Chapter 6 - The Siege at Mercy GeneralThe phone rang twice before a raspy voice answered. "Vance? We're on the fifth floor. We've located the private room."
"Abort!" Marcus screamed into the phone, his voice shaking uncontrollably. "Abort the job! He’s here! He beat everyone up!"
There was a brief pause on the line. Then the raspy voice replied coldly: "The Senator gave explicit orders, kid. No loose ends. The girl dies tonight."
The line went dead.
"No!" I swore, throwing the phone against the wall.
I didn't waste another second on Marcus. I kicked him away, sprinted out the front doors into the freezing rain, and jumped into my truck.
I threw the engine into gear, tires screeching as I tore down the residential streets toward Mercy General.
My heart pounded against my ribs like a war drum. Hold on, Lily. Hold on.
I pulled up to the hospital entrance eight minutes later, jumping the curb and parking right on the sidewalk. I smashed through the automatic glass doors, ignoring the shocked receptionist.
"Sir! You can't go up there!" she yelled.
I didn't answer. I slammed my hand into the elevator button, but the screen showed the fifth floor was locked out.
"Stairs," I grunted, pivoting toward the fire door.
I took the stairs three at a time, my lungs burning, adrenaline surging through my system.
When I burst through the fifth-floor stairwell door, the scene was horrific.
One of Mac’s security guards was lying unconscious against the wall, blood pouring from a head wound. The hallway lights were flickering wildly, several ceiling panels kicked out.
I grabbed the guard’s dropped flashlight and tiptoed toward Lily’s room—Room 512.
The door was standing half-open.
Inside, I saw a tall man dressed in dark tactical gear standing over Lily’s bed. He had a syringe filled with clear fluid pressed against her IV line.
Mac was pinned against the far wall by a second mercenary, a heavy knife pressed against Mac’s throat.
"Stop!" I yelled, stepping into the room.
The man with the syringe turned his head slowly. He wore a black balaclava, cold gray eyes sizing me up. "Daniel Mercer. You're late."
"Put the syringe down," I said, raising my hands slightly, measuring the five-yard distance between us.
"Senator Vance sends his regards," the mercenary said, his thumb beginning to press down on the syringe plunger.
"Mac, NOW!" I yelled.
Mac suddenly slammed his head back into the second mercenary’s face, shattering the man’s nose. The mercenary stumbled back, dropping the knife. Mac immediately tackled him to the floor, rolling into a vicious fistfight.
Simultaneously, I lunged forward across the room.
The lead mercenary pulled a suppressed pistol from his holster, but I reached him before he could raise the barrel. I grabbed the slide of the gun, forcing it upward just as a quiet phut echoed through the room. The bullet shattered a wall tile near the ceiling.
I twisted the gun violently out of his grip, swept his leg, and slammed him onto the linoleum floor.
He kicked out wildly, hitting me in the ribs, but I ignored the pain. I dropped onto his back, wrapped my forearm around his throat, and applied a tight rear-naked chokehold.
He thrashed, his hands clawing uselessly at my arm, but I held on with everything I had.
"Nobody... touches... my... daughter," I gritted out through clenched teeth.
Five seconds later, his body went limp.
I let him drop, panting heavily.
Across the room, Mac had locked the second man in a keylock, rendering him unconscious.
The room fell quiet, save for the steady, reassuring beep... beep... beep... of Lily’s heart monitor.
I rushed to her bedside. She was wide awake, her eye big and full of tears, clutching the blanket to her chest.
"It's over, baby," I whispered, pressing my forehead against her hand. "You're safe. I've got you."
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Mac stood up, wiping blood from his lip, looking down at the two unconscious hitmen. "They were professionals, Dan. State Department level. Vance isn't just a Senator... he’s connected to high-level defense contractors."
"I don't care if he’s connected to the President," I said, retrieving the syringe from the floor and securing it in an evidence bag. "It’s time to burn his kingdom down."
