Chapter 296
Chapter 296
The first gunshot shattered the uneasy balance that had held the night together.
Inside the observatory, every monitor immediately switched to the eastern perimeter as the security system identified the source of the attack. Red warning indicators flashed across Noor’s screens while the automated defense protocols began sealing the lower entrances one after another.
Kayla’s eyes never left the live feed.
Ethan remained behind the concrete barrier, keeping himself low as another bullet struck the edge of the structure and sent fragments of stone into the air. He did not fire back. Instead, he waited patiently, watching the movements of the men advancing through the darkness.
Marcus stared at the screen in disbelief.
“Why isn’t he shooting?”
Arthur answered without looking away from the monitor.
“Because he’s counting them.”
Jason nodded slightly.
“He wants to know where every one of them is before he makes his next move.”
The observation surprised Kayla.
She turned toward Jason.
“You noticed that?”
He gave a small nod.
“He’s trained.”
There was no admiration in Jason’s voice, only recognition. He had spent years surrounded by men who survived because they understood how to remain calm under pressure. Ethan was behaving the same way. Every movement was controlled. Every decision appeared deliberate.
Noor enlarged another camera feed covering the southern edge of the perimeter.
“There are eight of them.”
Marcus frowned.
“Only eight?”
“No,” Noor replied quietly. “Eight that we can see.”
The answer immediately changed the mood inside the room.
Arthur pressed a button on the communication console.
“All security teams remain inside the observatory until we identify every hostile position.”
Marcus looked at him in surprise.
“We’re not sending anyone out?”
Arthur shook his head.
“Not blindly.”
Jason understood the reasoning. If the attackers wanted Ethan dead, then they also wanted someone from inside the observatory to rush into the open. A rescue attempt without proper intelligence would only create more casualties.
Outside, another shot echoed through the night.
Ethan shifted behind the barrier just before the bullet struck exactly where his head had been seconds earlier.
Kayla instinctively took a step toward the exit.
Jason caught her wrist gently.
She looked at him.
“We can’t just watch.”
“I know.”
“They’ll kill him.”
His expression softened.
“And if you walk out there now, they’ll try to kill you too.”
Kayla lowered her eyes.
She hated that he was right.
For a brief moment neither of them spoke.
Jason lifted his free hand and gently brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.
“I promised I’d protect you.”
“You can’t protect everyone.”
“No.”
His voice was calm.
“But I can protect the person I love.”
The words settled quietly between them.
Although they had already faced countless dangers together, hearing him say it aloud still made her heart skip a beat.
Kayla looked into his eyes.
For a moment the chaos surrounding them seemed to disappear.
She could see the worry he was trying so hard to hide.
He was afraid.
Not of the men outside.
Not of the attack.
He was afraid of losing her.
She reached up and rested her hand against his face.
“I’m not leaving you.”
Jason smiled faintly.
“You’d better not.”
Charles deliberately looked away, pretending to study another monitor while Marcus cleared his throat with exaggerated discomfort.
“I hate interrupting moments like this,” Marcus muttered, “but we’ve got movement.”
Everyone immediately returned their attention to the screens.
One of the attackers had separated from the others and was moving along the western side of the perimeter wall, using the darkness for cover.
Noor zoomed in.
His face remained hidden beneath a hood.
Arthur narrowed his eyes.
“He’s not advancing toward Ethan.”
Charles followed the man’s movement across another camera.
“He’s heading for the maintenance tunnel.”
Jason’s expression hardened.
“The tunnel leads beneath the observatory.”
Noor quickly checked the internal security maps.
“If he reaches that entrance before our people…”
She didn’t finish the sentence.
She didn’t have to.
Arthur immediately activated the internal communication system.
“Security Team Three, intercept the western maintenance access immediately. No engagement unless absolutely necessary.”
A chorus of acknowledgments echoed through the speakers.
Kayla looked back toward Ethan’s camera.
He had changed position again.
Instead of remaining behind cover, he was slowly retreating toward the outer security fence while carefully watching the advancing attackers.
Marcus frowned.
“What’s he doing now?”
Jason answered almost instantly.
“Buying time.”
“For what?”
Jason’s eyes remained fixed on the monitor.
“For us.”
The realization spread through the room.
Ethan was deliberately drawing the attackers away from the observatory.
Every step he took increased the distance between the gunmen and the building.
He wasn’t trying to reach safety.
He was protecting the people inside.
Kayla felt tears sting her eyes.
This was not the behavior of a man who had come to destroy her.
This was someone risking his own life to keep hers out of danger.
Before she could speak, Ethan suddenly looked toward one of the security cameras mounted above the eastern gate.
For a brief second, it felt as though he were looking directly at her again.
Then he spoke quietly, knowing the observatory could still hear him through the open transmission.
“Whatever happens next…”
He paused as another bullet struck the ground only a few feet away.
“…don’t let them separate us again.”
Those words echoed through the observation room with heartbreaking clarity.
Kayla closed her eyes.
She had only just found him.
She refused to lose him now.
Kayla opened her eyes again and looked at the monitor with renewed determination. She no longer saw a stranger standing outside the observatory. She saw the brother who had been taken from their family before either of them had the chance to know one another. Whatever lies had shaped Ethan’s life, they had not erased the part of him that still chose to protect her when he could have walked away.
Jason noticed the change in her expression and understood immediately what she was thinking.
“You have an idea,” he said quietly.
Kayla nodded. “He’s trying to draw them away from us because he believes we’re safer inside. If we simply stand here and watch, he’ll keep risking his life until there is nothing left for him to give.”
Arthur looked at her thoughtfully. “What are you proposing?”
“We don’t rush outside blindly,” Kayla replied. “We use the observatory to our advantage. We know the terrain better than they do, and we have surveillance covering every approach. If we coordinate with our security teams, we can create a safe route to Ethan without exposing everyone else.”
Before Arthur could respond, Noor’s fingers froze above the keyboard.
Her face lost its color.
“They’ve just deployed a sniper.”
Every eye in the room snapped toward the monitor as a small red targeting indicator appeared over Ethan’s position.