Chapter 7
The heavy steel blast door shuddered again, a more calculated impact this time—hydraulic breach charges. Jax moved instantly, pulling Elena back from the metal table and shoving her toward the reinforced observation booth at the rear of the laboratory. "Get inside the vault," he commanded, his voice carrying an absolute, uncompromising edge. "Now."
"What about you?" Elena asked, her eyes wide with sudden fear as she gripped Goliath’s harness, helping the recovering mastiff stumble toward the safety of the thick lead-lined glass enclosure.
"I'm going to open a door they aren't expecting," Jax replied calmly. He drew his suppressed pistol once more, checking the chamber with fluid efficiency.
Dr. Vance panicked, stumbling backward over a rolling tray of surgical instruments and spilling stainless steel tools across the floor with a clatter. "You can't fight an entire extraction team in a confined space, Jax! The board has tactical units stationed at every junction within a three-mile radius!"
"The board makes the mistake of thinking every man has a price, Arthur," Jax said without looking back. "Some of us just have a debt."
With a deafening roar that shook dust from the ceiling tiles, the outer blast door blew inward. Heavy white smoke billowed into the corridor, obscuring the figures stepping through the breach. Three men in matte-black tactical gear, their faces obscured by reinforced helmets and gas masks, poured into the narrow hallway. Their assault rifles were raised, laser sights painting the white walls with brilliant red dots. They moved with terrifying synchronization, professional killers trained to eliminate loose ends without hesitation or hesitation.
Jax didn't wait for them to issue a warning. Ducking behind a heavy steel instrument cabinet, he fired twice through the sheet metal, neutralizing the lead operative before the man could bring his rifle to bear. The second operative immediately returned fire, chewing up the drywall above Jax’s head in a violent burst of suppressing fire that sent plaster dust raining down like snow.
Inside the glass vault, Elena pressed her hands against the thick pane, watching the firefight unfold with bated breath. Goliath stood beside her, his ears perked forward, low thunder rolling in his chest as he recognized the sound of combat. The mastiff’s earlier lethargy was gone, replaced by the instinctual, protective fury of a trained working dog ready to defend his handlers to the death.
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"Jax, watch your flank!" Elena screamed silently, her voice muffled by the sound-proof glass.
Jax rolled smoothly across the floor, coming up behind a stainless-steel medical console just as the second operative advanced. With a swift, brutal kick, Jax swept the operative's legs out from under him, sending the man crashing hard onto the linoleum. Before the soldier could recover, Jax brought the butt of his pistol down hard against the rim of the man's helmet, rendering him instantly unconscious.
