Chapter 13 - The First Strike
The front window shattered with a sharp, synchronized pop as a heavy-duty thermal breaching charge melted through the reinforced glass of the living room. Two operatives rolled smoothly through the opening, weapons raised, sweeping the dark room in seconds.
"Room clear," the lead operative whispered into his comms.
"Negative, you missed a spot," a calm voice echoed from the top of the stairs.
The two operatives whipped their carbines upward, but they were already half a second too late. I dropped two flash-bang stun grenades directly down the center of the wooden staircase.
CRACK-FLASH!
A blinding, magnesium-white detonation tore through the hallway, accompanied by a concussive shockwave that shattered every picture frame on the walls. Both operatives screamed, dropping their weapons as their night-vision goggles fried from the intense light, blinding them instantly.
Before their tactical training could kick in, I vaulted over the second-floor banister, dropping down behind them. Two swift, precise strikes to the neck with the butt of my carbine sent both men crashing unconscious to the hardwood floor.
Downstairs, the third operative—who had been guarding the perimeter—kicked open the kitchen door, shouting into his radio. "Vanguard One and Two are down! Status report! Vance, what's your—"
"Vanguard Three," I spoke softly from the shadows near the pantry.
May you like
The operative spun around, his barrel flashing toward my voice, but a single, perfectly placed subsonic round from my carbine blew out his right knee, dropping him instantly with a sharp cry of agony.
I stepped out of the darkness, pressing the muzzle of my rifle gently against the center of his ballistic vest. "Let's talk about who sent you."
