CHAPTER 12 THE SIEGE OF BLACKWOOD MANOR
The first armored vehicle slammed through the front gates.
Steel twisted like paper.
The centuries-old iron entrance, forged for elegance rather than war, collapsed beneath its weight.
The siege had begun.
Inside the ballroom, every alarm in the manor activated at once.
A computerized voice echoed through hidden speakers.
Warning. Perimeter breach confirmed.
All defensive sectors active.
Guests screamed.
Several dropped to the floor.
Others clung to marble pillars, convinced they were about to die.
Alexander remained perfectly still.
He looked toward Hayes.
"Sector reports."
Hayes answered immediately.
"North wall compromised."
"South garden overrun."
"Roof snipers confirmed."
"Communications remain jammed."
Jonathan Graves listened quietly.
Then smiled.
"You prepared well."
Alexander didn't return the smile.
"Not well enough."
Outside...
Commissioner Hawthorne walked calmly through the rain.
He carried no weapon.
He didn't need one.
Hundreds of armed men surrounded him.
He stopped twenty meters from the mansion and pressed a small transmitter.
A loudspeaker crackled to life.
"Alexander."
"This ends tonight."
Alexander stepped before the shattered front windows.
"You've been saying that for six years."
Hawthorne's expression didn't change.
"I've also been patient for six years."
"You've hidden evidence."
"You've protected fugitives."
"You've interfered with federal investigations."
Alexander laughed once.
A cold, humorless sound.
"Federal?"
"You murdered federal investigators."
Hawthorne shrugged.
"History remembers whoever writes the report."
Emily watched the exchange in disbelief.
Two men stood surrounded by an army.
Neither raised his voice.
Neither showed fear.
It felt less like an argument...
And more like two grandmasters making their final moves.
Jonathan leaned toward her.
"Watch carefully."
She frowned.
"What?"
"The first person to lose patience..."
"...loses everything."
Inside the tunnel entrance...
Hayes handed a waterproof case to one of his most trusted agents.
"Three copies."
"One notebook."
"Go."
The agent saluted.
"I won't fail."
He disappeared into the darkness beneath the manor.
Alexander watched him leave.
Then quietly pressed another button on his watch.
The tunnel door sealed behind the agent.
Emily looked at him.
"You trust him?"
Alexander answered without hesitation.
"I trust him with my life."
Jonathan quietly added,
"Then pray he values yours."
Outside...
Hawthorne's radio buzzed.
He listened.
Then frowned.
"They've opened an underground route."
Alexander didn't react.
Hawthorne smiled faintly.
"You expected us to miss it?"
He lifted one finger.
From behind the armored vehicles...
A drone slowly rose into the rain.
Then another.
Then another.
Thermal imaging.
Hayes cursed.
"They're scanning underground."
Jonathan's face hardened.
"They planned for escape."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"Not quite."
The drones swept across the estate.
One paused.
Its operator spoke through Hawthorne's earpiece.
"Heat signature confirmed."
"Tunnel."
"One individual moving south."
Hawthorne smiled.
"There."
He calmly raised his hand.
A sniper a hundred meters away adjusted his rifle.
Crosshairs settled over the hidden tunnel exit nearly two miles from the manor.
The trusted agent emerged from the concealed hatch.
He looked around.
Empty forest.
Safe.
He took one step forward.
The sniper fired.
The shot echoed through the valley.
Inside the manor...
Alexander's smartwatch vibrated once.
Then went dark.
Hayes looked at him.
"The tracker..."
Alexander nodded.
"Stopped."
Emily's heart sank.
"The agent?"
Alexander didn't answer.
He already knew.
Silence filled the ballroom.
Jonathan slowly removed his glasses.
"Hawthorne anticipated every move."
Alexander finally spoke.
"No."
Jonathan looked up.
"What?"
"I wanted him to."
Everyone turned toward Alexander.
Hayes frowned.
"You sent him on purpose?"
Alexander nodded.
"The notebook in that case..."
"...wasn't real."
The room froze.
Emily blinked.
"What?"
Alexander walked to the ballroom piano.
He lifted the bench.
Hidden beneath it...
Lay the real notebook.
Jonathan laughed.
A genuine laugh.
"You used a decoy."
Alexander nodded.
"The moment Hawthorne chased the tunnel..."
"He confirmed two things."
Emily whispered,
"What?"
"He doesn't know where the real evidence is."
"And?"
Alexander looked toward the shattered windows.
"He has a spy inside this room."
Silence.
Every guest instinctively looked around.
Someone inside the ballroom...
Was feeding Hawthorne information.
Before anyone could speak...
A mobile phone vibrated.
Just once.
Every head turned.
A young waiter standing near the drinks table went pale.
Hayes reacted instantly.
"Don't move!"
The waiter bolted.
He sprinted toward the kitchen doors.
Three guards tackled him before he reached the hallway.
His phone skidded across the marble.
Alexander picked it up.
A message had arrived only seconds earlier.
Retrieve the real notebook. Kill Blackwood if necessary.
No sender.
No number.
Only encrypted code.
The waiter sobbed.
"I'm sorry!"
"They threatened my family!"
"I never wanted this!"
Hayes restrained him.
Jonathan sighed.
"The network always recruits ordinary people."
"They're easier to replace."
Alexander looked at the terrified young man.
"Who recruited you?"
The waiter shook uncontrollably.
"I never met him."
"How did you receive orders?"
"Messages."
"Money."
"Dead drops."
Alexander closed his eyes briefly.
Again...
No leader.
No face.
Only another disposable pawn.
Suddenly...
The manor lights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then every screen inside the ballroom switched off.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Emergency generators failed.
Only lightning illuminated the hall through the shattered windows.
Hayes grabbed his radio.
"No power."
"Backup generators offline."
Jonathan frowned.
"They've cut electricity."
Alexander looked toward the ceiling.
"No."
"They're inside."
A metallic clang echoed from somewhere deep beneath the mansion.
Then another.
Heavy footsteps.
Not above.
Below.
Emily stared toward the tunnel entrance.
"The basement..."
Hayes' face lost all color.
"No..."
Alexander understood instantly.
"The tunnel wasn't their target."
"It was a distraction."
Jonathan whispered,
"They've entered through the maintenance shafts."
A deafening explosion erupted beneath the ballroom.
The marble floor cracked.
Dust burst upward through widening fractures.
Guests screamed as the entire room shook violently.
A section of the floor collapsed inward, revealing a dark cavity below.
From the smoke...
Black-clad soldiers began climbing into the ballroom.
Not from outside.
From underneath.
One after another.
Like shadows rising from the earth.
The manor had never truly been surrounded.
May you like
It had already been infiltrated.
End of Chapter 12.
