Chapter 5 - The First Strike
A dark SUV with tinted windows roared up the gravel driveway of the villa, halting abruptly beside the lawn.
Two armed men in tactical gear disembarked from the vehicle, moving with rapid, professional precision.
"Secure the perimeter," Victor commanded, gesturing toward Mark and the shivering child.
"Hand over the girl's biometric keycard, Mark, and you walk away from this lawn alive," Victor offered calmly.
Mark didn't answer with words; his instincts, honed by years in Special Forces, took over in a microsecond.
He feigned a step backward toward the house, then delivered a brutal front kick to the nearest tactical guard's chest.
The guard collapsed onto the grass with a heavy thud, his weapon flying across the lawn into the flowerbed.
Mark grabbed the second guard's wrist, twisting it violently until a sickening crack echoed through the garden.
Tessa shrieked in terror, diving behind a marble birdbath as the second guard dropped to his knees.
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Victor pulled a suppressed sidearm from his shoulder holster, aiming it directly at Mark's heart.
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