2026-07-06 15:51:12Chapter 6: THE SHAKING BARRICADE
Colter didn’t wait for the fire alarm to stop wailing. The moment it sounded, he yanked open the door to Room 303 and ran out into the third-floor corridor. His steps were fast and heavy against the tiled floor. Behind him, Ines followed in silence, moving lightly as if she knew every corner of this building by heart.
At the far end of the hallway, Linus was already half leaning out of Room 302. His face was pale, cold sweat running down his temples, and in his right hand he gripped a communication radio that kept crackling with static.
“Colt! They’ve breached the ground floor lobby!” Linus shouted the moment he saw Colter. “There are four armed men in full black tactical gear. They didn’t use the elevator. They came straight up through the main emergency stairwell and they’re already on the second floor!”
Colter stopped at the corridor intersection. His breath caught for a second. Four armed men, coming up the emergency stairs, and moving fast. If they weren’t stopped, they would reach the third floor in less than a minute.
“Linus, lock your door tight and keep watching through the CCTV cameras,” Colter ordered in a firm voice. “Don’t open the door for anyone. If they get past us, you’re the only one who can track where they’re going.”
Linus nodded in panic, pulled his head back inside, and locked the door from within. The sound of the electronic lock clicked clearly over the wailing alarm.
Colter then turned to Ines. “We can’t fight them in an open corridor. It’s too wide and there’s no cover. The only point we can hold is the emergency stair door. That narrow passage is the only place we can use as a barricade.”
Ines didn’t answer. She moved straight toward the main emergency stair’s iron door. With practiced skill she pulled a tactical knife from inside her coat and pressed her back against the wall on the hinge side of the door. Her eyes stayed fixed on the gap in the door, which was already vibrating from the impacts outside.
“Open the manual freight elevator lever next to you, Colter,” Ines said quietly but clearly. “If they manage to break through this door, we’ll need an emergency escape route. We can’t get trapped in here.”
Colter immediately ran to the old freight elevator panel a few meters from Ines. Thick dust covered the iron lever because it hadn’t been used in a long time. He grabbed the lever with both hands and pulled with all his strength. The metal screeched loudly. The chains inside the shaft rattled. Slowly the elevator’s iron gate opened halfway, revealing a dark shaft that dropped straight down to the underground disposal chute. The smell of burning and the faint trace of blood that hadn’t completely faded still drifted up from below.
Before Colter could get back to his position, another loud impact struck the emergency stair door. This time it was stronger than before. The floor shook. It was clear the assault team outside was using a hydraulic ram to force their way in.
Through the gap under the door, Colter could see the tip of a black combat boot and the shadow of a rifle barrel moving. The concrete around the doorframe began to crack. Cement dust fell to the floor like a thin rain.
“Three seconds and this door is going down!” Ines called out without turning. Her voice was calm, but the knife in her hand was ready.
Colter quickly ducked and took cover behind the decorative wooden table he had flipped over earlier. The table wouldn’t stop bullets, but at least it could offer some protection from flying glass and debris.
On the count of three, the hinges on the iron door finally snapped with a deafening crash that echoed through the entire corridor. The door flew inward and slammed hard against the wall.
Before anyone could step inside, a small canister rolled into the middle of the hallway.
A tear gas canister.
Thick white smoke burst out and filled the entire corridor within seconds. Visibility dropped to zero, his eyes stung, and the sharp chemical smell burned his nose and throat even though Colter had covered his face with his jacket collar.
Inside the smoke he could hear heavy footsteps, short shouted commands, and the beams of tactical flashlights sweeping in every direction.
Ines stayed in her position by the hinge side of the door. She wasn’t coughing. She wasn’t moving. She was just waiting.
Colter held his breath behind the table, his heart pounding hard. He knew the first man would emerge from that smoke at any moment.
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CHAPTER 53: The Hunt in the Smoke Fog
CHAPTER 53: The Hunt in the Smoke FogThe central district’s four-way intersection had turned into a circle of hell on earth. Thick black smoke from the burning remains of The Iron Vanguard’s armored vehicles rolled with the night wind, blanketing asphalt wet with blood and diesel. Bursts of automatic gunfire chased each other nonstop, punctuated by the hysterical screams of Purge militiamen who kept pushing forward through the rain of heavy-caliber bullets from the remnants of mechanized tactical vehicles.In the middle of the chaos that blinded the eyes and deafened the ears, Colter Burke moved like a shadowy silhouette slipping behind the walls of destroyed shop houses. His black cloak lined with kevlar armor blended perfectly with the dense carbon aerosol fog. Every step was measured, avoiding the reach of tank spotlights and random molotovs exploding around him.Dut-dut-dut! Three Iron Vanguard operators separated from the main line were lying prone behind a concrete road barri
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CHAPTER 50: THE NORTH AXIS ESCAPEThe spotlights from a Eurocopter EC135 patrol helicopter belonging to the Corporate Law Enforcement Division spun wildly above the back garden of Justice Pendleton’s residence, turning the pre-dawn darkness into a blinding silver glare. The massive roar of the rotor blades created high air pressure that tore leaves from the trees, triggering security alarms across the entire Upper District elite complex."They've locked down the airspace, Colt!" Ines Mercer shouted over the thunder of the helicopter engines. She was prone beneath the window frame of the office, her HK416 assault rifle aimed at the garden gate where shadows of tactical forces were approaching."Retreat through the garden’s underground water utility tunnel!" Colter Burke ordered. He tucked the wet-sealed Emergency Status Quo Injunction from the Supreme Court into a waterproof pocket inside his tactical vest. "Your Honor, you must stay inside. They wouldn’t dare lay a hand on a Supreme J
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