Chapter 5 - The Hospital Siege
The rain had turned into a steady, freezing drizzle by the time the dark grey rental SUV pulled into the parking garage of St. Jude’s Medical Center.
Blake, Vance, and Miller stepped out into the damp concrete shadows. Cruz remained in the vehicle, three laptop screens illuminating his face as he tapped into the hospital’s closed-circuit security camera network.
"Floor four is locked down," Cruz’s voice came through their tiny, concealed earpieces. "Sheriff Cole posted two uniformed deputies right outside the elevator bay on the fourth floor. Another deputy is walking the perimeter of the building."
"Where is Cameron Voss?" Blake asked, walking briskly toward the stairwell.
"His Mercedes is parked in the VIP bay on the ground floor," Cruz reported. "Security footage shows him entering the building ten minutes ago with two private bodyguards. He’s currently inside room 412."
Blake’s grip tightened around the handrail of the stairwell as they climbed the concrete steps silently. Four floors. No elevator, no noise.
"Vance, Miller—take the deputies at the elevator," Blake instructed calmly as they reached the fourth-floor fire door. "Keep it quiet. No firearms unless fired upon."
"Understood," Vance said, his massive frame shifting forward like a panther.
Blake pulled a heavy steel pry bar from his duffel bag—a tool he had carried through dozens of urban breaches.
Miller cracked the stairwell door open an inch. Through the narrow gap, two Henrico County deputies were standing near the nurses' station, laughing casually, holding paper coffee cups. Their sidearms were holstered, their postures relaxed, entirely unconcerned with potential threats.
"Executing," Vance whispered.
The fire door swung open without a sound. Vance and Miller moved with terrifying, fluid speed.
Before the first deputy could even turn his head, Vance slammed his forearm against the officer's throat, pinning him against the concrete pillar while driving his knee sharply into the man's solar plexus. The deputy went limp instantly, his coffee cup clattering softly to the linoleum floor.
Simultaneously, Miller caught the second deputy from behind, placing him in a precise, non-lethal carotid sleeper hold. The deputy thrashed for four seconds before his eyes rolled back, slipping silently into unconsciousness.
Vance dragged both unconscious deputies into a utility closet, locking the door from the outside, while Miller retrieved their radios and sidearms, quickly field-stripping the weapons and tossing the firing pins into a biohazard bin.
"Elevator bay clear," Vance reported calmly, wiping his brow. "You're clear to the room, Blake."
Blake walked down the silent corridor, his heart pounding a steady, rhythmic beat.
Outside room 412, two tall men in dark tailored suits stood guard, their hands folded neatly in front of their waists—Cameron Voss’s private security detail.
As Blake approached, the larger bodyguard stepped forward, raising a hand. "Private floor, buddy. Turn around."
Blake didn't slow his stride.
When he reached arm's length, the bodyguard reached for a concealed holster inside his jacket. Blake moved faster. He grabbed the man’s wrist, twisting it inward with bone-crushing force while stepping into his guard, driving his elbow directly into the bodyguard's jaw.
The man’s head snapped back, his knees buckling instantly.
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The second bodyguard lunged, but Vance appeared from the hallway shadow like a wall of iron, grabbing the man by his lapels and launching him violently into the wall, knocking the breath completely out of his lungs before slamming him face-first into the floorboards.
Blake stepped over the groaning bodyguard, reached out, and pulled the door to room 412 open.
