Chapter 4 - The Rescue at Blackwood Estate
The safehouse was a secluded, two-story stone mansion hidden behind dense pine woods on the outskirts of Blackwood Lake, thirty miles east of Indianapolis. On paper, it was a state-owned protective facility used for high-profile witnesses. In reality, it was an isolated kill zone.
We parked our motorcycles a mile down a dead-end logging road, cutting the engines and moving through the dark timber on foot. Rain poured off the brims of our dark caps as Grizzly and I scouted the perimeter through night-vision binoculars.
"Four guards on the outside," Grizzly whispered from beside a thick oak tree. "Two on the front porch, two patrolling the rear patio. They aren't wearing police uniforms, Marcus. Tactical gear, unmarked plate carriers, submachine guns. These are Pendelton’s private security contractors."
"Stern cleared out the real cops," I observed, scanning the upper windows. "He left his paid mercs in place to eliminate Sarah Jenkins once the news cycle dies down. Look at the second floor—west window. That's where she is."
Through the glass, I could see the silhouette of a woman sitting on a small wooden chair, her hands tied behind her back, flanked by a tall guard holding a sidearm.
"We have ten minutes before Pendelton's transport team arrives to move her," Tech reported through our encrypted tactical earpieces from the compound command center. "I'm monitoring Captain Stern's radio traffic. He just gave the order to 'clean up the site' once the transfer is complete."
"Clean up" meant no survivors.
"Grizzly, take three men to the rear entrance. Cut the main power generator as soon as I give the word," I ordered, adjusting the grip on my suppressed tactical shotgun. "We move fast, non-lethal where possible, but if they raise a weapon, end it. We're getting Sarah out now."
"Roger that, Top. Moving into position," Grizzly replied, disappearing into the dark brush with three brothers.
I moved silently along the shadow of the stone garage with two of my oldest brothers, "Sarge" and "Deacon." We positioned ourselves beneath the high porch balcony.
"Three... two... one... do it," I whispered into the mic.
Snap.
The heavy exterior floodlights blared, flickered, and plunged the entire estate into pitch darkness as Grizzly severed the main power lines and dropped a localized signal jammer onto the estate’s distribution box.
Instantly, shouting erupted from the front porch. "Power's down! Perimeter team, report!"
Before the guard on the porch could raise his flashlight, I vaulted over the wooden railing, grabbing him by the shoulder and driving my knee hard into his sternum. He gasped for air as Sarge caught him from behind, putting him in a sleeper hold and laying him quietly on the decking. The second porch guard turned, but Deacon struck him across the side of the helmet with a flashbang canister used as a blunt instrument, dropping him cold.
"Front door clear!" I whispered, kicking open the heavy oak entrance.
We flooded into the dark foyer. The interior was lit only by the faint red glow of emergency exit signs. Shouts resonated from the top of the stairs as the remaining contractors realized the breach was happening.
"Intruders! Upper level!"
Muzzle flashes cut through the darkness on the second-floor landing as a mercenary opened fire down the grand staircase. Bullets chewed through the plaster walls and shattered a crystal chandelier above us.
"Covering fire!" Sarge yelled, throwing a military-grade smoke grenade up the stairwell.
A dense cloud of thick white smoke filled the landing within seconds. The guards began coughing violently, their blind gunfire spraying wildly into the ceiling.
I charged up the stairs under the cover of the smoke, my thermal optic picking up the heat signatures of two men positioned at the top. I fired two non-lethal beanbag rounds from my shotgun, hitting the first contractor square in the ribs, sending him tumbling down the stairs. The second man swung his rifle toward me, but I closed the distance, grabbed the barrel of his weapon, twisted it sharply to clear the chamber, and delivered a spinning back-fist that sent him crashing through a drywall partition.
Grizzly and his team breached through the rear kitchen doors, clearing the ground floor in seconds.
"Clear!" Grizzly shouted from below.
I kicked open the heavy door to the west bedroom on the upper floor.
Inside, Sarah Jenkins was pinned against the far wall by the chief mercenary—a heavily scarred man with a cold, brutal face. He had pulled a long hunting knife and held it directly against her throat.
"Step back, old man, or I bleed her right now!" the man roared, his eyes wild with desperation.
Sarah looked at me through bruised, swollen eyes. Despite her battered state, I could see the exact same fierce, unyielding blue eyes that I had seen in Lily at the truck stop. She wasn't begging for her life—she was fighting with every ounce of strength she had left.
"Marcus?" she gasped, her voice raspy. "Is... is Lily—"
"Lily is safe," I said loudly, keeping my shotgun aimed down. "She's with my brothers. She's waiting for you."
The mercenary blinked, surprised by the response. "You're crazy! Pendelton will hunt all of you down! He owns this state!"
"He doesn't own me," I said softly.
Before the contractor could react, Sarah drove her heavy boot backward directly into the man's kneecap with a sickening crack. The mercenary screamed in agony, his balance shifting as his knee buckled under him.
In that half-second window, I closed the distance, grabbed his knife wrist, twisted his arm until the blade clattered to the hardwood floor, and drove my right hook into his jaw, knocking him out instantly.
Sarah collapsed forward, and I caught her before she hit the floor, using my tactical knife to slice the thick zip-ties binding her wrists.
"You... you really have her?" Sarah sobbed, grabbing my leather vest, her hands shaking violently. "She's really safe?"
"She's wearing my eagle ring right now, ma'am," I smiled gently, helping her to her feet. "She handed me a note written in crayon at a gas station. She told me her mommy was named Sarah. I promised her I'd bring you back."
Tears streamed down her face, cutting through the dust and bruises on her skin. "Thank you... oh God, thank you..."
"We aren't out of the woods yet," I said, putting my arm around her to support her as we moved toward the hallway. "Pendelton's main force will be here in minutes. We need to move."
We rushed down the grand staircase into the foyer where Grizzly and the rest of the team were securing the captured mercenaries.
Suddenly, the high-pitched whine of approaching police sirens echoed through the trees outside, accompanied by the heavy thrum of a helicopter rotor blade cutting through the storm overhead.
Searchlights pierced through the large foyer windows, blinding us with intense white light.
An amplified voice boomed from a loudspeaker outside:
"Attention inside the residence! This is Captain David Stern of the Indiana State Police! You are surrounded by federal and state law enforcement! Drop your weapons and step outside with your hands up, or we will open fire!"
Grizzly looked through the window shade and cursed under his breath. "He brought three SWAT vans and a tactical helicopter, Marcus. Stern isn't here to arrest us. He brought enough firepower to level this building and claim everyone inside died in a shootout."
I looked at Sarah, then at my brothers who had risked everything without a second thought.
"Tech," I spoke into my headset. "Did you record Captain Stern's radio transmissions ordering the hit on this house?"
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"Every single byte, Top," Tech answered instantly. "I've got Stern on tape coordinating directly with Pendelton's chief of security half an hour ago."
"Good," I said, my jaw setting into iron. "Then it's time to change the venue."
