Chapter 7 - The Counterattack
Vane stood in the doorway, completely confident in his total victory.
His mercenaries filed into the small room, aiming their laser sights at every single one of us.
"Take the children and the woman to the helicopter," Vane ordered his men.
I stepped directly in front of the hospital beds, shielding my family with my own body.
"You will have to kill me first, Crosby," I stated with absolute, unwavering conviction.
Vane laughed coldly and raised his weapon to my chest.
"That was always the primary plan, Lawson," he replied.
Before he could pull the trigger, the entire mansion suddenly plunged into total darkness.
The backup generators failed, throwing the windowless bunker into absolute, terrifying pitch black.
I did not hesitate for a fraction of a second.
I dropped to the floor and fired blindly into the darkness where Vane's men had been standing.
Screams of pain echoed through the confined space as my bullets found their targets.
I rolled under the metal surgical table just as Vane blindly returned fire, shredding the wall behind me.
In the chaos, a small emergency red light flickered on above the doorway.
It cast just enough light for me to see Vane reloading his weapon.
I lunged from the shadows and tackled him with the force of a freight train.
We crashed onto the concrete floor in a brutal, desperate struggle for survival.
I punched him ruthlessly in the jaw, disorienting him long enough to grab his combat knife from his belt.
I drove the blade deep into his shoulder, pinning him violently to the ground.
I stood up, breathing heavily, and turned to check on Clara and the twins.
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But the hospital beds were completely empty.
Dr. Yates had used the darkness to slip out the emergency ventilation shaft, and he had taken my children with him.
