Chapter 10 - Fire and Ice
The blast wave threw Adam back against the kitchen island, his ears ringing with high-pitched agony. Through the billow of sulfurous white smoke, the front door splintered inward under the impact of a hydraulic ram.
Four men in matte-black combat gear poured into the living room, their weapons fitted with suppressors and thermal optics.
From the landing above, Marcus opened fire.
The sharp, staccato crack of the rifle echoed through the timber rafters. Two of the lead operators collapsed into the snow-dusted rug before they could raise their muzzles. The remaining two returned fire upward, wood chips and drywall exploding in a violent hail as they hammered Marcus’s position.
Adam lunged from behind the kitchen island.
He had never fired a weapon at a human being in his life, but adrenaline and primal fury wiped away all hesitation. He sighted down the barrel and fired a three-round burst into the third contractor's center mass. The man stumbled backward, his armor absorbing the impact, but the kinetic force knocked him off-balance long enough for Adam to advance and fire again, taking him out of the fight.
"Marcus! Status!" Adam yelled through the gunsmoke.
"Hit in the shoulder, sir! I'm mobile, but they’ve got a second team breaching the rear terrace!"
The glass doors along the back patio exploded inward.
A stun grenade flashed, blinding Adam instantly with white light. A heavy boot struck his chest, slamming him to the floorboards. His rifle skittered away across the polished oak.
Adam blinked furiously through the tears and flash-burn, gasping for air as a heavy tactical knee pinned his sternum to the floor. A gloved hand pressed the barrel of a customized sidearm against his temple.
"Don't move, Mr. Mercer," a voice barked with professional indifference.
Through the clearing smoke walked a man wearing a cashmere overcoat over a tailored suit, completely unaffected by the freezing wind howling through the shattered windows.
Julian Vance stepped over the broken glass, his silver signet ring catching the light of the roaring fireplace.
"You always were an idealist, Adam," Vance sighed, looking down at him with a mixture of pity and contempt. "A brilliant venture capitalist, but an absolute child when it comes to the realities of power. Did you really think you could play savior in my sandbox?"
Adam spit blood onto the floor, glaring up at his former mentor. "You killed David."
"David committed suicide when he decided his petty sentimentalities were more important than human evolution," Vance corrected smoothly. He motioned to two operators behind him. "Sweep the basement. Bring the girl and my daughter up here immediately."
"She's just a child, Julian!" Adam snarled, struggling against the weight on his chest, but the guard jammed the gun barrel deeper into his bone. "She's David's baby!"
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"She is the key to unlocking the human connectome, Adam. She is immortality for those who can afford it," Vance said coldly. "And unfortunately for you, your DNA is the final cipher."
From the floorboards beneath the kitchen, a muffled thump sounded, followed by the metallic click of a shotgun shell being chambered.
