the front doors explode inward.
Black tactical armor floods the entrance.
Suppressors.
Night optics.
No insignias.
Professional killers.
“CONTACT FRONT!”
Russ opens fire first.
One operative drops instantly.
Lucas takes another through the shoulder before diving sideways behind a collapsed pew.
Bullets shred through hymn books and ancient wood all around us.
Mason launches smoke toward the entrance.
White clouds erupt through the sanctuary.
“MOVE!”
I drag Hannah through the rear hallway while Gabriel stays tight beside us.
Behind us…the church becomes a warzone.
Automatic fire.
Shouting.
Glass shattering.
Bodies hitting floors.
Hannah stumbles suddenly.
Another overlap hit.
Her knees buckle hard.
I catch her before she drops.
“Clay—”
Her voice fractures.
“I can hear them.”
Ice floods my spine.
“What?”
“The children.”
