by T. C. Clark
“I think you may be wrong about that. I just got an alert from my security that there is a team of ten men moving through the building,” Nikos said grimly, closing his phone. “My guy downstairs says they killed one of the guards.”
Dmitri, Lily and Sandy looked at each other. They must have used facial recognition software and searched through the city’s cameras until they got a hit. That would take a lot of time and a shit ton of money. Whoever was after them was serious. This wasn’t just a typical take over; the sheer volume of assets they were investing made it clear that this wasn’t going to end well.
* * *
Lily was surprised at how quickly the room reacted. The women left to gather the kids and the men searched around for weapons. She waited patiently for everyone to calm down. By the time everyone was back in the den, she had the makings of a plan.
“A man as rich as you must have a panic room, right?” Sandy asked as he walked back in. Good, Sandy was now thinking clearly. She needed him to be focused on protecting these people, not hurting them.
Lily’s mind automatically replayed the way they’d entered Nikos’ home. The simple layout of the penthouse made it clear that the panic room was on the other side of the kitchen.
“It should be two feet to the left of the kitchen,” she answered for Nikos. “According to my math, it should be big enough to fit everyone here.”
“How in the hell could you possibly know that?” Nikos looked at Lily in awe.
“It’s simple math; all you need is a general understanding of architecture and a firm grasp of geometric dimensions. The only area in the house that could conceal a separate room is near the kitchen.”
Nikos scowled at her. She had a feeling that he’d paid a lot of money for that panic room. He couldn’t be happy that she’d guessed the location so quickly.
“You’re right, that’s where it is.”
“Do you have sugar and baking soda?” Lily asked as she opened the closet door and grabbed her purse. If her calculations were right the men taking the stairs had approximately fifteen minutes before they got to the top floor. Thank God rich people liked living so high up. They were going to need a distraction to conceal their attack. She had just the recipe they needed.
“We do,” Ada replied with a frown, clearly confused by the question. Lily opened the small concealed cap on the bottom of her pen. Good, she still had some potassium citrate left. She’d used some last week when they’d retrieved a senator’s son.
“What do you want me to do?” Aidan asked quietly. He looked concerned. She knew he recognized the look in her eyes. He’d worked alongside her before on a mission and knew what she was capable of.
“I need you to go inside with the others. Me and Sandy can handle the intruders. If we need a doctor, we will pull you or Anita out to help. But for now we need to focus on keeping all of you safe.” They would have to divide up and take them out separately. They needed the incoming team to focus on finding them; they couldn’t give them a chance to search the house.
“I’ll help too,” Dmitri said, kissing his wife and little girl. His baby was named Sandy because of a promise his wife had made to the Sandman long ago. Eden looked as if she wanted to argue but kept quiet. Eden knew about Dmitri’s past. He would be better fitted working out here alongside his comrades.
“Dmitri, this is going to be… somewhat dangerous.” Lily needed to watch her words; her cousins looked ready to demand she come into the panic room as well.
“I understand that, but we have a better chance if we go on the offense first, and you know it. If I wait inside with everyone else and they take you two out, things will only get worse.” Dmitri turned away from her, obviously done with the conversation.
They walked the other members of the party to the panic room. Nikos unlocked the hidden door and ushered the others inside. Lily ignored the concerned looks on her cousins’ faces; this wasn’t the time for emotion.
She needed to focus on clearing her mind. Whoever leaked their information was trying their best to back them into a corner. The Sanctuary was officially compromised, and her one job was to figure out who’d done this and eliminate them.
The panic room was equipped with large metal doors. It was pretty big for a one room setup. There were several cabinets lined up against the metallic walls that contained food and medical supplies. There was even an uncomfortable looking couch with blankets and pillows folded neatly on top. Lily searched the room for weapons and sighed loudly when she realized he didn’t have any.
“Really Nikos, you don’t have one gun?” Lily shook her head. Man, she really needed to have a heart to heart with some of the people here. All of them needed to start taking their security more seriously.
“Ada, hates guns, and to be honest, before you guys started showing up we never had any trouble.”
“Well, this is what happens when you invite the cool kids to the party,” Lily said dryly. She smiled when Nikos rolled his eyes.
They moved the kids to the back of the room and turned on the monitors. She checked out the electronic equipment; it looked like a simple setup with limited access. Although Nikos was unhappy that she’d figured out where the room was so quickly, she had to admit whoever created this set up did a good job. The circuit was designed in a way that made it difficult to hack. Once Nikos closed the doors, they wouldn’t open again until he authorized it. In here, her family would be safe.
Lily pulled two small blades out of the metal pen on her necklace and then wrapped the metallic strand around her fist like brass knuckles.
“Is the room soundproof?” Sandy asked as Luca and Mina’s twins started to cry. Secretly, Lily appreciated Sandy’s patience. She knew he wanted to snap right now. Lily could tell that from the muscle twitching on the side of his jaw. He was trying to hold onto his cool.
“Yeah,” Nikos answered wryly as his daughter started to cry as well.
“Has your team called the police?” Dmitri asked taking out his tablet.
