Chapter 48 - The Hunter at the Gates
Above ground, the sleet had turned into a blinding blizzard, obscuring the jagged limestone cliffs of the abandoned quarry in a shroud of swirling white.
Marcus Vance lay prone in the frozen mud behind the rusted engine block of an abandoned gravel crusher, his thermal optics focused on the quarry’s outer concrete bunker. Blood dripped steadily from a shrapnel wound on his temple, freezing into dark crystals against his collar, but his breathing remained steady, disciplined, lethal.
Beside him, wrapped in two thermal blankets inside the hollow cab of an overturned excavator, were Maya and Leo.
Ethan knelt beside them, a salvaged tactical shotgun resting across his knees, his hands trembling as he secured a pressure bandage around his own forearm. The skin of his face was drawn tight, hollowed by exhaustion and terror, but his eyes burned with a fierce, desperate clarity.
"They're inside," Ethan whispered, his voice hoarse, scraping against the howling wind. "The sirens started two minutes ago. Marcus... Claire is in there."
"I know," Marcus said, racking the bolt of his suppressed rifle. "The perimeter guards were neutralized by a secondary team. Look at the southern ridge."
Ethan squinted through the falling snow. Moving through the tree line along the quarry’s perimeter were six figures dressed in unmarked gray winter camouflage, moving in synchronized tactical pairs.
"Who are they?" Ethan asked, his grip tightening on the shotgun. "More of Victoria’s people?"
"No," Marcus murmured, his jaw clenching. "Federal Marshals Tactical Operations. Special Response Unit. But they aren't here under official Bureau orders."
Marcus brought up his handheld satellite transceiver. The screen glowed with an incoming encrypted military burst. The sender ID was not an agency handle; it was a personal frequency.
*VANCE. THIS IS DEPUTY DIRECTOR STERLING-HAYES. STAND DOWN YOUR PERIMETER WATCH. WE HAVE RECOVERED ARTHUR VANCE. HE HAS SURRENDERED STATE EVIDENCE AGAINST HIS SISTER AND WIFE. WE ARE GOING IN.*
Ethan stared at the screen, disbelief washing over his features. "Arthur? My father-in-law flipped?"
"The rat realized the ship was sinking," Marcus growled, pushing himself up from the freezing mud. "Arthur knew Victoria would execute him the moment the ledger transferred. He traded everything—his wife, his daughter Evelyn, his entire life—for a sealed plea deal."
Marcus looked back at Ethan, his expression cold as granite. "The feds are going in to secure the evidence. They don't care if Claire survives the crossfire. They want the servers."
Ethan didn't hesitate. He reached out, his hand locking onto the sling of Marcus’s spare submachine gun.
May you like
"Stay with the kids," Ethan said, his voice dropping into a register Marcus had never heard from the quiet, mild-mannered accountant. "Cover the extraction ramp. I’m going down."
***
