Chapter 5 - Fire in the Night
Glass exploded into the study in a shower of sharp crystal shards.
"Perimeter breach! Code Black!" Marco screamed into his earpiece, drawing his weapon and firing four rapid shots through the shattered window into the foggy courtyard outside.
Alarm sirens began to blare across the seventy-acre estate, their high-pitched wails echoing through the night. Red emergency lights flickered on along the corridors, bathing the stone walls in a crimson glow.
Underneath the heavy oak desk, Vincent held Claire and Mia tightly against his broad chest. His massive frame completely shielded them from falling glass and stray bullets. Mia buried her face into her mother’s cream cardigan, whimpering softly, while Claire held her child with fierce, protective strength.
"Stay here! Don't move!" Vincent commanded, his voice steady despite the chaos.
Vincent drew a custom black pistol from his shoulder holster. He rolled out from behind the desk, staying low as two more rounds tore through the leather armchairs.
Outside in the garden, four men in grey tactical gear were advancing across the lawn toward the terrace doors, carrying suppressed submachine guns.
Vincent stood up beside the stone fireplace, his piercing blue eyes locked onto the advancing shadows. He raised his weapon and fired three precise shots through the fog. Two of the tactical guards collapsed onto the wet gravel, their weapons clattering against the stone.
"Marco! Take the left flank!" Vincent ordered, moving toward the broken terrace doors with lethal, terrifying speed.
The remaining two intruders tried to retreat toward the bushes, but Vincent burst through the broken glass doors like an unstoppable force. He tackled the lead mercenary to the ground, slamming him against the marble fountain, disarming him in a fraction of a second.
Vincent grabbed the intruder by his tactical collar, hauling him up against the stone wall.
"Who sent you?" Vincent growled, the dark tattoos on his neck flexing as his fingers tightened around the man’s throat.
The mercenary choked for air, his eyes wide with panic as he looked into Vincent's terrifying blue eyes. "Falco... Falco paid us... but we had the master security codes from inside!"
"Who gave you the codes?" Vincent demanded, his voice echoing like thunder over the rain.
"Counselor Anthony!" the mercenary gasped out. "He said... he said if we destroyed the child and the mother tonight... he would give us ten percent of the harbor terminals!"
Vincent’s face hardened into pure, unyielding stone. He struck the mercenary across the jaw with the steel frame of his sidearm, knocking him unconscious onto the wet grass.
Marco ran up, his suit soaked with rain. "Boss! The perimeter is clear! The rest of their team fled in two sedans!"
Vincent wiped a drop of rain from his brow, his dark curly hair plastered against his forehead. "Call the senior lieutenants. Tell them I am calling an emergency Syndicate Council meeting at midnight."
May you like
"In the city?" Marco asked.
"No," Vincent replied, turning back toward the glowing lights of his mansion. "Right here in my dining hall. And tell Counselor Anthony to bring his personal ledgers."
