Chapter 12
The concussive blast of the flashbangs stole the oxygen from the air, leaving a high-pitched ringing in Emma’s ears. Through the blinding white afterimage, she saw both federal marshals slump to the floor, completely incapacitated. Three figures dropped smoothly through the ceiling hatch, landing with the heavy, muffled thuds of professional operators. They wore unmarked black tactical gear, and on their shoulders sat the gold-foil insignia Ethan had warned her about: a coiled serpent clutching a broken anchor. The leader, a tall man with a jagged scar cutting across his jawline, stepped over the unconscious marshals. He reached out and engaged the manual door release, prying the elevator doors open to reveal the dimly lit third-floor maintenance corridor. "Emma Walker," the scarred man said, his voice a smooth, cultured baritone that sent chills down her spine. "My name is Victor. We apologize for the aggressive introduction, but we are on a very strict timetable." "If you touch my children, you will die in this building," Emma rasped, backing against the rear mirror of the elevator, her body shielding the crying twins. "Your husband stole a highly encrypted ledger from our private servers before his plane went down in the Atlantic," Victor stated, stepping closer. "He thought he could use it to dismantle our global operations. We need that ledger back, Emma. And to ensure Ethan cooperates, we require collateral." "You aren't taking them!" Carla screamed, stepping bravely between Victor and Emma, her hands raised in trembling defiance. "You'll have to kill me first!" Victor sighed, drawing a suppressed pistol from his thigh holster. "That can be easily arranged, Miss Bell." "Wait!" Emma shouted, stepping out from behind Carla. "If you shoot her, the acoustic sensors in this hallway will lock down the entire wing. You'll never make it to your extraction point." "She's right, sir," one of the mercenaries muttered, checking a wrist-mounted monitor. "Vanguard Tactical teams are currently breaching the main stairwells. We have ninety seconds before we are overrun." Victor smiled, his dark eyes locking onto the swaddled infants. "Then hand over the boy, Emma. Just the boy. And the rest of you can live."
