Chapter 17
Ethan hit Victor with bone-crushing momentum, driving the mercenary backward until they both slammed into the reinforced glass of the observation window. The glass spider-webbed under the immense impact.
"Ethan!" Emma cried out, tears of overwhelming relief flooding her eyes.
Victor recovered quickly, driving his knee into Ethan’s ribs. Ethan grunted but didn't let go. He grabbed Victor by the tactical vest and threw him brutally across the operating table, scattering sterile instruments and metal trays onto the floor with a deafening crash.
"You think you can dismantle the Serpent?" Victor spat blood onto the tiles, drawing a serrated combat knife from his belt. "We control governments, Walker! You're just a dead man who forgot to stay buried!"
"You made one mistake, Victor," Ethan growled, circling the operating table, his fists clenched, his eyes locked on the man who had threatened his wife. "You came after my children."
Victor lunged, slashing the knife in a deadly horizontal arc. Ethan ducked under the blade, stepping inside Victor's guard. He delivered a devastating combination of strikes—a heavy right hook to Victor’s ribs, followed by a vicious elbow to the mercenary's jaw.
Victor staggered, swinging the knife wildly in desperation. The blade caught Ethan’s forearm, slicing through the tactical fabric and drawing a line of bright red blood. Ethan didn't even flinch. Using the momentum of Victor’s swing, Ethan grabbed the mercenary's wrist, twisted it violently until the bone snapped, and forced Victor to drop the knife.
With a final, thunderous roar, Ethan grabbed Victor by the throat and slammed him backward into the wall. He drove his fist into Victor’s face once, twice, three times, until the mercenary went completely limp and slid down the wall to the floor.
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Ethan stood over the unconscious leader, his chest heaving, his knuckles bruised and bleeding. The hallway outside fell completely silent as Vanguard Tactical secured the perimeter.
Ethan slowly turned around, his dark, exhausted eyes finally resting on the woman holding his children.
