Chapter 6 - Shadows on the Fifth Floor
Inside the penthouse suite, Mason stood by the window, the leather folder burning a hole in his hands. He watched Hannah gently brush a stray lock of dark hair from Eli's forehead. The boy had fallen back asleep, exhausted from the morning's excitement, clutching his green dinosaur securely beneath the duvet.
""Mason?"" Hannah asked softly, noticing the lethal tension in his posture. ""What did Marcus say? What's wrong?""
Mason closed the distance between them. For the first time since he had walked into Room 581, Hannah saw true, unfiltered fear in his eyes. Not fear for himself, but the primal terror of a father whose family is standing in the crosshairs.
""Richard Hart contacted Julian Drake,"" Mason said bluntly, knowing that sugarcoating the truth would only endanger them more.
Hannah gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth. She remembered Julian Drake. She remembered the firebombing of Mason’s secondary warehouse five years ago that had nearly killed three innocent security guards. Drake was a psychopath who targeted families, who used wives and children as leverage in business negotiations.
""No,"" Hannah whispered, tears immediately springing to her eyes as she looked at Eli. ""No, no, no! This is exactly why I ran away! I gave up everything to keep him safe from these monsters, and within twenty-four hours of finding us, you've brought a death squad to our doorstep!""
""Listen to me, Hannah,"" Mason said, gripping her shoulders firmly, forcing her to look directly into his eyes. ""You have every right to hate me. You have every right to blame me. But right now, we do not have the luxury of anger. Drake knows you are in this hospital. He knows Eli is my son. St. Catherine's is no longer safe. We have to move him right now.""
""Move him? He has pneumonia! He can barely breathe without supplemental oxygen!"" Hannah cried out, her voice breaking.
""I have a fully equipped medical suite at my private estate in the Berkshires,"" Mason explained rapidly. ""Dr. Mercer has already agreed to travel with us in an armored mobile intensive care unit. We will have pediatric nurses, private security, and round-the-clock surveillance behind ten-foot perimeter walls. Drake cannot touch us there. But we have to leave through the subterranean service tunnels before Drake’s scouts set up a blockade on the main streets.""
Before Hannah could answer, the room’s emergency alarm let out a sharp, ear-piercing squawk.
The lights flickered twice and plunged into darkness, replaced instantly by the dull red glow of emergency battery backups. The electronic lock on the suite door clicked loudly as the building’s power grid experienced a catastrophic surge.
Marcus burst through the door, his handgun drawn and held low against his thigh. ""Mason! The main electrical grid in the basement just got sabotaged! Two black surveillance vans just breached the ambulance bay! Drake’s men are already inside the building!""
Eli woke up instantly, screaming in terror at the flashing red lights and the blaring sirens. ""Mommy! Mommy, it's dark! Mommy!""
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Hannah lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the terrified toddler, wrapping him in the heavy wool blanket while pulling the portable oxygen cylinder from its wall bracket. ""Mason, please! Don't let them take my baby!""
""Over my dead body,"" Mason growled. He stripped off his leather belt, wrapping it around his fist to create an improvised weapon, his eyes blazing with the ferocious fury of a cornered predator. ""Marcus, take the point. We take the service elevator shaft to the underground utility corridor. If anyone steps in our way... do not hesitate.""
