Chapter 6 - The Breach
CRASH!
The massive reinforced steel doors on the ground level of the factory were blown off their hinges by a controlled explosive charge, sending a shower of sparks and iron splinters roaring through the dark lower floor.
The blinding floodlights inside the building cut out instantly, plunging the warehouse into total, terrifying darkness, broken only by the sweeping green beams of night-vision lasers cutting through the thick dust.
Shouts and gunfire erupted on the lower level as Rogelio’s hired security guards were systematically disarmed and neutralized by my tactical team.
Inside the glass office, panic exploded.
"What is that?!" Veronica shrieked, dropping her crystal tumbler, the glass shattering against the concrete floor. "Rogelio, you said his security wouldn't find us here!"
"Quiet!" Rogelio screamed, pulling a black revolver from his coat pocket with a trembling hand. He grabbed ten-year-old Mateo by the collar of his shirt, dragging the boy up off the floor and holding him in front of his chest as a human shield, pressing the barrel of the gun against Mateo’s temple. "Stay back! I'll shoot the boy! I swear to God I'll shoot him!"
My mother screamed, trying to throw her tied body forward, but her chair tipped over, sending her crashing onto her side on the concrete floor. "Mateo!"
The heavy steel door of the glass office was kicked open with a thunderous bang.
I stepped through the doorway, holding a tactical flashlight in one hand and a heavy black pistol in the other. Behind me, Liam and four heavily armed tactical officers flooded the room, their red laser sights instantly locking onto Rogelio’s chest and head.
"Drop the gun, Rogelio," I said. My voice was entirely devoid of emotion, a flat, icy rumble that filled the enclosed space.
Rogelio backed up against the glass window, clutching Mateo tightly against him, his eyes wild with terror and greed. "Don't move, Alejandro! One step closer and your precious son dies! Tell your men to lower their weapons!"
Veronica backed into the corner, raising her hands in terror. "Alejandro! Please! He forced me to do this! He threatened to ruin my family if I didn't help him frame your mother! I was trying to protect you!"
I didn't even look at Veronica. My eyes were locked entirely on my uncle, and on the small, terrified face of my son, who was staring back at me with wide, brave eyes.
"Dad," Mateo whimpered, a single tear cutting through the dust on his bruised cheek. "Don't let him hurt Grandma."
"He won't hurt anyone, Mateo," I said softly, taking one slow, deliberate step forward.
"I said stay back!" Rogelio screamed, his finger tightening dangerously on the trigger of his revolver. "You think you're so smart, Alejandro? You built an empire, but you couldn't even see that your own wife and uncle were bleeding you dry! You're nothing without me! Your father was nothing!"
"You're right about one thing, Rogelio," I said, stopping ten feet away, lowering my weapon slightly so his eyes would follow my barrel. "I was blind. For fifteen years, I let you dictate my reality. I let you steal my mother's life. But my sight has returned."
"Lower the gun or I kill him!" Rogelio shrieked, his focus entirely consumed by the weapon in my hand.
He didn't notice Liam stepping quietly around the exterior catwalk behind the glass office wall.
THWIP.
A silent, high-powered stun dart shattered the glass panel directly behind Rogelio’s head, striking him squarely in the neck.
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Rogelio’s eyes rolled back into his head instantly as ten thousand volts of electricity surged through his nervous system. His grip relaxed, his revolver slipping from his fingers and clattering harmlessly to the floor.
Before Rogelio could fall, I sprinted forward, snatching Mateo into my arms, pulling him tightly against my chest, shielding his eyes as my security officers slammed Rogelio onto the concrete, snapping iron cuffs over his wrists.
