Chapter 142The request for parley came twenty-four hours after the hotel assault, delivered through intermediaries who'd been captured during the siege."The surviving Penumbra mercenaries want to negotiate," Marcus reported. "Their team leader is requesting a meeting under flag of truce. Says they have intelligence to trade for safe passage out of Greenville."Adrian considered this. "How many Penumbra survived our operations?""Approximately eight to ten operators who weren't captured or killed. They've been laying low since the hotel assault, probably trying to figure out their next move without Vivian's coordination.""And now they want to negotiate," Adrian's father observed. "Which suggests they've realized their contract is void and they're looking for exit strategy.""Could be a trap," Commander Reeves warned. "Get you to a meeting and attempt one last assassination for whatever bounty Vivian offered.""Possible," Adrian agreed. "But professional mercenaries generally know wh

Chapter 144The call from Governor Chen came at an inopportune time—Adrian was in the middle of reviewing Arctic operational plans when his secure phone displayed the government line."Governor," Adrian answered, keeping his tone professional despite his frustration at the interruption."Adrian Lancaster," Governor Chen's voice carried official formality. "We need to talk. Privately. How soon can you get to my office?""I'm preparing for critical operations. Can this wait?""No," Chen replied flatly. "It cannot. One hour, Adrian. My office. This isn't a request."The line went dead.Adrian arrived at the Governor's office in downtown Greenville fifty-eight minutes later, having left Marcus to continue deployment preparations. Two state police officers stood outside Chen's door—unusual security that suggested serious discussion ahead.Governor Chen sat behind his desk, but he wasn't alone. A woman in a dark suit stood near the window, her posture and bearing screaming federal authority

Chapter 146The infiltration of Ashford Capital Holdings headquarters couldn't be an official operation. Federal authorities were watching Adrian too closely, and any overt military action in the Capital would trigger immediate federal response that would compromise the entire strategy.So it had to be black ops. Deniable. Covert. The kind of mission where failure meant death and success meant no official acknowledgment would ever happen.Adrian assembled his team in the bunker's secure operations room — six elite operatives selected not for their firepower but for their specialized skills. These weren't the heavy hitters from the Northern campaign. These were specialists, people who could move through corporate infrastructure undetected, who understood security systems from both sides of the law, who could accomplish objectives without leaving evidence that Adrian Lancaster had ever been involved.Leiutenant Marcus wanted to go, but Adrian refused immediately."You stay here," Adrian

Chapter 148The team arrived in the Capital under false identities—forged credentials, fake employment records, elaborate backstories that would withstand cursory investigation. Adrian traveled as a corporate consultant named James Mitchell, complete with a fabricated portfolio of previous clients and consulting projects. Kris used her actual family connections, arriving as a Kardashian business representative conducting market research.They'd arrived on separate flights through different airports, maintaining operational security that would prevent pattern recognition by federal authorities monitoring the Capital. Adrian had spent the flight reviewing building blueprints on an encrypted tablet, memorizing every corridor and security checkpoint. Kris had researched Ashford Capital Holdings' financial structure, studying how money moved through their corporate networks and subsidiary accounts.The Capital was overwhelming.Adrian had operated in hostile environments during the Northern

Chapter 150Midnight came with precision. The team moved into position across the city simultaneously—Adrian and Rodriguez at the service entrance, Kris and Park at their technical staging location, Chen monitoring digital systems from his hotel suite.The maintenance credentials David provided worked perfectly. Adrian's team entered through the service entrance without triggering alarms, moving through corridors where security cameras had been strategically disabled to bypass. The service corridors were dimly lit, designed for maintenance workers rather than public access, which gave Adrian's team the darkness they needed to move undetected.Kris, working from her remote position in a secured office building three blocks away, had already compromised the building's network. She'd used the backdoors Chen identified to create false readings that made it appear all systems were functioning normally when entire sections of security had actually been neutralized. The biometric scanners th