The attack came a fewhours later.
Yvette jerked awake in the guest bed to the soft chime of a perimeter alert, adrenaline flooding her system. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. Through the reinforced windows, she could see nothing but darkness and the faint outline of trees swaying in the wind.
The radio Vincent gave her crackled to life. "Three contacts, moving coordinated." His voice was calm. "Stay in the guest room. Lock the door."
She slipped out of bed and moved to the small monitor Vincent had installed in her room, watching the security feeds with growing dread. These weren't the same sloppy killers from two nights ago. These men moved with coordinated efficiency, communicating through hand signals as they approached the house from different angles.
Through the radio monitoring equipment, she heard fragments of their communications: "...minimal force authorized...need her talking, not bleeding..."
Yvette keyed her radio. "Vincent, they want me alive. This is a kidnapping attempt."
"Understood. Stay put."
She watched through multiple camera feeds as Vincent moved through his house like a predator. The first attacker went down in the hallway, Vincent's precise shot dropping him before he could reach the staircase. The second man lasted longer, making it to the kitchen before a flash-bang grenade left him unconscious on the floor. The third, realizing their intelligence had been catastrophically wrong about the level of resistance, called for immediate extraction and melted back into the tree line.
"Two down, one retreating," Vincent reported. "House is secure."
When Yvette emerged from her room, her legs were unsteady from adrenaline. The house showed damage from the brief but intense firefight. Bullet holes marked the walls, a window was shattered, and furniture had been overturned in the struggle.
Vincent stood in the middle of it all, checking his weapon with casual efficiency.
"You're bleeding," she said, noticing the cut on his forearm.
"Just a graze." He secured the weapons from the unconscious attacker. "They came prepared for the wrong fight."
"Because they expected to find a scared accountant, not a fortress." She moved to him, needing to confirm he was really okay. "I was terrified something would happen to you."
His free hand covered hers. "I'm fine. But this changes our timeline. If they wanted you for interrogation, that means they're not sure what evidence you've already transmitted to the feds."
"They're fishing," she realized. "Which makes them desperate."
"And desperate people make mistakes." His thumb traced along her cheek, the gentle touch at odds with the violence that had just occurred. "You did good tonight. Staying calm, monitoring their communications."
Before she could respond, sirens began wailing in the distance. Local police, responding to reports of gunfire in what was supposed to be a quiet suburban neighborhood.
"Agent Bates should be here any minute," Vincent said, checking his phone. "I called her after we spotted that surveillance team yesterday."
As if summoned by his words, federal vehicles pulled into the driveway. Agent Kiri Bates swept into the house with her team, surveying the damage and the unconscious prisoner with sharp, assessing eyes.
"They're escalating faster than we anticipated," she said, studying the unconscious attacker.
"Because their window is closing," Yvette replied, pulling up the communications she'd intercepted on her laptop. "I've been monitoring fragments of their network since yesterday, but it's mostly encrypted. I can see movement patterns, operational timing, but not specific plans."
Agent Bates studied the partial data with growing interest. "How much can you actually access?"
"Not enough to prevent attacks, but enough to see them coming. I can track some communications, get advance warning, but their security is pretty sophisticated." Yvette highlighted the limited intelligence she'd gathered.
"The arrest warrants are taking longer than expected," Agent Bates said grimly. "RareCore's legal team is fighting everything - challenging the evidence chain, claiming corporate privilege, filing injunctions. We should have warrants by morning, but that's still hours away."
"And they know it." Vincent settled his hand on her shoulder. "That's why they're escalating. They're trying to eliminate the witness before the legal system catches up. The question is whether we extract her now or reinforce this position?"
"Extracting her could mean losing what intelligence access she does have," Agent Bates said thoughtfully. "But staying here means accepting the risk that they'll escalate beyond what we can handle."
"We stay," Yvette said firmly. "This house is defensible, and I can maintain my monitoring from here. They’re digging a big hole for themselves and I’m making sure we’ve got enough evidence to nail them on all of this. If we run, we lose any advantage we have."
Agent Bates looked between them, gauging their commitment. "Then we establish a proper defensive perimeter. My team will coordinate with local law enforcement."
As agents transformed the house around them, Vincent squeezed Yvette's shoulder gently. "Are you sure about this?"
