Chapter 169: Guns Out

The air in the East Room was suffocatingly tense. The twenty armored soldiers remained still, their presence already an unspoken declaration of power. But Chris wasn't done.

Without breaking eye contact with Volkov, he gave a simple command.

"Weapons out."

A synchronized click echoed through the room as the soldiers raised their rifles, the barrels locking onto targets with lethal precision. They weren't aiming at anyone—not yet—but the message was clear. Any wrong move, and this meeting would end in blood.

The Russian delegation tensed. Sergei Mikhailov shifted in his seat, his fingers brushing against the table. General Orlov's hand instinctively twitched toward his sidearm before he forced himself to stop. He wasn't stupid—reaching for his gun now would get him killed.

But Volkov? He didn't flinch.

Instead, the Russian President let out a slow breath, his expression calm. "You've made your point, Mr. Blackwood."

Chris tilted his head slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Have I?"

Ethan, standing beside him, watched everything unfold without a word. But he saw it—the smallest shift in Volkov's expression. A hint of calculation.

Chris leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You walked into my house thinking you could dictate terms. That's not how this works."

Volkov's lips curled into the faintest smirk. "And how does it work, then?"

Chris exhaled, his voice calm but edged with steel. "You listen. You comply. And if you don't—" He glanced at the rifles pointed at Volkov's men. "You cease to be a problem."

Silence.

For a moment, it felt as if time had stopped. The weight of the standoff pressed against every person in the room.

Then, finally, Volkov chuckled. It was quiet at first, but it grew—low, calculated, amused.

He leaned back in his chair, hands clasped together. "Fascinating."

Chris smirked. "What's fascinating?"

Volkov's gaze sharpened. "You remind me of myself. When I was younger."

Chris's smirk didn't fade. "And yet, here you are. In my house."

The Russian President studied him for a moment before exhaling. "Fine, Mr. Blackwood. Let's talk."

Chris leaned back,satisfied. "Now we're getting somewhere."