Chapter 9 - The Assassin's Shadow
I froze completely, feeling the cold steel of a gun barrel pressed hard against my spine.
Chloe had somehow escaped the federal agents and snuck back into the hotel.
"Move quietly to the service elevator, or I will paint this balcony with your brains," she whispered aggressively.
I raised my hands slowly, complying with her orders as she pushed me toward the dark service corridor.
The loud music and laughter from the ballroom faded away as the heavy doors swung shut behind us.
"How did you get away?" I asked, trying to stall for time while my mind raced for a solution.
Chloe let out a dark, bitter laugh that echoed in the empty concrete hallway.
"The FBI agents who arrested me were on my payroll, you stupid little girl," she bragged confidently.
She pushed me against the wall, keeping the gun aimed directly at my chest.
"Julian was just a pawn to get to your father's servers, but you ruined my entire mission," she snarled.
Her eyes were wild, completely devoid of the fake sweetness she had worn all evening.
She was a professional killer, and I knew she had absolutely no intention of letting me live.
"My father will hunt you down to the ends of the earth if you pull that trigger," I warned her.
"By the time he realizes you are missing, I will be halfway across the world with a new face," Chloe countered.
She raised the weapon, aiming it right between my eyes, her finger tightening on the trigger.
I closed my eyes, bracing for the deafening sound of the gunshot.
Suddenly, a massive, heavy figure dropped from the ceiling ventilation shaft directly onto Chloe's shoulders.
It was Martha, my father's undercover auditor, moving with the speed and lethal grace of a trained operative.
Martha twisted Chloe's arm violently, forcing the gun to fire a shot harmlessly into the concrete ceiling.
Chloe screamed in pain, dropping the weapon as Martha wrestled her to the ground.
The two women fought fiercely, exchanging brutal strikes in the narrow hallway.
I scrambled away, grabbing a heavy metal fire extinguisher from the wall mount.
Just as Chloe managed to pull a hidden knife from her boot, I swung the extinguisher with all my might.
The heavy red cylinder connected squarely with the side of Chloe's head, knocking her unconscious instantly.
Martha stood up, panting heavily, and straightened her ruined business suit.
"Thank you, Ma'am," Martha said calmly, as if we had just finished a routine business meeting.
The service doors burst open, and my father rushed in, surrounded by a dozen heavily armed guards.
May you like
He looked at the unconscious assassin on the floor and then at me, standing tall with the fire extinguisher.
My father smiled, but before he could speak, the elevator doors behind us violently chimed open.
