Chapter 6 - The Unyielding Vanguard
The attack was fast, executed with military precision, but Ethan moved faster.
As the steel blade whistled through the air, Ethan pivoted his broad frame four inches to the left, letting the tip of the knife miss his white shirt by half an inch. Before the assassin could retract his arm, Ethan brought his left forearm down like a sledgehammer onto the attacker's wrist.
CRACK.
The sound of snapping bone echoed off the high coffered ceilings.
The assassin let out a sharp, strangled scream as his wrist collapsed at an unnatural angle, the combat blade slipping from his numb fingers and clattering harmlessly onto the marble floor.
Without breaking momentum, Ethan stepped into the killer’s guard, grabbing the man’s lapels with both hands, and drove a brutal knee directly into the assassin’s ribs.
The impact sounded like a hollow drum. The massive, tattooed man doubled over, his breath exploding from his lungs in a wet gasp.
Ethan didn't stop. He pivoted on his heel, using the attacker's own momentum, and slammed the broad-shouldered man violently face-first into the surface of a nearby reinforced marble buffet table.
BOOM.
Silver trays, ice buckets, and caviar bowls flew through the air, crashing onto the floor in a chaotic shower of metal and ice.
The assassin slumped over the edge of the marble table, his eyes rolling back, completely neutralized and unconscious within four seconds of engaging the billionaire.
Ethan stood over the fallen man, his breathing slightly elevated, his white dress shirt immaculate save for a single drop of champagne on his cuff. He reached down, adjusting the gold links at his wrists, his face remaining as cold as winter ice.
He turned his head slowly toward the two earpiece-wearing security guards standing at the locked doors.
"Restrain him," Ethan commanded quietly. "Put him in the lower holding cell. Nobody calls the municipal police until I have checked his encrypted comms myself."
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"Yes, Mr. Vance," the guards responded in unison, stepping forward instantly to drag the unconscious assassin away from the party floor.
Ethan turned his entire body back toward the center of the room. His eyes bypassed the shocked billionaires, bypassed the whispering board members, and locked entirely onto the young maid standing beside the marble column, holding his son.
