Chapter 6 - Blood and Steel in the Citadel
The grand staircase of Croft Estate became a killing floor within minutes.
Marcus Vance stood in the foyer, checking his gold pocket watch with growing impatience. His mercenaries formed a defensive perimeter around the base of the stairs, their assault rifles trained on the vaulted upper landing where the heavy oak doors remained closed.
“Time’s up,” Marcus muttered to his captain. “Storm the master suite. Bring me the girl’s head and the Alpha in chains.”
Before the mercenaries could take a step toward the stairs, the overhead crystal chandelier detonated in a blinding cascade of glass and white-hot sparks.
From the darkened vaulted ceiling above, two dark figures dropped silently through the wire mesh of the skylight.
Bang! Bang!
Suppressed gunfire erupted from above with mathematical precision. Two mercenaries dropped instantly, their armor pierced through the shoulder plates.
“Contact! Upper tier!” the captain roared, turning his rifle upward.
It was too late. Kane Croft hit the marble floor in a terrifying blur of motion, his massive frame slamming into the lead mercenary like a freight train, sending him crashing through a mahogany display case. He didn't use a weapon; his bare hands were lethal enough, ripping through tactical vests and disarming men twice his size with effortless, brutal efficiency.
From the mezzanine railing above, Harper held her ground, her pistol steady, squeezing off calculated shots that took out the security spotlights plunging the foyer into strategic darkness.
“Cover the flanks!” Marcus screamed, panic finally cracking his polished veneer as he scrambled behind a marble pillar.
Gideon Locke burst through the service elevator doors at the rear of the foyer, his tactical shotgun booming in the confined space, trapping Vance’s remaining men in a devastating crossfire.
The battle lasted less than three minutes.
When the smoke cleared, the mercenaries were either unconscious or disarmed, pinned to the floor by heavy zip-ties.
Richard Hayes sat trembling in his chair, his gag finally slipping off as he stared in utter horror at the carnage around him.
Kane walked slowly across the blood-stained marble, his boots echoing in the massive hall. His shirt was torn, exposing scars from past battles, and his golden eyes locked onto Marcus Vance cowering behind the pillar.
Kane reached down, grabbing Marcus by the lapels of his expensive Italian suit, and lifted him off the floor with one hand as if he weighed nothing at all.
“You wanted my throne, Marcus?” Kane’s voice was a low, terrifying growl that rattled the windows. “You wanted my territory?”
“I—I have the tribunal mandate!” Marcus choked out, clawing desperately at Kane’s iron grip. “You can’t touch me! The council will—!”
“The council is currently answering to my legal counsel,” a calm, icy voice interrupted from the doorway.
Mara Feldman, Kane’s chief legal counsel, stepped into the foyer accompanied by two federal marshals and three high-ranking members of the regional Alpha Council who had just arrived via helicopter.
Mara held up a thick manila folder, her expression stone-cold.
“Marcus Vance has been formally indicted on charges of corporate fraud, extortion, illegal wiretapping, and high treason against the Pacific Alpha Alliance,” Mara announced clearly, her voice carrying across the silent hall. “All financial claims against Cascade Pack are hereby nullified, and all of Vance Industries’ assets are seized under federal forfeiture laws.”
Marcus’s face drained of all color. He looked from Mara to Kane, realizing the trap had completely closed around him.
Kane didn't kill him. Instead, he dropped Marcus onto the floor like a piece of garbage, wiping his hands with a handkerchief.
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“Take him to the federal holding cells,” Kane ordered the marshals. “And make sure he never sees daylight again.”
As the marshals dragged a weeping, broken Marcus Vance out into the gray dawn, the first rays of sunlight broke through the storm clouds over the Pacific, painting the horizon in brilliant gold.
