Chapter 19 - The Siege of Bainbridge Island
The flight back to Washington state felt agonizingly slow. When their private jet finally touched down on the Bainbridge airstrip, the island was bathed in an eerie, pre-dawn silence.
As the armored SUV pulled through the estate gates, Alexander knew something was wrong.
The security lights along the driveway were dark. The smart-home control panels on the exterior walls had been smashed to pieces.
“Ambush,” Parker whispered, slamming the SUV into reverse as a volley of high-velocity sniper rounds slammed into the reinforced windshield, spiderwebbing the bulletproof glass.
“Get down!” Julian roared, pulling Lily and Leo onto the floorboards of the back seat while Sarah shielded them with her own body.
“Parker, punch through the side security fence!” Alexander commanded, drawing his pistol.
The SUV surged forward, crashing through the decorative iron perimeter fence into the dense pine forest surrounding the estate. They abandoned the vehicle fifty yards from the main house, moving stealthily through the mist and towering trees toward the hidden cliffside service entrance.
As they approached the patio, the grim reality of the situation became clear. Three of Alexander’s private security detail lay unconscious near the fountain.
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Standing on the back stone patio, waiting for them with an assault rifle resting casually across his arms, was a man wearing a black tactical mask bearing the insignia of the Obsidian Syndicate’s elite extraction unit.
“Sterling,” a synthesized voice rasped through the man’s comm-unit. “Hand over the girl. And nobody else has to die today.”
