Chapter 18 - The Breach at Gate 3
At 9:00 PM that evening, heavy rain slammed against the glass windows of Chesapeake Joint Trauma Center once again.
The hospital was quiet, operating under night-shift protocols with reduced staff in the main corridors.
I sat in my office, wearing my working scrubs over my uniform trousers, reviewing the updated medical supply manifests.
Suddenly, the building's emergency alarms howled loudly through the ceiling speakers: CODE RED — SECURITY BREACH — GATE 3.
I pulled my personal sidearm from my desk drawer, rack-checking the slide with practiced, instinctual military speed.
I sprinted out of my office, taking the service stairs down toward the subterranean medical supply vault beneath the hospital.
As I rounded the corner near the pharmacy storage room, I found two security guards lying unconscious on the cold concrete floor.
Standing near the open vault doors were three men dressed in dark tactical gear, carrying heavy duffel bags filled with encrypted server drives.
Leading them was a man I recognized instantly from military medical conferences—Dr. Richard Vance, Warren Pike's corporate handler.
"Colonel Holloway," Dr. Vance sneered, pulling a silenced pistol from his coat pocket and pointing it straight at my chest.
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"You really should have stayed retired in your quiet little civilian life."
"You've meddled in business that belongs to people far above your pay grade."
