Chapter 48 - The Shattered Glass
The gunshot reverberated down the stone elevator shaft, followed immediately by the dull thud of an explosion that shook dust loose from the vaulted ceiling. The estate's primary lighting flickered twice and died, plunging the laboratory into the eerie gloom of emergency crimson lanterns.
"They're inside the house," the security commander said, drawing his weapon and racking the slide. He keyed his tactical radio, but only harsh static answered. "Bailiffs are down or compromised. Those aren't standard security rounds up there—that’s suppressed automatic fire. Mercenaries."
"Arthur’s financiers," Daniel said, his voice flat with sudden, cold clarity. He adjusted the jacket around the sleeping girl, ensuring her face was covered. "They knew Arthur’s heart was failing. They weren't waiting for the magistrate’s ruling. They came to liquidate the evidence and take the child."
"Dad, the elevator is disabled," Leo said, shining his tactical light toward the control panel at the rear of the chamber. The digital readout showed the car stuck three floors up, severed cables triggering the mechanical brake. "The service stairs are the only way out, but they lead right into the pantry next to the great hall."
"Then we don't go up," Daniel said. He turned to the security commander. "Arthur built this estate during the Cold War. There has to be a drainage conduit that opens directly onto the lake shore for water runoff."
"There is," the commander nodded, gesturing toward the low iron hatch beneath the drainage cistern. "It feeds into the rocky bluffs three hundred yards south of the private pier. But it’s narrow, flooded with six inches of runoff, and completely unlit."
"We move now," Daniel ordered. "Leo, stay between the commander and me. Don't turn on your main light unless I tell you."
As they reached the heavy iron hatch, the steel blast door behind them shuddered under the impact of a breaching charge. A dull, concussive roar blew the upper hinges outward, sending shrapnel whistling across the laboratory.
Through the rising smoke and the red gloom, laser sights cut through the haze, searching the empty pods.
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"Clear the laboratory!" a harsh voice barked from the breached doorway in accented English. "Find the child and execute the witnesses! The contract expires at noon!"
***
