Chapter 18 - The Midnight Siege
Although Victoria Sterling was placed in federal custody at the capital's central detention facility, the lingering tentacles of her massive crime syndicate did not sever overnight.
It was 10:00 PM on Sunday evening. A massive thunderstorm had rolled over the countryside, lashing the Westbrook farmhouse with torrential rain and violent strikes of lightning that illuminated the night sky in flashes of brilliant blue.
Inside the farmhouse, Sheriff Thomas had stationed three deputy patrol cars around the driveway. Arthur and Sarah sat in the living room, surrounded by coffee cups and legal briefs. Federal prosecutors were already preparing an indictment containing over sixty counts of kidnapping, racketeering, and corporate fraud against Victoria and her surviving co-conspirators.
However, Julian Mercer—who had been taken into police custody earlier that afternoon—had escaped during a transport transfer when two bribed officers staged an ambush on the highway.
"Mercer is loose, Arthur," Sarah said, watching the rain hammer against the windowpane. "He knows he’s facing life without parole. A man with nothing left to lose is the most dangerous predator on earth."
"The deputies are outside, Sarah," Arthur reassured her, though he kept his firearm resting on the table beside his hand. "He won't dare come back here."
Suddenly, the house shuddered as a massive bolt of lightning struck the oak tree in the front yard. The explosion of sparks was accompanied by a blinding flash—and simultaneously, the police radio on the kitchen counter burst into frantic static.
"Deputies, come in! We have... [static]... shots fired at the main gate! Repeat, shots—"
The radio transmission cut out completely into high-pitched white noise.
"Thomas!" Arthur yelled, jumping up from his chair.
Outside, two sharp, muffled gunshots rang out through the thunderous downpour. The headlights of the deputy patrol cars parked near the driveway suddenly went dark, one after the other.
"They're here," Sarah whispered, her heart dropping into a cold abyss.
"Rose! Get the girls into the reinforced storm cellar under the kitchen!" Arthur shouted, sweeping his pistol up from the table. "Sarah, get behind me!"
The front door was blown inward with a shattering boom as a breacher charge destroyed the frame. The heavy wooden door disintegrated into wooden splinters, and three masked mercenaries flooded into the entryway, their automatic weapons raised.
Behind them stepped Julian Mercer, his suit soaked in rain and blood, his eyes burning with a terrifying, unhinged madness.
"Where is the master drive, Vance?" Mercer roared over the sound of the thunder. "Give me the drive and I’ll leave the kids alive!"
Arthur didn't negotiate. He ducked behind the heavy leather sofa and opened fire, hitting the lead mercenary in the chest plate. The man staggered back, but the other two mercenaries immediately suppressed Arthur's position with a rain of automatic fire, shredding the sofa and shattering the plaster walls.
"Sarah, go!" Arthur screamed, reloading his weapon with frantic speed.
Sarah scrambled across the hardwood floor toward the kitchen, where Rose was desperately trying to pull open the heavy iron ring of the storm cellar door.
"Mom, hurry!" Sarah cried, helping her mother lift the door.
Lily and Emma were already inside the concrete shelter, their faces pale with horror as the sounds of gunfire ripped through their home.
"Get in, girls! Don't look back!" Sarah cried, shoving Emma down the steps.
Just as Lily took Sarah’s hand to step down into the cellar, a heavy hand grabbed Sarah by her hair from behind and violently yanked her backward onto the kitchen tile.
Sarah screamed as Mercer kicked the cellar door shut with his heavy boot, slamming the iron latch into place and trapping Rose and the children below.
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Mercer pinned Sarah to the floor, pressing the burning-hot barrel of his pistol against her temple.
"It’s over, Sarah," Mercer growled, his breath hot against her ear. "You brought down the Sterling estate. You destroyed forty years of work. Now you’re going to pay for it."
