Chapter 10 - Standoff at Dawn
“Drop your weapons! Drop them now or we open fire!” the lead security guard shouted, his carbine leveled directly at Luke’s chest.
The corridor became a tense, volatile powder keg. Six armed mercenaries on one side; Luke Mercer and me standing side-by-side in the center of the flashing red emergency lights.
Luke didn't flinch. He slowly stepped in front of me, using his own body as a human shield while keeping his weapon aimed squarely at the glass door of the nursery where Harrison was frantically trying to dial a number on his burner phone.
“You think you can take on the entire foundation, Mercer?” the lead guard yelled, tightening his finger on the trigger. “There are fifty more men downstairs blocking the exit tunnels! You’re walking into a graveyard!”
“A graveyard?” Luke let out a cold, humorless laugh that echoed off the white tile walls. “Boys, you don't seem to understand whose city you’re operating in. Every single security contractor on your payroll was vetted by my syndicate three years ago. Look at your comms.”
The lead guard frowned, hesitating for a fraction of a second. He tapped the radio earpiece on his collar.
For a long, agonizing moment, there was only static. Then, a frantic voice crackled through his earpiece:
“Command center to Sector Four! All basement exits have been sealed by an external override! Repeat, our communication lines to the offshore accounts have just been wiped clean by an unknown server attack! We’re surrounded by federal marshals and Mercer enforcers upstairs!”
The color drained from the lead guard’s face. His rifle barrel dipped an inch.
Inside the nursery, Dr. Harrison dropped his phone. It clattered against the linoleum floor as he stared through the broken glass at Luke in absolute, shivering terror.
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Luke didn't wait for them to surrender. With a swift, brutal kick, he smashed his boot directly into the electronic locking mechanism of the glass nursery door. The reinforced hinges groaned, popped, and swung wide open.
“Avery,” Luke said softly, turning his head to look at me, his dark eyes burning with an intense, unwavering devotion. “Go get our child.”
