Chapter 8 - NIGHT OF RECKONING
A heavy thunderstorm raged outside Cross Mansion, masking the sound of footsteps moving silently through the service corridors.
Inside the primary master bedroom—where Nathaniel had insisted Elena and Lily stay for their own safety—Lily was fast asleep under a heavy velvet duvet. Elena sat beside her, reading a book under the dim light of a bedside lamp, while Nathaniel worked on his laptop near the fireplace.
Suddenly, the lights flickered twice and went completely out.
The room plunged into pitch darkness, save for the pale flashes of lightning illuminating the tall windows.
Nathaniel stood up immediately, his instincts on high alert. "The emergency generators should have kicked in instantly. Something's wrong."
He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a sleek black handgun, racking the slide with a sharp, lethal metallic click.
"Stay behind me, Elena," Nathaniel ordered in a fierce whisper.
"Nathaniel... look," Elena whispered in horror, pointing toward the bottom of the heavy mahogany bedroom door.
Thick, black smoke was beginning to pour under the door crack. The acrid smell of burning chemical accelerant filled the air.
"Fire," Nathaniel growled. "They set the service wing ablaze!"
He rushed to the door and touched the handle with the back of his hand. It was burning hot. The hallway outside was already a roaring furnace.
"The fire escape through the balcony!" Nathaniel instructed, rushing back to the bed. He scooped Lily up into his arms, wrapping her in a thick wool blanket to protect her from the smoke, while grabbing Elena's hand firmly.
They moved quickly toward the double French doors leading out to the second-story balcony. But as Nathaniel reached out to unlatch the glass doors, a heavy silhouette stepped out of the shadows of the rain-drenched balcony outside.
CRASH!
The glass shattered inward as the intruder kicked the doors open, raising a silenced pistol directly at Nathaniel's chest.
"Drop the weapon, Cross!" the masked operative barked over the sound of thunder. "Hand over the flash drive, or the girl dies first!"
Elena gasped, pulling back in horror.
Nathaniel didn't drop his gun. His eyes narrowed into slits of pure steel. "You made a fatal mistake entering my home."
Before the gunman could pull the trigger, a loud, roaring noise echoed from the hallway inside. The heavy mahogany door burst open under intense fire pressure, sending a wall of flame and smoke cascading into the room.
The distraction lasted a fraction of a second, but it was all Nathaniel needed.
Nathaniel ducked, pushing Elena and Lily behind a heavy marble pillar, and fired two rapid shots through the smoke.
THWIP! THWIP!
The bullets struck the operative in the shoulder and chest. The force of the impact sent the masked man stumbling backward over the low stone balustrade of the balcony. With a sharp scream, he fell into the stormy darkness below, landing heavily on the stone courtyard two stories down.
"We have to move now!" Nathaniel shouted, grabbing Elena as flames began licking at the curtains and ceiling beams.
He led them out onto the rain-slick balcony, moving swiftly toward the iron emergency staircase attached to the side of the mansion. Rain poured down on them, washing away the smoke sting from their eyes as they scrambled down the steps to safety.
As their feet hit the gravel driveway, private security vehicles came roaring around the bend, their red and blue emergency lights flashing through the dense fog.
Arthur, his head bandaged but conscious, staggered out of one of the security cars. "Mr. Nathaniel! Fire crews are on the way! Are you alright?"
"We're safe," Nathaniel panted, setting Lily down into Elena's desperate, holding arms.
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Nathaniel looked back up at his burning mansion, his face set in stone. He pulled his phone from his pocket, wiped the rainwater off the screen, and dialed the direct line of the Chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"Director Vance," Nathaniel said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "This is Nathaniel Cross. I have the evidence of Julian Vance's murder, the illegal drug trial records, and an active attempt on my family's life. Issue the arrest warrants now."
