flash
I spun around, my military instincts kicking in with cold, razor-sharp precision. The steel door slammed shut behind us, the heavy electronic bolt clicking into place with a definitive thud. My son-in-law stood against the frame, his calm, polished mask completely gone. In its place was a twisted, predatory smile that made my blood run cold. / Chapter 7 / 10

Chapter 7 - THE PORT OF NO RETURNThe abandoned docks were a desolate wasteland of rusting shipping containers and crashing black waves. Warehouse 12 loomed at the edge of the pier, its corrugated metal walls shuddering in the howling gale-force winds.

I parked the Maybach fifty yards away, cutting the headlights and slipping out into the freezing rain like a ghost.

I checked my stolen assault rifle, flipped the selector to three-round burst, and moved toward the side entrance. Two guards stood beneath the flickering halogen awning, smoking cigarettes and laughing.

They never heard me coming.

A flash of motion, two swift strikes to the carotid arteries, and they crumpled silently into the puddles.

I slipped through the side door into the cavernous interior of the warehouse. Rows of high-tech medical equipment hummed under harsh fluorescent lights. In the center of the room stood the glass incubator.

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The heavy mahogany door of the dressing room seemed to close in on us, trapping the suffocating tension inside. Richard’s hands were shaking as he clutched the small, tarnished silver pendant. His knuckles were bone-white.

The heavy mahogany door of the dressing room seemed to close in on us, t...

The heavy silver fork slipped from my fingers, clattering sharply against the gold-rimmed porcelain of my dinner plate.

The heavy silver fork slipped from my fingers, clattering sharply agains...

The heavy mahogany door of the Fairmont Copley suite clicked shut with a muffled, expensive thud.

The heavy mahogany door of the Fairmont Copley suite clicked shut with a...

And beside it stood Julian, holding a heavy-duty detonator in one hand and cradling my crying grandson in the other.

"Stop right there, General!" Julian screamed, his face twisted in manic desperation, his hair soaked with sweat. "Take one more step, and I blow this entire pier straight into the ocean!"

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