Chapter 3 - The Ambush
The heat from the burning SUV washed over Vincent’s face.
He didn't panic.
He had survived in the underworld for a decade because his mind worked faster when violence erupted.
He dove behind a concrete pillar just as the men opened fire.
Bullets chipped the concrete, sending razor-sharp fragments flying into the air.
Vincent drew his weapon and leaned out from the left side of the pillar.
He fired three rapid shots.
The closest gunman dropped to the floor, grasping his shattered knee.
“Flush him out!” one of the masked men shouted.
Vincent knew he was outgunned.
He had a standard handgun with two spare magazines, while they had automatic weapons.
He checked the stairwell door twenty yards to his right.
If he could reach it, he could bottleneck them in the narrow corridor.
He took a deep breath.
He sprinted across the open asphalt.
Gunfire erupted, deafening in the enclosed concrete space.
A bullet grazed the fabric of his suit jacket.
Another slammed into the wall inches from his head.
He hit the heavy metal door with his shoulder, bursting into the stairwell.
He spun around and fired twice through the closing door.
A second attacker fell backward with a scream.
Vincent took the stairs two at a time, moving up toward the ground floor lobby.
He needed to get outside to radio Thomas for backup.
He kicked open the lobby door and stepped out.
He froze.
The lobby was empty of civilians, but standing by the front desk was a man he had not seen in ten years.
It was Silas Thorne.
Silas had been his father’s most trusted lieutenant before Vincent exiled him for skimming money from the family.
Silas smiled, holding a detonator in his left hand.
“Hello, Vincent,” Silas said smoothly.
“I see you met my welcoming committee.”
Vincent aimed his gun directly at Silas’s head.
“Where is Claire Bennett?” Vincent demanded.
Silas chuckled and pressed his thumb against the detonator button.
May you like
“You should be more worried about the little girl upstairs.”
“I just rigged the penthouse with C4.”
