Chapter 18 - Breaking the Perimeter
"Thermal imaging shows six guards near the main gate, four on the roof, and two inside the east wing holding room," Marcus reported from the front seat, tapping his laptop screen. "Julian’s security team is professional, but they aren't expecting a direct assault."
"We aren't breaching through the front," Ethan said, pointing to a utility service entrance near the rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. "The Harrington estate uses our proprietary Vance security network. I designed the emergency override protocol ten years ago when I was engaged to Victoria."
We moved through the dark brush like shadows. Rain washed over our faces, but neither of us felt the cold.
Ethan approached the secondary electrical hub, pulling off the metal cover plate and connecting his glass tablet directly into the optic cables. His fingers flew across the touch panel, executing a series of rapid bypass commands.
CLICK.
The heavy iron service door unlocked with a soft mechanical chime. The perimeter searchlights flickered and died, plunging the estate gardens into total pitch-black darkness.
"Comms are dark for sixty seconds," Ethan whispered, pulling his weapon. "Stay tight behind me."
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We moved through the underground wine cellar passages, slipping past unconscious guards that Marcus’s point team neutralized with silent efficiency. Every second felt like an eternity. All I could picture was Noah, tied to a chair in some sterile room, feeling abandoned and broken.
We reached the heavy oak doors of the central library. Inside, raised voices echoed through the keyhole.
