic roar.
They crashed into the wet mud together, rolling across the flower bed as the operative’s rifle discharged into the night sky with a deafening crack that shattered every window on the ground floor of the house.
“Paul!” I screamed, raising the gun to fire, but Richard grabbed my wrist from behind, trying to wrench the weapon out of my grip.
We wrestled in the mud, the cold rain soaking through our clothes as Richard’s superior strength began to overpower me. I twisted my body, driving my elbow back into his ribs with all my might. He grunted, loosening his grip just enough for me to wrench my hand free.
I didn't hesitate. I swung the butt of the heavy pistol down against the side of his head with a sickening thud. Richard crumpled silently into the wet grass, unconscious.
When I looked up, the second operative had already broken through the side screen door of the house.
“No!” I scrambled to my feet, sprinting toward the open doorway, my heart hammering so hard I thought my chest would burst.
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I threw myself through the kitchen door just in time to see the operative grab Lily by the arm, dragging her kicking and screaming toward the back hallway.
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