Chapter 15
On the rain-slicked roof of the hospital, a stealth helicopter touched down with a deafening roar. Before the landing skids even fully settled onto the concrete helipad, the side doors threw open. Ethan Walker leapt into the driving rain, dressed in black tactical armor, a custom-fitted assault rifle gripped tightly in his hands. Ten elite Vanguard operatives spilled out behind him, moving with terrifying, silent precision. "Report!" Ethan shouted over the roar of the rotors, tapping his earpiece. "Target is isolated on the third floor, Surgical Wing, sir," his Vanguard commander replied, running alongside him as they breached the roof access door. "A hostile strike team bearing the Serpent insignia has pinned down our interior guards. They are setting explosives on the door to OR-3. Your wife and children are inside." Ethan’s jaw clenched, his eyes turning into chips of dark, murderous ice. For four weeks, he had lived like a ghost, surviving the freezing ocean and hunting the shadow syndicate that had manipulated his stepfather Richard into sabotaging his aircraft. Now, they were hunting his family. "Nobody touches my family," Ethan growled. "Authorization is lethal force. Leave nothing breathing in that hallway." "Copy that, boss," the commander replied. They descended the concrete stairwell like a tidal wave of shadow and steel. When they hit the third-floor landing, Ethan kicked the fire doors open. The corridor was thick with gunsmoke. At the far end, Victor stood behind three heavily armed mercenaries, holding a remote detonator in his hand while facing the sealed surgical doors. "Victor!" Ethan roared, his voice echoing down the corridor like the wrath of a vengeful god. Victor whipped around, his eyes widening in genuine shock. "Walker? Impossible. The stairwells were secured!" "You secured them against cops," Ethan said, raising his rifle. "You didn't secure them against me. Fire!" The Vanguard operatives unleashed a devastating barrage. The deafening roar of automatic weapons tore through the corridor, instantly neutralizing two of the Serpent mercenaries before they could even raise their weapons. Victor scrambled backward, diving toward the surgical doors as chaos erupted.
