Chapter 5 - UNDER FIRE
Darkness swallowed the living room as the shattered ceiling light went completely dead.
Rachel pulled Lily under her body, shielding the shivering child beneath the heavy oak table.
"Dad!" Rachel screamed into the dark, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs.
"Stay down and cover your head!" Admiral Vance Miller ordered, his voice commanding and steady.
Another high-powered sniper round tore through the window frame, embedding itself deep into the plaster wall.
Agent Marcus rolled across the hardwood floor, pulling a tactical flashlight and his sidearm from his coat.
"Sniper is positioned on the high ridge across the tree line!" Marcus yelled over the chaos.
"Distance is roughly three hundred meters, elevated trajectory!"
"They brought heavy equipment," the Admiral said, crawling toward the broken bay window with his gun raised.
"They aren't just trying to silence Ethan; they are clearing the entire site!"
Outside, the sudden squeal of heavy rubber tires echoed from the driveway below.
A black SUV with tinted windows screeched to a halt right in front of the tactical transport vehicle.
Two men dressed in unmarked black tactical gear leapt out, raising suppressed automatic rifles.
Before the Admiral’s tactical team could react, a hail of suppressed gunfire sprayed the transport vehicle.
The tactical officers fell back, returning fire as muzzle flashes illuminated the dark courtyard.
"Marcus, get Rachel and Lily into the secure basement shelter now!" the Admiral commanded.
"Not without you, Admiral!" Marcus shouted back, firing two shots out through the shattered window frame.
"I am not leaving my family behind," the Admiral said, his voice dropping into a dangerous cold tone.
"They want me, Marcus."
"This entire assault was staged to draw me out into the open."
Rachel reached out from under the table, catching the hem of her father’s white military coat.
"Dad, please don't do this!" Rachel sobbed, tears cutting lines through the dust on her cheeks.
"If you go out there, they will kill you!"
The Admiral turned his head, his grey eyes softening in the dim flicker of the tactical flashlight.
"They can try, sweetheart," the Admiral whispered softly.
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"But your father hasn't lost a battle yet."
He gently pried her hand away and stood up, stepping into the line of fire.