Nikos nodded and Sandy cursed. Lily knew that meant extra pressure. Not only did they have to take out the team, but they needed to find a new way out. Now that the police were coming, using Nikos’ helicopter was out of the question. It would draw too much attention.
“Do you have a layout of the building?” Lily asked. She needed to create an exit strategy for all of them.
“I know where it is.” Maks, Nikos’ brother, walked over to a wooden chest and pulled out the initial plans for the building. It had information listed on it which wouldn’t be found on the public version. Lily looked them over and memorized all of the private exits and the interconnected routes. They would need this information later. She handed it back to him.
“You can take it with you.”
“No. If anything happens, I don’t want that team getting their hands on it. It’s locked in my brain now. I can get us out with that.”
Sandy walked over to her, his muscle-covered body tense with anticipation. His eyes focused on the door. “I don’t think we should wait for them to get up here.”
He flipped one of the knives he’d collected in the air. He was right, it would have been better to attack in the hallways but it was too late for that now. Their time was up.
“It’s too late for that. Lock the door, Nikos. We need to take our positions,” Dmitri answered for her.
“Are you sure they are here to attack you?” Leslie asked anxiously. She was the soft spoken woman married to Maks Stravanos.
Lily could see the hope on all of their faces. “If they killed a guard to get up here, then it’s not legit. FBI or CIA would have enlisted their assistance. Whoever is coming through this door is bad news. Do not open the door for anyone but the police. I mean it; I don’t care what happens out here. These people, whoever they are, will hurt you if you do.”
Nikos nodded, his eyes grim. She knew he understood what she meant.
“Eden, I’ll meet you at our special place when this is over. Aidan, I
hate to ask but…” Dmitri was clearly upset at having to leave Eden and his baby’s protection up to someone else. But he had to be smart.
“It’s no problem. We will stay with Eden until all of this is over,” Aidan said and Anita nodded as well. She moved to the other side of Eden and patted her back.
“Nikos will make sure everyone in here is assigned security after this is over. Don’t worry about us. Just make sure you three get out,” Ada said firmly.
“I could help. I know how to fight,” Julian said, pulling away from Bella. He was the only other fighter among them. A former MMA champion would be handy in a street fight, but the men heading their way didn’t fight fair.
When everyone started to ask how they could help as well, Lily shut them down. “This isn’t something you can help us with. These people are like us. They shoot to kill. None of you are ready for that. We appreciate it, but this is our problem now. The best way you can help is to remain quiet and unnoticed. Anything that could distract us could end our lives.” Her words were brutal but true.
Lily ran to the kitchen and grabbed a small water bottle and emptied it out. She added some sugar and baking soda to the bottle. She found a small string and hurried back to the living room. Sandy knew what she was doing with the mixture and handed her a box of matches.
As Nikos locked the panic room door, Sandy and Lily took position on either side of the front door. She was hidden behind a small table, and Sandy was positioned behind the den wall. They needed to do a blitz attack. Whoever had called to alert Nikos did a good job by confirming the number of people.
He motioned to her when he heard movement outside. This had to be perfect. She didn’t know what kind of weapons they had. She lit the fuse as the door was pushed open. Before the people could enter, the room filled with smoke.
Sandy struck first. He tackled the first man that entered the room to the ground. Lily used that opportunity to move closer. She blocked a few hits and knew that they were aimed to kill. She let go of any caution and focused on eliminating each person she got close to. She attacked with precision, slicing her potassium citrate dusted blades through her victims.
She heard Dmitri move in as well; each hit he delivered was loud in the smoke-filled room. It took them a few minutes to break the group of men apart. The team was skilled, but they were no competition for the members of the Sanctuary. For the first time, she wondered what kind of organization this was.
By the time the smoke cleared they were the only ones standing. She didn’t need to check the fallen men. They were dead. The three of them remained quiet. This was odd, Why didn’t any of these people have weapons?
Lily bent down to examine one of the men curled up on the floor. She paused when his phone went off. She reached for it and then stopped as the other men’s phones started to ring as well.
She exchanged a look with Dmitri. He reached down and took out one of the phones. A video message was coming through. Shock and rage replaced her concern when she recognized the three men on the screen. They were supposed to be dead. The Benefactor, the head of the Sanctuary, had ordered their deaths long ago. How the fuck were they standing there now?
The three men were former members: the Magician, the Linguist, and the Chemist.
The Magician was nicknamed for the unlimited weapons he stashed on himself and also for his quick hands. He could steal anything from anyone. He was the man she used to love before he’d served her up to a band of mercenaries.
The Linguist was known as the face, for his handsome good looks and his easy charm. He could speak nearly all languages and could blend seamlessly into any culture.
The Chemist was the maker of poisons. He was a legend in the Ukraine for his ability to reproduce nearly all viruses and toxins. He was the most dangerous one of them all.
These three men were the skeletons in the Sanctuary’s closet. They had started a secret brotherhood within the organization that ran guns, money, and drugs. It had been the perfect plan until the Benefactor had found out. There were strict rules for anyone who joined the Sanctuary and they had broken nearly all of them. He’d sentenced them to death. He’d secretly sent four of their best agents to take them out.
