From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 558

Chapter 558: The Five-Million-Dollar Guard

The morning sun hit the glass exterior of the Stern Department Store, but the glittering facade couldn’t hide the rot festering within. Inside her top-floor executive suite, Karen Stern was in no mood to appreciate the view. She paced the length of her hand-woven rug, her heels digging into the fabric with every sharp turn. Finally, she reached her mahogany desk and slammed a thick stack of legal documents onto the surface. The sound echoed like a gunshot in the silent room.

"I still can’t believe yesterday actually happened!" Karen shouted, her voice trembling with a mixture of exhaustion and rage. "What was that man thinking? Who does he think he is, treating me like some desperate, low-rent idiot!"

Veronica, her personal assistant, hovered near the heavy oak doors. She kept her back pressed against the wood, ready to bolt if Karen decided to start throwing the expensive crystal paperweights decorating the room.

"Did the meeting not go well, ma’am?" Veronica asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Did the Billion Bloodline Group... did they refuse to help us?"

"Oh, they agreed," Karen snapped, her eyes narrowing as she glared at the signature on the final page of the contract. "But they might as well have spat in my face. It’s a parasitic deal, Veronica. One million dollars per day, per operative. And a mandatory one-week retainer. It’s the single largest security expenditure in the history of this company, and for what? Five people? It’s a joke."

She looked down at the terms again. She had been backed into a corner, pressured by the looming threat of the Gilt Rats and the subtle nudging of the Curtis family. However, as she fumed, her business-oriented mind found the one loophole that made the bitter pill swallowable.

"The only reason I signed this," Karen continued, tapping a manicured nail against a specific clause, "is the performance guarantee. If they fail to stop the attacks, if even one snatcher gets away or one delivery is hijacked while they are on the clock, the Billion Bloodline Group doesn’t get a single cent. It’s a high-stakes gamble. If they’re as good as they claim, the problem vanishes. If they’re frauds, I’ve lost nothing but a little time."

She looked up at Veronica, her expression hardening. "But we can’t count on five men to save an empire. Keep looking for other firms—mercenaries, private contractors, anyone with a pulse and a gun. We’ll need a real force very soon. And when these ’experts’ arrive, tell Paul to throw them straight into the fire. Place them in the hottest zones. Let’s see how long they last."

Three hours later, a nondescript black van pulled into the service entrance of the department store. Paul, the grizzled head of internal security, stood waiting with a clipboard and a deep-seated sense of skepticism. He had been told that a five-million-dollar-a-day team was arriving. He expected a squad of tactical operators in carbon-fiber plating, carrying high-grade suppressed rifles.

Instead, the side door slid open, and five men stepped out, looking like a motley crew of community center volunteers.

"This is... a joke, right?" Paul asked, his eyes traveling down the line. "You guys know what’s been happening here? This isn’t shoplifting. The Gilt Rats are professional urban terrorists. They use coordinated strikes, high-frequency jammers, and they aren’t afraid to spill blood."

"We’re aware of the resume," the man in the lead replied.

Paul blinked. The man was wearing a standard-issue blue security shirt, but his face was completely encased in a vibrant, multi-colored Mexican wrestling mask. It was a bizarre, jarring sight in the professional environment of a high-end department store.

"What’s with the mask, kid? You think this is a ring?" Paul asked.

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