Chapter 5 - Fire in the FoyerThe front double doors buckled inward in a cloud of grey smoke and flying shrapnel. Three masked operatives clad in heavy tactical gear poured through the breach, their assault rifles sweeping the room with green laser sights.
I didn't hesitate. I rolled behind a massive stone pillar supporting the grand staircase, raised my Sig, and fired twice.
Crack. Crack.
The lead operative dropped instantly, his body crashing hard onto the Persian rug. The other two immediately swung their barrels toward my position, chewing the marble pillar into white dust with a deafening burst of automatic fire.
“You picked the wrong house to break into, assholes,” I muttered, leaning out and squeezing the trigger twice more.
The second operative caught a round in the shoulder, stumbling backward into the shattered doorway. The third threw a flash-bang grenade directly toward my pillar.
Clatter.
I didn't try to run. I dropped flat onto the floor, slamming my eyes shut and covering my ears just as the magnesium charge detonated in a blinding white flash and a deafening shriek that rattled my teeth.
Before the ringing in my ears could fade, I scrambled back to my feet, rushed the remaining mercenary, and drove the butt of my pistol into the side of his helmet. He collapsed like a sack of wet cement.
“Daniel!” I yelled into my comms, panting heavily. “Status on the east wing!”
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“They bypassed the inner courtyard, boss! They’re using the old Prohibition tunnels—the ones leading straight up through the wine cellar!” Daniel shouted over heavy gunfire in the background. “They’re trying to flank the staff quarters!”
My blood ran cold. The old Prohibition tunnels. The secret access points my father had sealed thirty years ago—the same ones Evelyn had leaked to Rossi’s team.
