Chapter 4 - The Ticking Clock
The digital timer strapped to her brother's chest glowed with a terrifying, bright red light.
It showed exactly ten minutes remaining until a massive, lethal detonation.
"Anaëlle, you have to help me right now!" her brother, Lucas, sobbed hysterically.
She rushed wildly into the room, her hands hovering frantically over the complex web of colored wires.
"What did you do to deserve this, Lucas?" she cried out in pure, unadulterated panic.
"I tried to steal Julian's encrypted digital ledger to sell to the Russian mob," he confessed miserably.
Julian suddenly leaned casually against the heavy doorframe of the bedroom.
"He got too greedy and accidentally triggered my automated explosive security protocols," Julian explained calmly.
"Only I have the unique biometric bypass code to stop that timer from reaching zero."
Anaëlle spun around quickly and fell to her knees directly in front of the mafia boss.
"Please, I will do absolutely anything you ask, just save his life!" she begged desperately.
Julian looked down at her with a highly calculating, intense gaze.
"If I save him today, your life belongs entirely to my syndicate forever," he warned darkly.
"I accept your terms completely," she answered without a single second of hesitation.
Julian walked slowly over to the chair and pressed his thumb firmly against a small scanner on the vest.
The red timer instantly froze at exactly seven minutes and twelve seconds.
The explosive vest unlatched automatically, falling heavily to the polished wooden floor.
Lucas gasped for fresh air, falling out of the chair and scrambling desperately away from the bomb.
"Thank you, Julian, I swear to God I will never cross you again," Lucas blubbered incredibly weakly.
Julian pulled his suppressed pistol from his holster and aimed it directly at Lucas's forehead.
"You are absolutely right, Lucas, you will never cross me again," Julian stated with ice in his veins.
Anaëlle screamed loudly and threw herself over her brother to shield him completely.
"You explicitly promised to save him!" she yelled fiercely at the dangerous man.
"I promised to stop the bomb from exploding, not to forgive his massive treason," Julian corrected her coldly.
Suddenly, the massive glass windows of the luxurious bedroom completely shattered inward.
A massive barrage of heavy gunfire ripped violently through the walls from the darkness outside.
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Julian tackled Anaëlle fiercely to the floor just as a high-caliber bullet grazed his broad shoulder.
"The Russians are actually here!" Lucas screamed, pointing at the heavily armed men rappelling down from black helicopters.
