Chapter 7 - The Breach
Before Gideon could react, a sharp THWIP echoed from the dark treeline beyond the gardens.
A high-caliber sniper round shattered the marble railing right where Gideon had been standing a second before!
Gideon tackled Norah to the stone floor, covering her body with his own as glass and stone fragments rained down around them.
“SNIPER!” Gideon roared into his collar radio. “EAST TERRACE! LOCK DOWN THE ESTATE!”
Alarms immediately blared across the estate—deafening sirens that cut through the night air. Floodlights illuminated the gardens, and gunshots erupted near the perimeter gates.
Arthur and six armed guards burst onto the terrace, weapons raised.
“Gideon! Are you hit?” Arthur shouted, laying down suppressive fire toward the treeline.
“I’m fine!” Gideon yelled, helping Norah to her feet and keeping her behind his broad frame. “Get her to the safe room!”
“No!” Norah shouted, grabbing Gideon’s arm. “They aren't trying to kill you, Gideon! Look at the trajectory!”
She pointed to the bullet hole in the stone.
“The sniper didn't shoot at your chest,” Norah gasped, her mind analyzing the angle instantly. “He shot at the railing to force you into the corridor—where the secondary team is waiting!”
As if on cue, an explosion rocked the interior hallway behind them—BANG!
Smoke and dust poured through the double doors as four masked operatives in heavy tactical gear rushed out, armed with submachine guns.
It was an orchestrated trap.
“Get down!” Arthur screamed, engaging the attackers in a furious firefight.
Gideon pulled a heavy pistol from his shoulder holster, firing three precise shots that dropped the lead operative instantly. He grabbed Norah’s waist, pulling her into a recessed alcove beside the stone archway.
“Stay here!” Gideon ordered, his eyes blazing with protective fury.
“Gideon, the server room!” Norah yelled over the gunfire. “If they breach the basement server room, they can wipe our security grid and trap us inside!”
Gideon looked at her, realizing she was right again. The attackers weren't trying to conquer the estate—they were trying to cut the power and isolate them.
“Arthur!” Gideon shouted into the chaos. “Hold the terrace! Norah and I are heading to the basement grid!”
Gideon took Norah’s hand, leading her through a hidden service staircase behind the library. They sprinted down the narrow stone steps as the sounds of battle echoed throughout the grand mansion above.
When they reached the basement corridor, the lights were flickering dangerously.
At the end of the hall stood two heavy-set mercenaries trying to cut through the reinforced steel door of the server room with a plasma torch.
Gideon didn't hesitate. He raised his pistol and fired—BANG! BANG!
Both mercenaries collapsed to the stone floor.
Norah rushed to the digital control panel beside the server door. The screen was flashing red: SYSTEM COMPROMISED - MANUAL OVERRIDE REQUIRED.
“Can you fix it?” Gideon asked, standing guard at the corner of the corridor, his gun trained on the stairs.
“I need three minutes!” Norah said, her fingers flying across the keypad, accessing the system’s root code using the backup protocols she had memorized during her days as a cleaner.
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Behind them, heavy boots thundered down the stone stairs.
The Specter had arrived.
