Chapter Twenty
Abigail
The massive, raw-edge dining table in the center of the lodge had been cleared of coffee mugs and poker chips. In their place were unrolled topographical maps of the valley, architectural blueprints of The Refuge, and Leo’s secondary ruggedized laptop.
It was a war room. And for the first time since the compound was built, Trent Lockhorn was not the one standing at the head of the table.
Abby stood with her hands planted firmly on the edge of the wood, leaning over a map of the lower trail.
She had traded the oversized t-shirt for a dark, fitted tactical fleece Will had pulled from supply, her hair tied back in a sharp, no-nonsense knot.
The remnants of the terrified woman who had cowered in Sector Charlie were completely gone.
In her place was Abigail Grace, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions.
All five operators were standing around the table, their eyes locked on her, waiting for her orders.
"When Vanguard's drone went down, David lost his element of surprise," Abby began, her voice crisp and devoid of any emotional tremor. "He’s going to escalate, and he’ll wait until the mud hardens to bring his heavy SUVs right up to the main gate.
But David isn't just one problem. We will be fighting two completely different battles. "
Trent crossed his massive arms. "Explain."
"Battle one is Vanguard," Abby said, looking around the table at the heavily armed men.
"I spent ten years in boardrooms. I know how to dismantle a contract, but I have no tactical knowledge.
Vanguard operatives are highly paid, highly trained mercenaries, and they will be armed.
I can't fight them. Words aren’t going to do much against flying bullets. That has to be your department."
"They won't get past the gate," Kaiden grinned, leaning against the timber pillar. "The main gate is built from reinforced, AR500 ballistic steel. They aren't getting through it without C4."
"We don't want them locked on the outside," Abby countered. "If they sit outside a locked gate, Vanguard has time to probe the perimeter. They'll find the weak spots the storm created. We want them exactly where we can control them."
She looked at Trent. "You have a sally port, don't you? A containment area between the outer gate and the inner compound walls?"
Trent raised a single, impressed eyebrow.
"We call it the 'kill box.' It's a sixty-foot reinforced concrete corridor.
The outer gate opens, a vehicle drives in, the outer gate shuts.
They can't access the inner gate until we clear them.
If they try anything, they're trapped in a cage with zero cover. "
"That's our boardroom," Abby stated smoothly.
"When they arrive, we invite them inside.
Your job is to strip David of his muscle.
Kaiden, Kyle... I want Vanguard to see the tactical advantage you hold.
Make it abundantly clear to them that they are hopelessly outgunned.
Vanguard protects its own liabilities. If they realize they're walking into a firefight with Tier One operators, they will stand down. "
"With pleasure," Kaiden murmured, a dangerous light sparking in his eyes.
"And what about battle two?" Will asked, standing close by her right side, a deep frown creasing his forehead.
Abby turned to look at him, her hazel eyes completely clear and cold. "Battle two is David. And he is mine."
Will’s jaw tightened. "Abby, putting you in the same room as that man, even with us standing right there, is an unnecessary risk. His entire goal is to break you."
"He can't break me, Will," Abby said softly.
She reached out, her fingers resting lightly on his forearm.
"Not anymore. But if I hide behind your walls, he controls the narrative.
He goes back to LA, files federal injunctions, and ties this compound up in legal warfare for the next decade.
I have to look him in the eye and publicly dismantle his authority. "
"How?" Kyle asked, pulling a grease pencil from behind his ear.
"By turning the lights on," Abby said. She looked at Trent. "When you confronted the operative in the woods, he claimed Vanguard was retained by my family and my employer, right?"
Trent nodded. "He did."
"Vanguard is a B2B intelligence firm. They don't do domestic disputes," Abby explained, the corporate strategist fully taking the wheel. "To hire them, David had to open the retainer under the law firm's EIN, which means he's using the firm's discretionary funds to stalk his ex-fiancé."
Will's eyebrows rose, a slow, predatory grin mirroring her own. "He's embezzling."
"And creating a massive legal liability for his partners," Abby nodded.
She turned to Leo. "Leo, when they pull into that sally port, I need you to isolate their cell signals so Vanguard goes completely dark.
Then, I need you to override the audio and video feeds in the corridor and broadcast them outward. "
"I can route them anywhere on the planet with a ten-second delay," Leo confirmed.
"Perfect," Abby said. "Because David relies on silence and sealed court orders.
I want you to patch the live feed of our meeting directly to the managing partners at David's law firm, and to the executive board of Vanguard Solutions.
We aren't going to blackmail him. I am going to stand in front of him, and I am going to let his bosses watch him self-destruct. "
The room fell completely silent. The sheer, ruthless brilliance of the plan hung in the air.
Abby took a deep breath, stepping back from the table. "Thirty-six hours," she said, looking around the room at the five men who had become her shield. "Rest up. Because when David Sterling drives through those gates, we are going to permanently end his career."