Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Shadows of the Cradle
The line went dead.
"Nathan! Nathan!" Daniel yelled into the phone, but there was nothing but static. He looked at Laura, his face pale. "They're already inside the house."
At the Holloway estate, the nightmare had unfolded in a matter of seconds. Nathan had been standing in the kitchen, pouring a glass of water, when the living room’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows shattered inward. Three flashbang grenades detonated in rapid succession, filling the air with blinding white light and a deafening roar.
Years of living in hiding, looking over his shoulder in the Montana mountains, had given Nathan reflexes that average civilians lacked. Despite the ringing in his ears, he didn't freeze. He dropped to the floor, crawling rapidly toward the stairs.
Upstairs, Emily had just put Hope down in his crib. Hearing the explosions, she instinctively threw her body over the child, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. The memory of the mall attack flashed through her mind, but she forced the panic down. She was a mother now. She had to be strong.
The bedroom door flew open. Nathan slid inside, his face covered in soot, a small handgun gripped tightly in his hand. He had retrieved it from a hidden safe in the hallway.
"The panic room, now!" Nathan hissed, lifting Hope from the crib. The toddler began to cry, terrified by the loud noises and the darkness.
They moved quickly down the hidden service corridor behind the master closet. The panic room was a reinforced concrete vault, hidden behind a false wall. Nathan punched in the security code, his fingers slick with sweat. The heavy steel door clicked and slid open.
"Get inside," Nathan whispered, pushing Emily and Hope through the threshold.
"What about you?" Emily asked, her eyes wide with terror, gripping his shirt. "Nathan, don't leave us."
"I have to lock it from the outside control panel to activate the stealth jamming signal," Nathan explained, kissing her fiercely. "If I don't, they will use a thermal cutter on the door hinges. If the jamming is on, the house looks empty on their scanners. I’ll hide in the crawlspace. I love you."
Before she could argue, he pulled the heavy door shut. The magnetic locks engaged with a deep, echoing thud.
Outside the vault, the house was eerily quiet. Nathan turned to sprint toward the attic crawlspace, but as he stepped back into the master bedroom, a heavy boot slammed into his chest, throwing him backward onto the hardwood floor.
A figure clad in black tactical gear and a night-vision visor stood over him. The operative didn't raise a rifle; instead, he drew a high-voltage taser.
Nathan scrambled backward, firing one shot from his handgun. The bullet clipped the operative's shoulder, but the man didn't even flinch. With terrifying precision, the operative fired the taser prongs. Millions of volts of electricity surged through Nathan's body, locking his muscles instantly. He collapsed, his vision fading into blackness.
The operative knelt beside Nathan, checking his pulse. He pressed a button on his comms unit. "Target Prime secured. Moving to locate the biological asset. The mother and child are missing from the primary bedrooms. Initiating thermal scan."
Suddenly, the sound of blaring sirens cut through the night air. Red and blue lights began flashing through the broken windows of the estate.
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"Abort, abort!" a voice barked through the comms. "Law enforcement has breached the perimeter. Evacuate immediately."
The operative cursed, grabbing Nathan by the collar of his jacket and dragging his unconscious body toward the shattered balcony. They didn't want the child anymore—they had the original source.
