All Chapters of HERE COMES THE KING: Chapter 11
- Chapter 20
75 chapters
CHAPTER 11 - Revelations and Reckoning
Marcus Anderson produced a small USB drive from his pocket with the careful precision of a man holding a live grenade. The entire cellar focused on that tiny piece of technology, understanding that it represented either salvation or destruction depending on whose secrets it contained.Colonel Mitchell's hand moved toward her sidearm before she stopped herself. Killing Marcus now would mean never knowing what information he possessed or where additional copies might be hidden."Colonel, this drive contains documentation of every illegal operation I facilitated over the past twelve years," Marcus said calmly. "Names, dates, locations, financial transfers. Everything your superiors have spent careers keeping classified. If anything happens to me, copies get automatically released to WikiLeaks, The Guardian, and several investigative journalists who specialize in government corruption.""You are bluffing," Mitchell replied, but uncertainty crept into her voice."Am I?" Marcus smiled with
CHAPTER 12 - Lies and Losses
Federal agents moved to secure Marcus Anderson, but the moment their hands touched his arms, the old man collapsed violently onto the stone floor. His body convulsed with seizures while foam appeared at the corners of his mouth. The sudden medical emergency transformed the arrest into a crisis within seconds."He is having a seizure!" Agent Hayes dropped to her knees beside Marcus, checking for a pulse while her training took over. "Someone call the medical team from the helicopters!"Detective Chen pushed through the crowd with suspicious eyes scanning Marcus's symptoms. "Wait. Something is wrong here."But the federal agents were already administering emergency care while Colonel Mitchell's soldiers secured the perimeter for medical evacuation. In the chaos of a medical emergency, procedural safeguards dissolved as everyone focused on preventing a death that would raise impossible questions.Vincent Cross grabbed Ral's arm and pulled him toward the tunnel entrance. "Boss, this is a s
CHAPTER 13 - Fire and Flight
Bullets tore through the wine cellar's ancient stone walls as Ral pulled Louis toward the tunnel entrance where Vincent was laying down covering fire. The private contractors advanced with military precision, their thermal scopes cutting through the smoke and darkness to track fleeing targets."Move, move, move!" Vincent shouted while changing magazines with practiced efficiency. "James, get Rebecca into the tunnel now!"James Anderson half-carried his niece through the narrow opening while Agent Hayes and two surviving federal agents tried to establish a defensive position. The contractors were not trying to capture anyone. This was an elimination mission, and everyone in the cellar was marked for death.Ral grabbed a fallen agent's weapon and returned fire, buying precious seconds for Louis to reach the tunnel. His prison-learned survival instincts took over, transforming the man who had once trusted everyone into someone who could function in chaos and violence."Ral, come on!" Lou
CHAPTER 14 - Enemies and Alliances
The south tunnel terminated at a reinforced steel door that Vincent identified as military-grade security. Beyond it lay the Anderson estate's panic room, a bunker built during the Cold War and upgraded with modern technology over the decades. Getting through that door without specialized equipment would be nearly impossible.Getting through it while contractors hunted them from behind would be suicide."Tony, we need the access code for the panic room," Ral spoke into Vincent's radio while the others established defensive positions in the narrow passage."Already tried hacking it. Marcus changed all the codes when he took control of the estate. The system is completely isolated from external networks.""Can we blow the door?" Agent Hayes suggested."Not without bringing the entire tunnel system down on our heads," Vincent replied after examining the structure. "Marcus was paranoid about security. This door is designed to withstand direct assault."Louis studied the access panel with
CHAPTER 15 - Blood and Bonds
The emergency tunnel was narrower than the prohibition passages, forcing them to move single file while Marcus's blood left a trail that any competent tracker could follow. His breathing had become labored, and the man who had spent decades projecting invincibility was rapidly becoming a liability."We need to stop the bleeding," Louis said, her voice tight with tension. "He won't make it another hundred yards like this.""We stop and we die," Vincent countered while checking behind them for pursuit. "Those contractors are minutes away at most."Ral looked between his wounded uncle and his wife, seeing the impossible choice written clearly in both their faces. Marcus's survival meant justice for hundreds of crimes. His death meant their escape became easier but justice died with him."Thirty seconds," Ral decided. "Louis, do what you can. Vincent, watch our backs. Everyone else, catch your breath because we are not stopping again."Louis tore fabric from her shirt and pressed it again
