Chapter 4 - SIEGE AT STEEL TOWER"Marco, get the twins into the panic room behind my office," I ordered instantly, my voice completely devoid of panic, sharpening into pure tactical command. "Take the encrypted flash drive with you. Do not let anyone—under any circumstances—open that door until my voice code authorizes it."
"Boss, what about you?" Marco demanded, pulling a suppressed SIG Sauer P226 from his shoulder holster. "There's a dozen of them coming up the private freight elevator!"
"Let them come," I replied coldly, unlocking my executive desk drawer and pulling out my customized Glock 19. "It's time to remind Vanguard who owns this city."
We had built Steel Tower to withstand a military-grade siege, but these mercenaries weren't ordinary thugs. Through the hallway security cameras, I watched as four men in matte-black tactical gear, night-vision goggles, and suppressed carbines exited the elevator shaft. They moved with terrifying, synchronized precision, clearing the corridors like trained killers.
Bang! Bang!
Bullet casings clattered against the marble floor as two of my perimeter guards went down in the outer hallway.
"They're breaching the double doors!" Marco shouted from the reinforced corridor leading to the panic room.
"Get inside!" I yelled back, slamming the hydraulic control button to seal the heavy steel vault door protecting Lily and Owen.
I stood alone in the dim, red-lit corridor of the executive suite, my back against a reinforced concrete pillar, my breathing steady and controlled. I could hear their boots crunching on shattered glass from the floor-to-ceiling windows they had just blasted open with explosive charges.
"Clear!" a harsh voice barked through a radio headset just around the corner.
The lead mercenary stepped into the doorway, his rifle raised—and found my gun barrel pointed dead center between his eyes.
Click.
I didn't hesitate. I pulled the trigger twice.
The mercenary dropped instantly, tumbling backward into the hallway. The other three opened fire, a hail of high-velocity rounds chewing through expensive mahogany desks and shattering decorative glass cases, sending wood splinters flying everywhere.
I ducked behind a massive marble pillar, returning fire with ruthless accuracy. One mercenary clutched his shoulder and collapsed; another scrambled for cover behind a couch.
"Listen to me, you corporate ghouls!" I shouted over the deafening roar of gunfire, my voice echoing through the floor. "You picked the wrong children, and you picked the wrong man to mess with! Tell your bosses that Ryker Steel is coming for every single one of them!"
Before they could rally for a counter-attack, the floor beneath us trembled.
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A deafening roar filled the sky outside the penthouse windows. I glanced up and saw the unmistakable silhouette of a heavy-duty tactical helicopter hovering right outside the glass facade, searchlights blindingly bright, its side door sliding open to reveal a heavy machine gun manned by a heavily armored operative.
They weren't just sending a hit squad. They were bringing an army.
