Chapter 5
The armory inside Site Delta was heavily stocked,
and it contained enough weaponry to supply a small army,
along with highly advanced espionage equipment.
I walked down the aisles of steel cages,
and I selected a customized compact pistol,
chambered in armor-piercing nine-millimeter rounds.
I handed the weapon to Lily,
and I made sure she checked the slide,
verifying that the chamber was totally clear.
You keep this completely hidden,
I instructed her,
and you only use it if everything goes wrong.
She holstered the weapon underneath her tailored jacket,
and she checked her reflection in the metal mirror,
looking like a high-end corporate executive.
We also equipped her with a specialized data skimmer,
and it was disguised as a luxury fountain pen,
capable of downloading terabytes in seconds.
You just need to get within three feet of his phone,
I explained,
and the pen will automatically bridge the connection.
It utilizes a near-field magnetic pulse,
Miller added,
and it bypasses standard biometric security measures.
I understand the technical parameters,
Lily said confidently,
and I am ready to execute the mission.
We moved back to the command center,
and we reviewed the layout of the Parisian venue,
which was located in a historic underground catacomb.
The auction floor is heavily guarded,
I pointed out on the digital blueprint,
and there are signal jammers on the perimeter.
We will not have active radio contact,
I warned her,
and you will be operating entirely in the blind.
If you do not check in after exactly one hour,
I promised,
and we will breach the facility by sheer force.
I will be in and out in thirty minutes,
she assured me,
and she gave me a brave, reassuring smile.
We boarded a stealth transport jet on the runway,
and the engines hummed with quiet, raw power,
as we took off into the dark sky.
The flight across the Atlantic was extremely tense,
and I could not sleep for a single minute,
my mind playing through every possible worst-case scenario.
I had spent my entire life protecting her,
and now I was sending her directly into the fire,
using her as the ultimate bait.
But she was no longer just my little girl,
and she had proven her incredible strength,
surviving Richard and outsmarting his entire network.
We landed at a private airstrip outside of Paris,
and the French countryside was blanketed in thick fog,
hiding our arrival from the local authorities.
A black sedan was waiting on the wet tarmac,
and we loaded our gear into the spacious trunk,
driving quickly toward the glowing city center.
The streets of Paris were slick with heavy rain,
and the neon lights reflected on the cobblestones,
creating a beautiful but highly treacherous atmosphere.
We parked three blocks away from the target venue,
and Miller set up a mobile command post in the van,
activating a localized encrypted network.
I am running a passive scan on the area,
Miller reported,
and I am detecting massive amounts of security chatter.
They have armed guards at every single intersection,
he noted,
and they are thoroughly screening all incoming vehicles.
Lily stepped out of the black sedan,
and she adjusted her elegant silk scarf,
looking absolutely flawless and completely untouchable.
Remember the primary objective,
I told her,
and do not let Viktor engage you in conversation.
Get the data,
I repeated,
and get out of the building immediately.
She nodded once,
and she walked down the dark, rainy street,
disappearing into the thick evening fog.
I watched her go with a heavy heart,
and I gripped my rifle tightly in my hands,
praying that I had taught her enough to survive.
The clock on the dashboard began ticking down,
and the sixty-minute countdown felt like a death sentence,
hanging heavily over my anxious mind.
I stared at the silent radio receiver,
and I waited for any sign of trouble,
ready to unleash absolute hell if necessary.
The Syndicate was about to learn a harsh lesson,
and they were about to realize their fatal error,
because nobody messes with my family.
The rain continued to fall heavily outside,
May you like
and the night stretched on in agonizing silence,
as we waited for the ghost to strike.
