Chapter 14 - Breach at the Apex
The acrid smell of burnt gunpowder and ozone filled the executive foyer as the smoke billowed against the glass partitions. The three Apex operatives moved with terrifying synchronicity, forming a classic wedge formation as they advanced past the shattered doorway. They weren't mercenaries looking for a quick payout; they were ghost soldiers trained to leave no survivors.
"Suppressing fire!" the lead operative barked through his comms-unit, his weapon pivoting toward the center of the room.
I didn't wait for them to find their mark. Pushing off the concrete pillar with explosive force, I swept low, bringing my sidearm up and squeezing the trigger twice. The suppressed rounds cracked through the air, striking the lead operative's shoulder plate and spinning him sideways. He crashed hard against the glass partition, shattering it into a million glittering fragments.
The remaining two operatives instantly shifted their fire toward my position, but Harrison was already moving.
Bounding across the room with the agility of an active-duty assault leader, Harrison closed the distance on the second contractor in three long strides. He slammed the heavy butt of his pistol directly into the man’s tactical helmet with a resounding crack, sending the operative sprawling unconscious onto the marble floor.
The third contractor spun around, his rifle barrel tracking toward Harrison’s chest.
Before he could pull the trigger, I dropped to one knee and put a precise round through the mechanism of his assault rifle, shattering the receiver in a blinding shower of sparks. The man dropped the ruined weapon with a curse, lunging forward to draw his combat knife.
I didn't give him the chance. I holstered my sidearm, stepped inside his guard, and delivered a devastating palm-strike to his chin, followed swiftly by a sweeping leg-trip that slammed him flat onto the floor. Before he could recover, I drove my boot down onto his wrist, forcing the knife to clatter uselessly across the stone.
"Clear!" I called out, my breathing controlled and steady as I scanned the foyer for any secondary threats.
Harrison stood over the groaning operatives, lowering his sidearm as he adjusted his tactical holster. He looked over at me, a fierce, approving grin breaking through the soot on his face.
"You still fight like you're clearing rooms in the Zagros mountains, Captain," Harrison said, offering a hand to help me check my gear.
"You're not so bad yourself for a billionaire," I replied, taking his hand and pulling myself up. My ribs ached slightly from the sudden exertion, but the adrenaline kept the pain at bay.
Miller's voice suddenly crackled over our tactical earpieces, laced with urgency. "Boss, Captain—we've got a secondary breach on the roof! A heavy transport chopper just dropped a second squad onto the helipad. They're trying to breach the mainframe server room directly!"
Harrison’s expression hardened instantly. The rooftop server room housed every encrypted financial record, intelligence dossier, and unredacted federal file we had gathered against Apex Security. If they compromised the mainframe, the entire operation would be wiped out.
"They're making their last stand," Harrison said, his voice dropping into absolute command mode. "Miller, seal the bulkhead doors to the rooftop stairwell. Activate the automated defense turrets on level seventy-five. Aiden—let's go close the trap."
We moved as one unit, sprinting down the private corridor toward the emergency stairwell that led directly to the helipad. The building around us hummed with the red glow of the security lockdown, every automatic barrier snapping into place to block the intruders' advance.
As we reached the heavy steel reinforced door leading to the roof, the heavy thrum of helicopter rotor blades vibrated through the concrete walls, shaking dust from the ceiling.
"They're cutting through the steel hinges with a thermal torch," I whispered, pressing my ear against the cool metal surface of the door. I could hear the high-pitched whine of the cutting tool chewing through the reinforced bolts.
May you like
Harrison checked the magazine of his sidearm one last time, a dangerous, predatory glint in his golden-brown eyes.
"Let's welcome them to the top floor," he said.
