Chapter 7 - Fire and GlassThe Aegis Biotech research facility in Queens looked like a sterile corporate fortress from the outside—all gleaming glass, steel panels, and manicured lawns. But beneath the polished lobby lay a subterranean labyrinth of illegal laboratories, black-market data servers, and armed mercenaries.
The black Mercer SUV slipped past the outer security gates using cloned biometric credentials, coming to a smooth halt in the underground loading dock.
Four doors opened simultaneously. Dominic emerged first, clad in a sleek tactical vest over a black cashmere sweater, dual pistols holstered at his hips. Flanked by Vance and six heavily armed syndicate enforcers, Mara stepped out right beside him, her movements fluid and deadly despite her healing injuries.
"Perimeter secure," Vance reported, lowering his comms headset. "Internal cameras are looped. We have five minutes before their automated security protocol registers our intrusion."
"Move," Dominic commanded.
They breached the heavy reinforced steel service door with a silent thermal charge. The door blew inward with a muffled thump, and the team flooded into the sterile, white-lit corridors of the facility.
Alarms blared instantly, flashing red emergency strobes cutting through the sterile hallways.
"Contact!" an enforcer shouted as three armed corporate security guards rounded the corner.
Before the guards could even raise their assault rifles, Dominic and Mara moved in perfect synchronization. Two rapid suppressors coughed softly in the confined hallway, and the guards dropped instantly, neutralizing the threat before a single alarm could reach the central command.
"You move like you've done this before," Dominic noted, stepping over a fallen guard without breaking stride.
"When you spend eight years hiding from the most ruthless men in the country, you learn how to handle a firearm," Mara replied coldly, her eyes scanning the intersecting corridors. "My father insisted I take self-defense lessons when I was twelve. He said a Vance never relies on anyone else for survival."
"A good philosophy," Dominic murmured, a rare, appreciative smirk touching his lips. "Though I intend to make sure you never have to fight alone again."
They reached the heavy vault doors of the executive board room at the end of the corridor. Through the reinforced glass panels, Mara could see a group of aging men in expensive suits scrambling in absolute panic, frantically shredding documents and wiping server hard drives.
Dominic didn't bother knocking. He raised his boot and kicked the reinforced steel lock with enough explosive force to shatter the electronic deadbolts, sending the heavy doors swinging wide open.
The men inside froze in absolute horror.
Standing at the head of the polished mahogany conference table was CEO Arthur Sterling—the man who had orchestrated the murder of Mara’s family eight years ago, and the man who had just ordered the hit on Blackthorne House.
Sterling’s face drained of all color, his trembling hand dropping a shredded document back onto the table.
"D-Dominic Mercer?" Sterling stammered, staring in sheer terror at the syndicate boss. "We... we have an arrangement. Mercer Holdings and Aegis—"
"Arrangements change," Dominic interrupted smoothly, stepping into the room with the terrifying aura of an apex predator. He casually stepped aside, gesturing toward the woman standing beside him. "Allow me to introduce you to an old friend."
Sterling’s eyes shifted past Dominic to land on Mara. As she stepped under the bright overhead lights, pulling down her tactical collar, the color drained entirely from his face as recognition struck him like a physical blow.
"E-Elena Vance?" Sterling choked out, stumbling backward against the mahogany table. "No... that's impossible. The plane... the wreckage..."
"Did you really think a few kilograms of C4 could wipe out a Vance?" Mara asked, her voice dripping with venom as she slowly raised her pistol, leveling the barrel directly between Sterling’s eyes.
Sterling fell hard to his knees, his hands shaking as he raised them in desperate surrender. "Please! It wasn't just me! The board ordered the hit! I was just following orders—"
"My father trusted you," Mara whispered, stepping closer, her finger resting lightly on the trigger. "My mother treated you like family. And you burned them alive."
May you like
She cocked the hammer.
Sterling screamed, closing his eyes as he braced for the impact.
