Chapter 6 - The Siege of Old Westbury
At 2:15 AM, the storm reached its peak. Lightning split the black sky above the Westbury hills, followed by rolling cracks of thunder that shook the stone foundations of the fortress.
Outside the east garden wall, twenty elite Valenti hitmen, led personally by Tomas, crawled out of the ancient stone drainage opening near the marble fountain.
"Quiet," Tomas whispered, pulling his night-vision goggles down. "The main security cameras are focused on the front gate. We breach the cellar doors, sweep upstairs, and take Gabriel while he’s distracted."
The hitmen crept across the wet lawn toward the dark cellar entrance.
Tomas reached the heavy steel door, pulling out a thermal breaching charge. He slapped it against the lock and pressed the detonator.
CLICK.
Instead of an explosion, a blinding white floodlight snapped on from the terrace above, illuminating the entire garden like a stadium.
"Looking for the cellar, Tomas?"
Gabriel stood on the upper stone balcony, holding a heavy tactical rifle, flanked by twenty heavily armed Moretti guards.
Tomas gasped, dropping his charge. "Open fire!"
Before the hitmen could raise their weapons, the automated defense grid activated! High-caliber suppressive fire rained down from the balcony, cutting through the courtyard!
"Retreat! Back to the tunnel!" Tomas screamed, sprinting toward the fountain.
He threw himself into the dark opening of the drainage pipe, scrambling through the mud as explosions echoed behind him. He didn't stop until he burst out of the tunnel mouth on the outer perimeter fence, panting heavily, blood dripping from a shrapnel cut on his forehead.
"Going somewhere?"
Tomas froze in the mud.
Standing ten feet away in the rain was Mara.
She wore a dark leather coat over her bandages, holding a simple 9mm handgun aimed directly at Tomas’s chest. Standing beside her was Donna Isabella, holding a double-barreled shotgun with practiced ease.
Tomas stared at her in utter disbelief, letting out a raspy, crazed laugh. "You? The fat little maid is going to shoot me?"
"I’m not a maid, Tomas," Mara said, her voice steady and cold despite the thunder shaking the trees above. "I am the woman who exposed you. I am the woman who protected this family."
Tomas sneered, reaching subtly toward his sidearm. "You don't have the stomach to pull that trigger, girl—"
BANG!
A single shot cut through the rain.
The bullet struck the mud two inches from Tomas's boot.
Tomas jumped back in terror, raising his hands instantly.
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Gabriel walked out from the shadowed trees behind Mara, his rifle smoking, his dark eyes locked onto the traitor with absolute finality.
"She doesn't have to pull the trigger, Tomas," Gabriel rasped, stepping past Mara and grabbing Tomas by the throat, lifting him three inches off the ground. "Because I’m more than happy to do it for her."
