Chapter 6 - The High Ground
The three mercenaries hit the factory floor with practiced, lethal grace.
Dominic did not hesitate for a single microsecond.
He fired two rapid shots, taking down the closest man before the attacker could unclip his harness.
I grabbed Lily and dragged her behind a massive, rusted printing press.
Bullets tore through the heavy machinery, sending sparks and metal shrapnel raining down around us.
Dominic moved like a shadow, completely ignoring the painful bullet wound in his side.
He engaged the second mercenary in brutal hand-to-hand combat, disarming the man with a sickening crack of bone.
The third attacker aimed his assault rifle directly at the printing press where we were hiding.
"Throw the rabbit out, and the kid lives," the mercenary shouted over the noise.
Lily hugged Mister Buttons so fiercely that the old seams threatened to burst.
"Do not move," I whispered to her, my heart hammering violently against my ribs.
I found a heavy iron wrench resting on the dusty floorboards near my knee.
I gripped the cold metal tightly, knowing I had to protect my child at all costs.
Dominic suddenly yelled, distracting the gunman just long enough for me to act.
I stood up from behind the machine and hurled the heavy wrench with all my strength.
It struck the mercenary squarely in the face, knocking him backward in a daze.
Dominic finished him off with a swift, punishing strike to the back of the neck.
The factory fell completely silent, save for the sound of rain pouring through the broken skylight.
"We have to move before the breach team gets through that door," Dominic warned, breathing heavily.
He led us up a rusted metal staircase toward the catwalks near the factory roof.
Every step groaned dangerously under our combined weight.
We reached the upper maintenance office just as the front doors blew open in a massive explosion.
Dozens of armed men swarmed into the factory floor below like angry ants.
Dominic locked the office door and pointed toward a small ventilation shaft on the wall.
"You and Lily can fit through there, it leads to the adjacent building's roof," he instructed.
"I am not leaving you behind to die," I refused, grabbing his blood-stained hand.
Dominic looked deeply into my eyes, a tragic smile playing on his lips.
"I am the boss of the Moretti family, Elena, and I always pay my debts."
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He shoved me toward the vent just as a voice echoed through a megaphone from the floor below.
"Give up, Dominic, we already have your brother held hostage at the docks."
