Chapter 5 - THE SIEGE OF MERCER MANORThe digital security monitors across the medical suite wall flickered, splitting into a grid of six different camera feeds.
Kira watched in horror as black-clad figures swarmed through the grand marble hallway of the mansion, smashing antique vases, overriding security keypads with tactical decoders, and methodically clearing rooms. They moved with terrifying, military-grade precision.
"They're after the new litter," Grant said, his voice terrifyingly calm as he reached inside his tailored vest and pulled out a sleek, heavy Glock 19, checking the magazine with a practiced click. "Specifically, the genetic markers in Luna's bloodline. Hayes must have transmitted the preliminary data before I locked him down. They know a successful synthetic-immunity cross-breed was born tonight."
"Immunity?" Kira echoed, her eyes widening. "Luna’s litter... they're immune to the neurotoxin Hayes was testing?"
"They are," Grant confirmed, sliding the safety off. "Which makes them worth more than a king's ransom on the black market. And makes everyone inside this estate a liability."
Grant turned sharply toward Kira, his dark eyes burning with an intensity that brooked no argument.
"Listen to me very carefully, Kira. You take the seventh puppy—the runt—and you wrap it in your jacket. You take the service elevator behind the supply closet down to the subterranean storm tunnel. It leads out to the boathouse on the lake. There’s a boat waiting with a full tank and a key in the ignition."
Kira stared at him, her chest heaving. "And you? What about you and Reed?"
"We're going to stay here and clean house," Grant said, a grim, humorless smile touching his lips. "This is my home. Nobody breaches my gates and walks out."
"I'm not leaving," Kira said.
Grant stopped dead in his tracks. He turned back, his brows furrowing into a fierce scowl. "This isn't a veterinary clinic negotiation, Kira. Those men outside carry submachine guns and phosphorus grenades. They will kill you without blinking an eye."
"And if I run through a freezing tunnel alone, the puppy dies of hypothermia within twenty minutes without an incubator heat pad!" Kira shot back, her voice echoing off the sterile tile walls. "Its thermoregulation hasn't stabilized yet! You want it to survive? It stays wrapped against my body, and I stay where the power supply and thermal packs are!"
Before Grant could argue further, a deafening CRASH echoed from the outer hallway.
The heavy reinforced oak doors of the east-wing medical suite shuddered violently as a breaching charge blew the electronic locking mechanism off its hinges. Smoke billowed into the room, smelling of sulfur and burnt copper.
Through the white haze, three masked figures clad in full tactical gear stepped through the wreckage, assault rifles raised and sweeping the room.
"Clear!" the lead operative barked through his comms.
May you like
Then his eyes locked onto Grant Mercer standing by the window, weapon drawn, and beside him, a terrified former housekeeper clutching a tiny bundle against her chest.
"Well, well, well," the lead mercenary laughed, a harsh, grating sound through his voice modulator. "Look what the cat dragged in. Drop the weapon, Mercer. The boss wants the litter intact, but he didn't say anything about keeping the staff alive."
