Chapter 9 - The Siege of Saint Michael's
The first wave of Ricardo’s mercenaries breached the main lobby with thunderous concussive grenades. Alarms blared throughout Saint Michael’s, waking the staff and older children on the opposite side of the building. Panicked screams echoed through the upper floors as the cold reality of a private corporate assault unfolded.
"Contain the staff! Don't let anyone call the press!" Ricardo’s voice boomed through the lower hallway megaphone. "Clear the east wing! Croft, get your syringe ready!"
Gabriel took up a defensive position at the end of the east corridor, using the reinforced marble pillars as cover. Baby Arthur, shielded by Gabriel’s sound-dampening ear covers, remained calm against his chest. Gabriel held his customized carbine at high-ready, his breathing steady, slowing his heart rate to combat baseline.
Two mercenaries rounded the corner, their weapon lights piercing the smoky air.
Crack-crack! Crack-crack!
Gabriel fired four suppressed shots. Both contractors dropped instantly, their body armor useless against the precision armor-piercing rounds Gabriel had selected for close-quarters warfare.
"Contact! We have contact in the nursery hall!" a mercenary screamed over the radio before Gabriel advanced, firing with terrifying speed.
Elena followed closely behind, picking up one of the fallen guards' shotguns to cover their rear. She had never fired a weapon before, but the primal instinct to protect her son transformed her fear into cold courage.
Gabriel moved down the grand hallway like a lethal shadow. Every corner he cleared resulted in neutralized hostiles. Years of frontline combat made Ricardo’s high-paid private security look like undisciplined children. They fired wildly, chewing up drywall and plaster, while Gabriel’s movements were economical, silent, and fatal.
As Gabriel reached the grand foyer overlooking the double staircase, he saw Ricardo standing near the fountain, flanked by Dr. Croft and four heavily armed bodyguards.
"Gabriel!" Ricardo yelled, spotting his brother through the smoke. His face was twisted in psychotic desperation. "You think you can walk out of here with him? I own the courts! I own the governor! You are a dead man with a stolen baby!"
"You're not talking to a soldier, Ricardo," Gabriel’s voice echoed down from the balcony, deep and menacing. "You're talking to a father."
Dr. Croft panicked, dropping his medical case, which clattered open on the marble floor to reveal vials of concentrated potassium chloride. "Ricardo, this wasn't part of the deal! You said he was dead! I'm leaving!"
"Shut up, you coward!" Ricardo roared, drawing a silver pistol and shooting Croft in the chest without hesitation. The doctor collapsed dead into the fountain, his blood staining the clear water bright crimson.
Ricardo aimed his gun upward toward Gabriel, but before he could pull the trigger, the massive stained-glass skylight of the foyer exploded inward.
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A hail of flashbangs and smoke canisters rained down from the ceiling. Ropes plunged through the shattered glass, and three armored figures descended with blistering speed.
"Recon Six has arrived!" Leo’s roaring voice cut through the chaos as he kicked the nearest bodyguard across the room, leveling his heavy automatic rifle directly at Ricardo’s throat.
