Chapter 3: The Ambush

"Get out of the car with your hands where I can see them, Miss Vance or my sniper puts a hole through your head."

A gun was pointed directly against the back of Maya's neck the second she stepped out of her black SUV in the deserted industrial area behind Ironclad Tactical.

Two armed operatives stepped out of the shadows, their rifles aimed directly at her chest.

Maya didn't flinch. She slowly raised her heads, her eyes locking onto the tall, muscular figure stepping out from behind one of the reinforced cars.

General Garrick Blackwood: former Special Forces commander and current director of private military defense operations.

"General Blackwood," Maya said smoothly, her voice showing zero fear. "Is this how you treat a potential client who just wire transferred three hundred thousand dollars to your private supplier?"

Garrick paused, his eyes narrowing as he stepped closer. "You aren't a normal civilian client, Miss Vance.

 You just bought five hundred tons of bulk grain, pediatric medical supplies, ten thousand gallons of diesel, and field surgical kits in less than twelve hours. 

You cleared out three wholesale warehouses without leaving a paper trail. The state logistics network flagged your transactions as an illegal paramilitary stockpile."

"And what if it is?" Maya challenged, taking a bold step into his personal space.

 "Are you going to arrest me, General? Or are you going to ask me why a mother knows that in twenty eight days, the atmospher temperature is going to drop to minus forty degrees Celsius overnight?"

A silence fell over the alley.

Garrick’s squad members exchanged brief uneasy glances, but Garrick himself didn't blink. He lowered his weapon slightly, his gaze studying her face, drawn to her fierce, untouchable aura.

"How do you know about the freeze?" Garrick demanded. 

"The high altitude atmospher sensors only picked up the cosmic radiation forty eight hours ago. It's classified top secret by Joint Military Intelligence."

Maya let out a short, cold laugh. "Classification won't keep your squad warm when the power grid fails, General.

You think you're preparing a military response, but you don't have the food, you don't have the thermal infrastructure, and you don't have a self-sustaining base."

Garrick leaned down slightly, his broad shoulders casting a shadow over her as his eyes burned into hers. "And I suppose you do?"

"I have sixty million dollars in cash, a mountain fortress equipped with titanium plating and deep geothermal heating built for my son, and enough supplies in my possession to feed a battalion for five years," Maya stated.

 "What I need right now are high caliber sniper rifles, night vision optics, child safe body armor, and three hundred thousand rounds of ammunition."

Garrick stared down at her for three long seconds. A slow, deeply smirk tugged at the corner of his chiseled lips. 

"You're either a crazy visionary or the most intoxicatingly woman in this city."

"I'm a mother protecting her child," Maya replied coldly. "Now tell your men to lower their guns before I cancel the wire transfer."

Garrick raised his hand, signaling his team to stand down. "Lower your weapons. Inside. Now."

They stepped inside.

Marcus, the store manager, hurried over with a digital tablet. "General, her payment cleared. Eight hundred thousand dollars for the ceramic military armor, thermal scopes, and heavy ammunition."

"Pack it into four heavy steel shipping crates," Maya ordered immediately, ignoring Marcus's shock. "Deliver them to Dock Warehouse 4 in ninety minutes."

"Ninety minutes?" Marcus sputtered. "Miss Vance, that's five tons of military ordinance!"

"I paid a fifty percent rush bonus," Maya said sharply. "Make it happen."

Before Marcus could answer, a loud blast was heard outside the alley entrance!

BOOM!

The floor shook violently under their feet. Red emergency warning lights flared across the ceiling as sirens began to wail.

"Breach at the rear perimeter!" Garrick’s second in command yelled over the alarms. "Multiple heavy armored vehicles closing in!"

Maya rushed to the monitor. On the security camera feed, four armored pickup trucks were smashing through the chain link gates outside. 

Dozens of heavily armed men were firing wildly into the building!

At the head of the raid stood the warlord holding an RPG launcher.

Ironhead.

"Ironhead's gang," Garrick growled, his jaw clenching tightly.

 "They've been keeping tabs on local supply depots for three days. Someone must have leaked your cash purchases to the black market."

Maya’s eyes narrowed. She didn't need to guess who leaked the information. 

Derek had tried to use his corporate contacts to track her money after his accounts were frozen, and Chloe had undoubtedly blabbed to her low life street connections.

"Derek..." Maya whispered, a terrifyingly cold smile spreading across her face. "He really wants to die early."

"Miss Vance, please get inside!" Garrick commanded, stepping between her and the door with protective authority. "My team will clear the perimeter!"

"I don't hide General," Maya said 

She stepped behind the steel display counter, out of direct sight of Garrick's squad, and focused her mind.

System, activate.

[SPATIAL CITADEL SYSTEM]

[Retrieve Item: High-Precision Anti-Material Sniper Rifle + Armor-Piercing Warhead Rounds]

SWOOSH.

From her spatial dimension, a heavy black anti-material sniper rifle materialized directly into her gloved hands with a metallic click.

Garrick turned around to usher her to safety and froze dead in his tracks. He stared at the massive fifty caliber rifle resting comfortably in her arms a specialized military weapon that had not been on any counter in his shop.

"Where the hell did you get that?" Garrick asked, his eyes widening in genuine astonishment and deep fascination.

"I told you, General," Maya smirked, stepping past him toward the roof stairs, her hip brushing against his arm, leaving a trail of hot heat between them.

 "I always come prepared."