Chapter 2 - The Blackout
Chaos erupted in the darkness.
Women screamed, and the sound of shattering glass echoed as the panicked crowd surged toward the exits.
Vincent’s grip on Mave’s arm tightened like a vice.
“Stay low,” he ordered, his voice cutting through the noise.
He pulled her down behind the heavy marble pillar just as the sharp, deafening crack of a gunshot ripped through the ballroom.
Mave covered her ears, her breath catching in her throat.
“They’re firing at the ceiling to cause a stampede,” Vincent analyzed coldly.
He reached inside his tuxedo jacket and drew a sleek, suppressed handgun.
“Mave, listen to me very carefully.”
He grabbed her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes, which were barely visible in the dim emergency lighting that had just kicked on.
“We have to get to the underground parking garage.”
“Leo has the armored car running.”
“Do you understand?”
Mave nodded, her entire body shaking.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Vincent kept his body positioned between her and the open room.
They moved quickly through the frantic crowd, sticking to the shadows along the perimeter of the ballroom.
They reached the heavy service doors leading to the kitchen corridors.
Vincent kicked the door open and pulled Mave inside.
The sterile, stainless-steel hallway was completely deserted.
“Where is the security detail?” Mave whispered, her heels clicking loudly on the tile floor.
“Dante’s men must have neutralized them before they cut the power,” Vincent said grimly.
They reached the service elevator at the end of the hall.
Vincent punched the call button.
The doors slid open instantly.
Mave let out a sigh of relief and stepped inside.
Vincent followed her, pressing the button for the sub-basement garage.
The heavy steel doors slid shut, and the elevator began its descent.
“We made it,” Mave breathed, leaning against the metal wall.
Vincent didn't relax.
He stared at the digital floor indicator above the door.
“Mave,” Vincent said slowly, his voice laced with dread.
“I didn't press the button for the lobby.”
Mave frowned, confused.
“What do you mean?”
Vincent raised his gun, aiming it directly at the closed doors.
“Someone overrode the elevator from the security desk.”
“We’re not going to the garage.”
“We’re stopping on the ground floor.”
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The elevator jolted to a violent halt.
The steel doors slowly began to slide open.
