Chapter 6 - The Siege of the Glass House
“Get down!” Vance roared, diving across the glass desk and drawing his service weapon in one fluid motion.
Michael didn't hesitate. He pulled his Sig Sauer from his shoulder holster, dropped into a tactical crouch behind the heavy oak bookshelf, and slammed his hand onto the master security override panel, locking every steel storm shutter across the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Heavy metal shutters dropped down over the glass museum, turning the bright, sunlit rooms into a secure, subterranean bunker.
Outside, the quiet morning air shattered with the sound of automatic gunfire.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Bullets chewed through the exterior wood siding and ricocheted off the reinforced steel window frames with deafening cracks. Glass shards from the outer decorative panes rained down onto the stone patio like hailstones.
“Rosa!” Michael shouted over the din, hitting the intercom button for the nursery. “Rosa! Get the kids into the safe room behind the pantry! Do it now!”
“I’ve got them! I’m moving!” Rosa’s voice came back, shaking but resolute, followed by the frantic patter of running feet.
Detective Vance crawled across the floor toward the heavy oak study door, kicking it shut and locking the deadbolt. He peered through the tactical peephole drilled into the wood.
“How many?” Michael asked, checking his magazine.
“At least four,” Vance grunted, his face grim. “Professional muscle. Not local thugs. They’re wearing tactical vests and carrying suppressed submachine guns. They didn't come to talk, Dr. Rivers. They came to sanitize the house.”
“They want the flash drive,” Michael said, patting his breast pocket where the small titanium drive rested.
“They want anything that links them to the Reno syndicate,” Vance corrected. “And that includes anyone who knows about the kids.”
A heavy thud echoed against the front entry doors down the hall. Someone was using a hydraulic battering ram or a breaching charge.
“Dr. Rivers!” Vance shouted over the rising noise. “Listen to me! My backup is twenty minutes out—the mountain pass is still blocked by last night’s drifts. We are on our own until then. Do you have a secondary exit?”
“The utility tunnel in the basement,” Michael said quickly. “It leads down the slope to the old generator shed, about three hundred yards into the timberline. It’s secure.”
“Good. You’re getting those kids out of here right now.”
“I’m not leaving you here to hold the door,” Michael snapped.
“I’m a cop, Rivers! It’s my job!” Vance barked, racking the slide of his Glock. “You’re a doctor, and you’re the only family those kids have left. If those men get past this door, nobody walks out of this house alive. Get to the basement!”
BOOM.
The front door blew inward with an explosive roar, splintering wood and metal bolts across the foyer.
May you like
“Go!” Vance yelled, firing three rapid shots down the hallway toward the entryway.
Michael didn't wait. He spun around, threw open the secret panel behind his desk that led down the private service stairs, and sprinted into the darkness of the lower level.
