Chapter 16 - The Breach
The heavy titanium blast doors groaned under the immense concussive force of the C4 explosives. Dust rained from the ceiling of the bunker, coating everything in a fine layer of gray powder.
Danielle secured Liam into a reinforced tactical baby carrier strapped tightly to her chest, ensuring the ballistic plating covered his small, sleeping body. She had given him a mild sedative to keep him quiet; crying now would mean absolute death.
"The outer perimeter is compromised," Julian shouted over the deafening roar of the alarm sirens. He was positioned behind a heavy steel barricade facing the main corridor, his sniper rifle aimed squarely at the bottleneck entrance.
"I am locking down the inner vault!" Sarah yelled from the control console, her fingers flying across the glowing keyboard. Heavy steel shutters slammed down over the air vents and secondary corridors, funneling the attackers into a single, fatal choke point.
The main blast doors finally blew inward with a blinding flash of fire and a shockwave that knocked Danielle off her feet.
Through the thick, acrid smoke, a dozen Syndicate operatives surged into the bunker, assault rifles blazing in a synchronized sweep of death.
Julian fired. The boom of his rifle in the enclosed space was catastrophic. His high-caliber rounds tore through the Syndicate soldiers' Kevlar armor as if it were wet paper. He didn't miss a single shot, moving with a robotic, terrifying efficiency that proved exactly why he was their top asset.
"Move to the elevator!" Julian commanded, tossing a smoke grenade into the corridor to blind the second wave of attackers. "Take Liam to the sub-level helipad. I will hold them here."
"I am not leaving you behind!" Danielle screamed over the gunfire, firing wildly into the smoke with her pistol.
"You don't have a choice!" Julian roared, grabbing her arm and shoving her violently toward the heavy doors of the freight elevator. "They want the baby. Go!"
Danielle stumbled backward into the elevator car, dragging a limping Sarah with her. She looked at Julian one last time. He stood alone against an army, a twenty-two-year-old boy who had never known a mother's love, dying to protect a family that wasn't even his.
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The elevator doors began to slide shut. Just before they closed, Danielle saw a tall, elegant figure stride through the smoke, stepping casually over the bodies of the dead mercenaries.
It was Richard. And he was holding a massive, devastating rocket launcher aimed directly at the elevator shaft.
