Chapter 14 - The Turning Point
I hit the back deck just as the second operator forced the kitchen door open with a brutal kick.
"Drop the weapon!" I roared, racking another round into the chamber with a sound that cut through the chaos.
The operator spun around, his carbine swinging toward my chest. But before he could acquire his target, a roaring engine tore up the gravel driveway.
Headlights cut through the dense morning fog, blinding both of us with a searing wall of white light. A heavy federal tactical vehicle smashed through the wooden security gate at the base of the access road, tires screeching as it slid to a violent halt right in front of the cabin porch.
Doors flew open in unison.
"Federal Marshals! Drop your weapons or you will be neutralized!" Elena Ruiz’s voice pierced the morning air, backed by half a dozen heavily armed federal agents whose laser sights instantly painted the Kaelen & Voss operatives in glowing red dots.
The operator frozen in my doorway lowered his carbine slowly, letting the weapon clatter to the wooden deck boards as he raised his hands behind his head.
On the gravel below, the first operator, who had recovered from my initial shot, tried to reach for a sidearm tucked in his tactical rig.
Bang.
A single, precise warning shot from Elena’s sniper detail struck the gravel two inches from his boots, kicking up a shower of sparks and stone.
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"Don't even think about it," Elena shouted, walking forward with her badge held high and her sidearm steady.
I let out a long, shuddering breath, lowering my hunting rifle as the tension in my chest finally began to ease. The cavalry had arrived. But as I looked down at the silver serpent coin I had stripped from the first operator's pocket during the scuffle, I knew this was only a battle in a much larger war.
