Chapter 10
Midnight descended over the dense pine forests of the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains like a heavy velvet shroud. A black armored van carrying Arthur Sterling's mercenary team crept slowly down an unpaved logging road without headlights.
Inside the van, four heavily armed operatives checked their suppressed assault rifles and night-vision gear in total silence. They approached an isolated cabin illuminated by a single porch light, believing Ethan Hayes was sleeping inside.
The leader kicked the reinforced wooden front door off its hinges, storming into the darkened living room with weapons raised. "Clear!" the lead mercenary shouted, sweeping his rifle barrel across the empty, dust-covered furniture.
Before they realized they had walked into an empty decoy cabin, red laser dots suddenly illuminated their chests from every corner. "Federal agents! Drop your weapons and drop to the floor immediately!" shouted a dozen voices from the shadows.
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Before the mercenaries could raise their rifles, flashbang grenades detonated with deafening concussive force across the room. Federal marshals swarmed out of hidden alcoves and crawlspaces, pinning the stunned operatives to the wooden floorboards.
The entire tactical ambush was executed in less than ten seconds without a single shot fired by the suspects.
