Chapter 7 - The Siege
The narrow passageway smelled heavily of damp earth and old concrete.
Dorian led the way with his flashlight, while Titan guarded their rear from the approaching mercenaries.
Marin struggled to keep up, her braced leg throbbing with agonizing pain after every single step.
She gripped the heavy revolver so tightly that her knuckles turned completely white in the darkness.
They emerged from the hidden corridor into the massive, heavily fortified panic room at the center of the estate.
The walls were lined with advanced weapons, emergency medical supplies, and independent communication servers.
Dorian immediately began typing on a secure terminal, desperately trying to lock out Silas's override codes.
He needed to establish a connection to the syndicate council to expose Silas before the mercenaries breached the room.
Marin collapsed onto a leather cot, gasping for air and desperately rubbing her aching knee.
Titan walked over and rested his heavy chin on her lap, providing a comforting, steady presence.
Suddenly, a loud, terrifying metallic screech echoed from the other side of the thick titanium door.
Silas's men had located the panic room and brought heavy industrial equipment to cut through the vault.
A blindingly bright orange spark erupted from the center of the metal door.
The mercenaries were using a high-powered thermal lance to melt directly through the impenetrable titanium.
The temperature inside the panic room began to rise rapidly, making the air incredibly heavy and difficult to breathe.
Dorian swore loudly and smashed his fist against the keyboard as the terminal screen went completely black.
Silas had physically severed the underground fiber optic cables, cutting off their only lifeline to the outside world.
"We cannot stay in here," Dorian declared, grabbing two heavy assault rifles from the wall rack.
He explained that once the thermal lance breached the door, the mercenaries would throw explosive gas inside.
Marin looked at the melting metal door, realizing their supposed impenetrable sanctuary was actually a death trap.
Dorian threw a heavy tactical vest over Marin's shoulders and strapped it tightly across her chest.
He walked to the center of the room and aggressively pulled back a large Persian rug.
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Hidden beneath the expensive fabric was a heavy iron grate leading to the estate's forgotten smuggling tunnels.
The center of the panic room door suddenly gave way, dripping molten liquid metal onto the floor.