CHAPTER 16 - Choices and Consequences
The message on Ral's phone cast a shadow over what should have been their moment of victory. Vincent was alive but captive, and Marcus's network was making one final desperate play to reclaim their leverage. One hour to decide between saving his closest friend or protecting the evidence that could bring down an empire of corruption.Louis read the message over his shoulder and immediately understood the trap. "You cannot go alone. That is exactly what they want.""I know," Ral said quietly, watching European security forces secure Marcus in the medical helicopter. "But if I do not go, Vincent dies. If I go with backup, Vincent dies. Either way, I lose the man who saved my life."Tony Martinez was already working his tablet, trying to trace the message's origin. "Boss, this could be a bluff. They might have killed Vincent already and are using the threat to lure you into an ambush.""Or Vincent is alive and suffering because of choices I made," Ral countered. "He stayed behind to buy u
CHAPTER 17 - Assault and Aftermath
The east wing of the Anderson estate stood like a wounded monument to decades of corruption, its windows shattered and walls blackened from earlier explosions. Ral approached with Tony and Louis flanking him while Agent Hayes and Detective Chen circled to cover the building's rear exits. Dawn light painted the scene in shades of gold and blood."Vincent, we are in position," Ral spoke quietly into his radio. "Tell me what we are facing.""Five contractors in the basement with me. Another ten scattered through the building. They are waiting for you to walk through the front door like an idiot.""Good thing I have never been accused of being smart," Ral replied. "Tony, you ready?"Tony activated a device that looked like a modified phone. "Electromagnetic pulse ready. When I trigger this, every electronic device in that building goes dark for ninety seconds. Cameras, communications, weapon sights. Everything.""Ninety seconds is not much time to clear a building with fifteen hostiles,"
CHAPTER 18 - Wounds and Words
Three days after the assault on the Anderson estate, Ral woke in a private hospital room with broken ribs that screamed with every breath and memories that hurt worse than any physical injury. Louis sat in a chair beside his bed, her face drawn with exhaustion and something that looked disturbingly like doubt."How long have you been sitting there?" he asked, his voice rough from medications and disuse."Since they brought you out of surgery to repair internal bleeding you did not tell anyone about during the rescue." Her words carried an edge that cut deeper than concern. "The doctors said you could have died if you had waited another hour.""I had to make sure Vincent was safe first.""And that is exactly the problem, Ral." Louis stood abruptly, pacing the sterile room with barely contained emotion. "You are so committed to your mission, to your revenge, to your sense of justice that you will literally die rather than admit you need help.""That is not fair.""Isn't it?" She stopped
CHAPTER 19 - Silence and Secrets
Five days into the week Louis had requested, Ral sat in the hospital room that had become his prison and stared at his phone with the desperation of someone drowning in silence. She had not called, had not texted beyond that initial message, and every hour of quiet felt like another nail in the coffin of their relationship.Vincent limped into the room without knocking, his own injuries still healing but his spirits frustratingly optimistic. "Boss, you look like death warmed over.""Feel worse," Ral admitted. "How are you here? I thought the doctors said another week of bed rest minimum.""Doctors say a lot of things. None of them understand that staying in bed makes you weaker, not stronger." Vincent settled into the visitor's chair with a groan that suggested his bravado exceeded his actual recovery. "Besides, someone needs to check on you before you do something stupid.""Like what?""Like calling Louis before she is ready. Like checking her location through the tracking app you de
CHAPTER 20 - Truth and Tomorrow
The coffee shop looked exactly as it had five years ago when Robert Allen had first approached Louis Carter with a smile that was genuine even if his name was not. Ral arrived thirty minutes early, his broken ribs protesting every movement, and chose the same corner table where their first conversation had turned into three hours of unexpected connection.He ordered two coffees—one black for himself, one with entirely too much cream and sugar for Louis—and waited with the kind of anxiety that no amount of tactical training could prepare him for. Facing armed contractors had been easier than this moment where words would determine everything.Louis arrived exactly on time, wearing a simple blue dress that he recognized from their second anniversary dinner. The deliberate choice of that particular dress suggested either sentimentality or cruelty, and Ral could not determine which until she sat down across from him."Thank you for coming," she said, her voice carefully neutral."I would