Chapter 8 - THE BLIND SURPRISE
The hallway lights flickered violently and then died completely.
Absolute darkness swallowed Vice Admiral Vance and Agent Marcus in a single heartbeat.
Marcus didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second.
He dropped his shoulder, violently lunging to the side as a suppressed round sparked off the floor tiles.
Vance cursed loudly in the dark, firing blindly into the empty air.
Marcus slammed his elbow into Vance’s wrist, sending the pistol clattering away down the hallway.
"Secure him!" Marcus shouted into the dark.
Inside the panic room, Rachel didn't wait to hear the outcome of the struggle.
She popped open the emergency locker mounted against the back wall.
Inside sat a heavy, military-issue sidearm left behind by her father years ago.
She gripped the cold steel handle, checking the magazine with trembling fingers.
She pulled the slide back, chambering a live round with a sharp, echoing metallic click.
The heavy steel door of the panic room swung outward with a slow hydraulic hiss.
Rachel stepped out into the dark corridor, raising the pistol with both hands.
"Step away from him, Vance," Rachel commanded, her voice ringing out with cold, sharp authority.
Vance, pinned to the floor by Marcus, turned his head slowly in the dim emergency glow.
A dark, mocking smile touched the corners of the Vice Admiral's mouth.
"You think a gun is going to save you, Rachel?" Vance whispered, spitting blood onto the carpet.
"The entire perimeter is surrounded by a full battalion."
"Your father is already dead out there."
Before Vance could finish his sentence, the front entrance door was kicked wide open again.
A heavy, rain-soaked figure stepped through the ruined threshold into the foyer.
Lightning flashed outside, illuminating the white naval dress uniform of Admiral Vance Miller.
His uniform was stained with mud and blood, but his eyes burned with terrifying, unstoppable fury.
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"He's wrong," the Admiral's voice echoed through the house.
"Nobody is touching my family tonight."
