Chapter 5 - The Siege
The security monitors glowed with the cold, gray feed of night-vision cameras.
At least forty men dressed in tactical gear were setting up breaching charges on the bunker’s main doors.
"How did they find us so fast?" Elena asked, holding Aria tightly to her chest.
Julian’s jaw tightened as he typed furiously into the security console.
"There was a tracker in Marco's gun," Julian realized, slamming his fist against the desk.
"When you took his weapon after I shot him, you brought the beacon right to our front door."
I pulled the stolen pistol from my waistband and crushed the handle beneath my heavy boot, revealing a tiny flashing red chip.
"They want me," I said, checking the magazine of my own weapon.
"There is a secondary escape tunnel beneath the floorboards."
I pointed to the steel grate in the corner of the room.
"Take Elena and my daughter and run."
Elena shook her head frantically.
"I am not leaving you again, Dominic!" she yelled.
"You left me once, and I will not let you die to repay a debt you owe me!"
I grabbed her face, pulling her close and kissing her forehead with desperate finality.
"I am not dying for a debt, Elena," I whispered.
"I am dying to give my daughter the world she deserves."
I shoved Julian toward the grate.
"Get them out, Vance. That is an order."
Julian nodded with grim respect, prying the heavy steel grate open.
Just as Elena and Aria climbed down into the dark tunnel, a deafening blast tore the bunker doors off their hinges.
Smoke and concrete dust flooded the room as heavily armed men poured in.
I opened fire, dropping the first three men through the thick haze.
Bullets tore the room apart, shattering the medical equipment and ripping through the walls.
I ducked behind the metal table, reloading my weapon as footsteps surrounded me.
A voice echoed through the smoke, dripping with venomous triumph.
"Cease fire, boys," Vincenzo’s raspy voice commanded.
The shooting stopped, leaving only the sound of my ragged breathing.
"Hello, nephew," Vincenzo said, stepping into the light.
He was holding a bloodied, beaten man by the hair.
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It was my younger brother, Leo, whom I thought had been safe in Italy.
"Drop the gun, Dominic, or I put a bullet in your brother's skull," Vincenzo smiled.
