Chapter 3 - The Dark Perimeter
The blackout was total, extinguishing the amber glow of the city lamps inside the room. Outside, distant sirens wailed in the streets sixty stories below, but within the penthouse, the silence became absolute.
Elena stood frozen against the doorway. She listened to the room—the faint hum of failing backup capacitors, the rustle of Gabriel’s robe, and the quiet click of a mechanism being unlocked. In the darkness, Gabriel Vance was not a paralyzed invalid; he was a man who knew every inch of his fortress.
""Step away from the door,"" his voice came from the darkness, calm and commanding.
""What is happening?"" Elena whispered, pressing her back against the nearest wall. ""Did a breaker trip?""
""Breakers don't fail simultaneously on five independent circuits,"" Gabriel replied. The sound of metal clicking against metal echoed in the void—the undeniable rack of a slide chambering a round. ""They cut the grid to bypass the secondary biometric sensors. We have three minutes before they reach the express lift.""
""Who are 'they'?""
""People who prefer me dead rather than retired,"" he said coldly. A faint green glow illuminated his face as he tapped the screen of a handheld tablet mounted to the armrest of his chair. The camera feed flickered, showing four armed figures clad in black tactical gear moving down the private corridor toward the penthouse double doors.
Elena felt a cold sweat prickle her neck. ""Can you get to the panic room?""
""The panic room is in the study at the end of the hall. The lift opens right between us and the door,"" Gabriel explained, his voice eerily devoid of panic. He tossed something toward her. It struck the carpet near her feet with a soft thud. ""Pick it up.""
She knelt in the dark, her fingers brushing against cold composite polymer. A subcompact pistol.
""I’m a medical professional,"" Elena said, her voice taut. ""I don't shoot people.""
""Then you can bleed on the carpet while they search the vault,"" Gabriel retorted ruthlessly. ""Choose quickly, Elena. Morality is a luxury for people who aren't under siege.""
A sharp, hydraulic hiss echoed from the foyer. The private elevator had arrived. Elena picked up the weapon, the heavy, unfamiliar weight burning in her palm.
May you like
Gabriel engaged the silent motor of his chair, rolling toward the intersecting corridor with calculated stealth. ""Stay behind me. If you run, you become a target. If you hesitate, you die.""
They reached the corner just as the foyer doors burst inward with a muted, concussive blast. Elena shrank back into the shadows, but as the smoke cleared, she saw a crimson laser dot dancing directly over Gabriel's chest.
