Chapter 4 - Frame Job
Marcus backed away from the desk and reached for the iron fire-poker near the fireplace.
The heavy front door was kicked inward with a deafening crash.
Two men dressed in tactical gear stepped into the dim hallway.
They raised suppressed pistols, pointing them directly toward the dark living room.
Marcus lunged from behind the wall, swinging the heavy iron poker into the lead man's wrist.
The gun clattered across the wooden floorboards.
The second man fired two quiet shots, the bullets shattering the framed wedding photo on the wall.
Marcus ducked beneath the gunfire and tackled the man into the coffee table.
Glass shattered across the floor as the two men wrestled in the dark.
Marcus drove his elbow into the attacker's ribs, forcing him to release his grip.
He scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the kitchen fire escape window.
As he threw the window open, he noticed something lying near the kitchen counter.
It was the body of another security guard from the Vance Headquarters lobby.
The guard was wearing his full uniform, a fresh bullet wound visible on his chest.
Lying right beside the body was Marcus's spare service weapon.
Marcus realized with a sickening crash of terror what was happening.
They weren't just here to kill him.
They were framing him for the murder of an officer inside his own home.
If the police arrived right now, Marcus would look like a rogue killer eliminating witnesses.
Sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder with every passing second.
The two tactical men scrambled back to their feet in the hallway.
"He's escaping out the back!" one of them shouted into his radio.
Marcus squeezed through the narrow window frame and dropped onto the rusted metal fire escape ladder.
Rain pounded against his face as he scrambled down the wet iron rungs.
He hit the dark alley pavement just as police spotlights illuminated the top of the building.
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"Freeze! Police!" a voice boomed over a loudspeaker from the street corner.
Marcus turned and sprinted into the darkness of the city alleys.
