"Maybe. Or someone testing our response times."
"I want everyone on high alert tonight. Double the guards. Random patrols. No patterns they can predict."
"You think something's coming?"
"I think we need to be ready for anything."
Viktor nods, starts making calls. I head to my own room, but I don't sleep. Can't shake the feeling that something's wrong.
At 2:17 AM, the alarms scream to life.
I'm up and armed in seconds, grabbing the pistol from my nightstand and a rifle from the closet. Aurora appears in my doorway, eyes wide with terror.
"Axel..."
"Bedroom. Now. Lock yourself in the bathroom." I'm already moving, checking the clip in my weapon. "There's a panic button behind the mirror. You press it, reinforcements come. Do not open the door for anyone except me or Viktor. Understand?"
"What's happening?"
"I don't know yet. But I need you safe. Please, Aurora. Do this for me."
She nods, retreating. I hear the bathroom door lock, and then I'm running.
Viktor meets me on the stairs. "South perimeter. At least six men. They breached the outer fence."
"How?"
"Cut through like it was paper. These aren't amateurs, boss. They've got military-grade equipment."
We reach the security center. Sergei's already there, coordinating on three different radio channels. The screens show chaos. Men in black tactical gear moving through my property like ghosts.
"They got past the motion sensors," Sergei says. "Used some kind of dampening tech. We didn't see them until they hit the inner fence."
"Where are they now?"
"Spreading out. Three heading for the south entrance. Two circling toward the garage. One..." He points at a screen. "That one's planting something at the foundation."
"Explosives?"
"Has to be."
I grab the radio. "All units, this is not a drill. Shoot to kill. I want bodies on the ground, not questions."
The response is immediate. My men pour out of the house, weapons raised. I can hear gunfire erupting from multiple directions.
"With me," I tell Viktor and Sergei.
We move through the south wing, weapons ready. Through the windows, I see muzzle flashes in the darkness. One of my men goes down. Then another.
"They're better trained than us," Viktor mutters.
"Then we fight smarter. Sergei, take the west approach. Flank them. Viktor, with me."
We split up. Viktor and I move through the darkened hallways, using our knowledge of the house to our advantage. Through a side door, into the garden.
Two of the intruders are there, working on something at the foundation. C4, from the look of it. Enough to take out the entire south wing.
Where Aurora slept until a week ago.
