Chapter 2 - The Serpent's Mark
Shattered glass exploded across the room like shrapnel.
Martin was thrown backward violently, his head striking the wooden edge of his workbench.
Dust and debris filled the small shop, choking the air.
A heavy silence followed the deafening crash, broken only by the hiss of a ruptured radiator.
Martin blinked through the haze, his vision spinning wildly out of focus.
"Daniel!" he coughed, tasting blood on his lips.
Strong hands grabbed Martin by the collar and dragged him behind the heavy oak counter.
Daniel crouched over him, his expensive suit covered in white plaster dust.
"Stay down, don't move a muscle," Daniel ordered in a harsh whisper.
The passenger door of the wrecked SUV groaned open with a metallic screech.
Heavy boots stepped onto the debris-covered floor.
Martin watched in horror as a man in a tactical vest stepped out of the vehicle holding a suppressed submachine gun.
The armed man scanned the ruined shop, completely ignoring the unconscious driver slumped over the steering wheel.
Daniel did not hesitate.
He lunged over the counter with terrifying speed, closing the distance before the gunman could aim.
Daniel grabbed the barrel of the weapon, twisting it sharply upward as he struck the man's throat with his other hand.
The gunman collapsed to his knees, gasping for air as Daniel snatched the weapon away.
With a swift, calculated strike from the butt of the rifle, Daniel knocked the attacker out cold.
Martin crawled out from behind the counter, staring at Daniel in absolute shock.
"Who are these people?" Martin demanded, his voice shaking with pure terror.
Daniel knelt beside the unconscious gunman and ripped open the collar of his tactical shirt.
A dark, intricate tattoo of a coiled serpent was inked into the man's neck.
Daniel's face drained of all color as he stared at the mark.
"This isn't Vanguard Corporation," Daniel muttered, tossing the rifle aside.
He quickly searched the man's pockets, pulling out a burner phone and a set of heavy zip ties.
"We have to leave right now, Martin," Daniel said, grabbing the old cobbler by the arm.
"I am not leaving my shop!" Martin yelled, trying to pull away.
Daniel shoved Martin toward the back door of the shop with surprising force.
"If we stay here for another three minutes, we are both dead."
Martin stumbled into the alleyway just as the smell of gasoline hit the air.
He looked back and saw flames rapidly climbing the walls of his beloved store.
The attackers had rigged the SUV to burn the entire building down to the foundation.
Martin felt tears stinging his eyes as decades of memories turned into thick black smoke.
Suddenly, the burner phone Daniel had taken from the gunman chimed with an incoming text message.
Daniel looked at the glowing screen in the dark alleyway.
His jaw tightened, and he slowly handed the phone to Martin.
May you like
Martin stared at the screen, and his heart completely stopped beating.
The text message read: "We missed the old man, but we have his daughter."
