Chapter 5 - The Lockdown War
"They cut the main feed," Marcus said calmly, reaching under the server desk and pulling out a heavy black tactical case. He popped the latches, revealing two compact semi-automatic handguns and several spare magazines.
He checked the chamber of one weapon with practiced, military precision—a reminder that before he was a billionaire investor, Marcus Sterling had spent six years in special operations.
He handed the second weapon toward me. "Do you know how to use this?"
I looked at the cold steel of the handgun. "My father was a deputy sheriff in upstate New York. He made sure I knew how to shoot by the time I was twelve."
I took the weapon, checked the magazine, and racked the slide. The mechanical click was crisp in the silent vault.
"Vance is going to use the lockdown to isolate us," Marcus said, pulling up a secondary schematic on his phone. "He'll claim there's an active threat on the estate, lock Eleanor and the kids in the master panic room, and hunt us down in the basement under the guise of 'clearing the building.'"
"We can't let him reach the nursery," I said, my heart hammering against my ribs. "Eleanor is up there. If she gets the kids into the panic room alone with Vance..."
"They won't need to fake an accident anymore," Marcus growled. "They can lock the vault from the inside and let them suffocate while claiming an equipment failure."
We stepped out of the server vault into the narrow concrete corridor of the lower level. The air was cool and smelled of concrete dust. Above us, the muffled sound of heavy boots echoed down the service stairs.
"Two men," Marcus whispered, holding up two fingers. "Vance sent his core team to clear the basement first."
We ducked into a side storage bay filled with spare furniture and maintenance supplies. Through the gaps in the wooden crates, I saw the flashlight beams cutting through the red emergency haze.
Two of Vance’s guards swept into the hallway, their assault rifles raised, moving in a tight tactical formation.
"Check the server vault," one of them commanded in a low voice. "Vance said if Sterling is in there, take him down. Make it look like he mistook us for intruders."
They stepped past our hiding spot.
Marcus didn't hesitate. He stepped out from behind the crates like a shadow, striking the rear guard across the back of the neck with the heavy steel frame of his handgun. The guard collapsed without a sound.
Before the second guard could swing his rifle around, I stepped out from the opposite side, raising my handgun and pointing it straight at his chest.
"Drop it," I said, my voice steady, my sight aligned perfectly with his sternum. "Drop it now or I'll put two rounds through your vest."
The guard froze, looking from my unblinking eyes down to his fallen partner, then slowly lowered his rifle to the concrete floor.
Marcus kicked the rifle away, pulled a set of heavy plastic zip-ties from the guard's tactical vest, and bound his hands and ankles in less than ten seconds.
"Where is Vance?" Marcus demanded, pressing the barrel of his handgun against the guard's jaw.
The guard swallowed hard, his bravado instantly evaporating. "Upstairs... master wing. He's securing the children with Miss Eleanor."
"Is Eleanor in the nursery?" I asked, stepping closer.
"She... she took the kids out of the room five minutes ago," the guard stammered. "Taking them to the high-security bunker in the sub-basement east wing."
My blood ran cold. The sub-basement east wing wasn't a living space. It was an old nuclear shelter built into the bedrock beneath the pool house—a windowless, soundproof vault with a single six-inch-thick steel door that could only be opened from the primary control console in Vance's office.
If they put Leo and Chloe in that bunker, they wouldn't even need to stay in the country. They could lock the door, set the timer, and catch a private flight out of the private airstrip ten miles away while the children remained trapped five stories underground.
"We need to get to the east wing tunnel," Marcus said, his face dark with fury.
"No," I said, grabbing his arm. "If Vance is already at the bunker, he’ll be watching the main tunnel entrance. He expects you to come straight for him."
"Then how do we reach them?" Marcus asked.
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"The old laundry chute," I said. "When I was cleaning the mansion last week, I noticed the service shaft behind the linen closets goes straight down to the old utility room right beside the east bunker. Vance doesn't know the house layout like the service staff does."
Marcus looked at me, a quick, grim smile touching his lips. "Lead the way, Sarah."