In the midst of their plan to escape, the Magician had left her behind on a mission. The brutal memories of what came after still had the power to choke her. She shook her head to clear the building panic at seeing his handsome face.
Dmitri leaned forward and placed a hand on her arm. He was one of the few people who knew what happened on that mission. His worried expression helped her to relax. She didn’t need pity from anyone. She ignored the concern on Sandy’s face as he looked at her. He was confused by the look she’d sent Dmitri, and she knew he would bring it up later.
“Now that the shock has worn off, we’d like to reintroduce ourselves. Most of you watching this now once knew us as the Brotherhood, the legendary three…honestly the best among you. As many of you know, our dear old Benefactor sentenced us to death years ago because of differing beliefs in how the world works. I’m not going to tell you that it was easy to escape the ones he sent after us, but I can testify we have grown stronger because of it. We decided then that one day in the near future we would come back and release you all from the bonds of this man’s beliefs,” the Linguist said dramatically. Even after all of these years he was still a charismatic man. It was easy to believe that he could move through different cultures with ease.
The Linguist was the shortest of the three men and yet he stood out among them. He wore his signature black suit that he always donned on missions. Sandy once asked him why he needed a suit to do his job, and he responded that the suit represented the class in which he executed his work. Lily smirked; she could still remember the look of disgust Sandy sent him.
The Magician stepped forward and Lily’s heart dropped. He was wearing a black v-neck shirt and fitted gray slacks. His head was still shaved and his eyes still held a hint of cruelness. Colorful tattoos depicting his Mexican heritage ran from his finger tips up to the sides of his neck.
“We have come to dissolve the Sanctuary. We are not like the Benefactor; this isn’t a dictatorship run by an eccentric former spy. His day as a ruler has come to an end, as you can clearly see,” his Mexican accent still had the power to make her body respond. Fuck, she wished she hadn’t wasted so many years loving that man.
The camera panned away, and they saw the severed head of the Benefactor placed as a centerpiece on a table. Dmitri cursed when they caught a glimpse of Nancy, the Benefactor’s young daughter. Her horror-filled eyes were glazed over in shock. The Chemist moved closer to her and wrapped one slender arm around the girl’s shoulders.
“Today we are giving you your lives back. If you’re hearing this, you survived and earned your freedom. Any man that you killed on your way out was an added benefit. If they couldn’t take you out, then they don’t deserve to serve us. We don’t hold grudges. We will report the attacks as kills and your open cases will be closed. In the eyes of the world all of you are dead. We’ve done you a favor here. Walk away and live out your lives on your own. This is your only warning. We are heavily embedded in the FBI and CIA. Whatever you’re thinking, this isn’t a fight you want to have. Take this kind act as our apology for this messy takeover. We hope to never see you again, but if we do you’ll regret it. You have thirty minutes to leave where you are. After that we will send in a cleanup team.” The Chemist stepped back and pulled the pale girl with him. He was by far the most vicious of the three men. He was the kind of monster that enjoyed the pain he inflicted on others. There was no way Lily was going to let him keep Nancy.
The video abruptly stopped playing and the room went quiet. For once, Lily’s mind failed her. She couldn’t break free of her thoughts. It was as if seeing the Magician again had opened a floodgate of buried memories. She had to get control. Fuck, she should have brought her medicine. She clutched her hands together in order to stop them from shaking.
Dm
itri gave her a hard look and she shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about everything she was feeling in front of Sandy. Luckily, he took the hint. He moved around the room and collected the items off of the fallen men.
“We need to go,” Sandy whispered against Lily’s ear. She jumped. She was so enmeshed in her turbulent thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him. He had one arm wrapped tightly around her waist and he was pulling her away from the den.
The door opened to the panic room. The sight of her cousins’ shocked faces woke her up. She’d forgotten about the monitors. They would have seen her at work. She opened her mouth to say something comforting, but she couldn’t find the right words. The person killing on the screen was who she was.
“What was all that with the video?” Nikos asked. Lily ignored them while Dmitri explained what was going on. There was no reason to stay quiet about an organization that no longer existed.
“Lily, are you okay?” Tara and Bella walked over to her. They looked upset and worried. Bella ran one comforting hand over Lily’s back, while Tara grabbed her hand and examined the cuts and bruises on it.
Tara shook her head when Lily didn’t respond. “Okay, you don’t want to talk about what’s going on. I don’t even know where you would start. So for now, we’ll wait for answers.” Bella nodded in agreement.
“But what did they mean about the cleanup crew?” Mina asked. She was still standing inside the panic room with her husband and children around her. She looked justifiably worried.
“The organization doing this made it clear that they were going to pronounce us as dead. Typically, when that happens that means the cops have been paid off to alter the scene. Depending on what they are paying them and how they want this handled, I would say that it’s not safe for anyone to stay here.” Lily stopped talking when Dmitri walked back in with a grim expression.