Chapter 14 - HUNTING THE RATThe smoke from the lower-level corridors drifted up through the ventilation shafts, smelling faintly of burnt copper and acrid sulfur.
Adrian moved through the darkened service stairwell like a ghost. Every step was calculated, silent, and deadly. He didn't turn on his flashlight; his eyes, adapted to the gloom, tracked the faint glow of the security console ahead.
In the armory below, Commander Sterling was frantically taping a bundle of C4 explosives to the primary load-bearing concrete pillar.
“...ten million dollars,” Sterling muttered to himself, humming softly as he checked the detonator timer. “Enough to retire to a private beach in Fiji and never look at another ledger again.”
“Fiji is overrated, Sterling,” a deep, chilling voice echoed from the shadows of the doorway.
Sterling froze. The roll of duct tape slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly against the concrete floor. Slowly, he turned around, his eyes widening in pure horror as Adrian stepped out of the darkness.
Adrian wasn't wearing a jacket. His rolled-up shirtsleeves exposed his corded muscles, and in his right hand, he held a heavy tactical combat knife, the blade catching the dim emergency light.
“Mr... Mr. Kane,” Sterling stammered, frantically reaching for the pistol holstered at his hip.
He didn't even get his fingers around the grip.
In a fraction of a second, Adrian crossed the room with terrifying, unnatural speed. He slammed Sterling violently against the concrete pillar, pinning the traitor by the throat with one massive hand while holding the combat knife inches from Sterling’s right eye.
“Fifteen years, Sterling,” Adrian whispered, his voice dangerously low, vibrating with suppressed fury. “My father gave you a home. I gave you power. And you sold us out to a second-rate syndicate for pocket change.”
“I—I had no choice!” Sterling choked out, clawing desperately at Adrian’s arm. “Chen... Chen threatened my family—”
“Don’t talk to me about family,” Adrian snarled, pressing the flat of the knife against Sterling’s cheek until a thin line of red appeared. “You endangered my wife. You endangered my children. For that, death would be too quick.”
Before Sterling could beg for mercy, Adrian struck the side of his head with the heavy butt of the knife hilt.
The traitor slumped unconscious against the concrete floor like a sack of potatoes.
Adrian stood up slowly, breathing heavily, and pulled a master override key card from Sterling’s tactical vest. He swiped it into the main terminal console, instantly overriding the lockdown sequence across the entire penthouse.
May you like
System Restored.
Adrian pressed his comms earpiece. “Izzy, Elena. The locks are down. Get the kids to the roof chopper now.”
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