Chapter 3 - The Lobby
The heavy steel doors slid open, revealing the massive, empty lobby of the Plaza Hotel.
The power was completely out, and the only light came from the streetlamps bleeding through the revolving glass doors.
Vincent pushed Mave behind him into the corner of the elevator cab.
Three men in dark suits stood in the center of the lobby, assault rifles raised and aimed directly at the open elevator.
Dante stood behind them, a cruel smile playing on his lips.
“Step out of the box, Vincent,” Dante called out.
“Or we turn it into a blender.”
Vincent didn't hesitate.
He raised his handgun and fired three rapid shots in less than a second.
The suppressed weapon made a series of quiet thwips.
The two men closest to the elevator dropped to the floor, instantly neutralized.
“Run!” Vincent roared, shoving Mave out of the elevator.
Mave sprinted across the marble lobby, diving behind a massive, overturned oak reception desk.
Vincent dove behind a marble pillar just as the remaining gunman opened fire.
Bullets chewed through the expensive leather sofas and shattered the front windows.
“You’re getting slow, Vincent!” Dante taunted from the darkness, returning fire with his own pistol.
Mave huddled behind the desk, her hands clamped over her ears.
She felt utterly useless.
She balanced spreadsheets. She didn't fight in gun battles.
She noticed a heavy, brass fire extinguisher mounted on the wall directly above her.
She looked across the lobby.
Vincent was pinned down behind the pillar, unable to return fire without exposing himself to the barrage of bullets.
Mave made a decision she immediately regretted.
She stood up, grabbing the heavy brass cylinder from the wall.
She didn't aim at Dante.
She aimed at the remaining gunman who was reloading his rifle.
She hurled the fire extinguisher with every ounce of strength she possessed.
The heavy cylinder sailed through the air and smashed brutally into the side of the gunman's knee.
The man screamed in agony and collapsed to the floor.
Vincent used the split-second distraction to step out from behind the pillar and put a bullet precisely into the gunman's shoulder, neutralizing him.
Dante cursed loudly and bolted out the shattered front doors into the rainy night.
Vincent didn't chase him.
He ran directly to Mave, pulling her up from behind the desk.
“Are you hit?” he demanded, checking her arms and shoulders frantically.
“No, I’m fine,” Mave gasped, her heart pounding furiously.
Vincent looked at her, his expression a mixture of sheer terror and absolute awe.
“You threw a fire extinguisher at a man with an assault rifle.”
Mave swallowed hard.
“I was trying to help.”
Vincent let out a breath that sounded like a ragged laugh.
“Don't ever do that again.”
He grabbed her hand and led her out the side exit into the wet alleyway.
A sleek, black armored SUV sped down the alley and screeched to a halt in front of them.
The passenger door flew open.
Leo was in the driver's seat, bleeding from a deep cut on his forehead.
“Get in!” Leo shouted.
They dove into the backseat, and Leo floored the accelerator before the doors even closed.
“Where to, boss?” Leo yelled over the roar of the engine.
“The safe house,” Vincent ordered, reloading his weapon.
“No,” Mave interrupted, her voice suddenly sharp and commanding.
Vincent looked at her in surprise.
“What?”
“Don't go to the safe house,” Mave insisted, pulling her tablet from her purse.
“Look at the spreadsheets I showed you this afternoon.”
She turned the glowing screen toward Vincent.
“The missing $30,000 from the offshore account.”
“It wasn't an accounting error, Vincent.”
“It was a payment.”
Vincent frowned, staring at the highlighted numbers.
“A payment to who?”
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“To the security firm that installed the alarm system at your safe house last week,” Mave revealed, her voice shaking.
“Someone inside your organization paid them to leave a backdoor open for the Rossi family.”
