Chapter 9 - Into the Dark
The harsh chemical smoke immediately burned Elena's throat and brought blinding tears to her eyes.
She quickly pulled off her cotton apron and pressed it firmly against Sophia's small face.
"Don't breathe, baby," Elena coughed, her lungs screaming for clean oxygen.
Dante raised his weapon and fired up the dark stairwell, trying to suppress the advancing heavily armed men.
Titan barked fiercely, refusing to back down even as the gas irritated his sensitive nose.
Adrian cursed loudly as his trembling fingers struggled to connect the tiny colored wires.
"I cannot see the terminals through this smoke," the mafia boss grunted in frustration.
Sophia pulled the apron down slightly and looked at the tangle of wires.
Because she was so close to the ground, the thickest part of the smoke had not yet reached her level.
"The red one goes in the silver clip," Sophia said casually, pointing with her small crayon-stained finger.
Adrian paused, staring at the five-year-old girl in absolute astonishment.
"My daddy taught me how to fix the television when it broke," she explained simply.
Adrian didn't have time to question the logic of trusting a toddler with a multi-million-dollar security system.
He jammed the red wire directly into the silver terminal exactly as she had suggested.
A loud mechanical clunk echoed through the tunnel, and the massive vault door began to slowly hiss open.
"Go, get inside," Dante yelled, grabbing Elena by the arm and shoving her toward the opening.
Elena scrambled inside the brightly lit panic room, dragging Sophia and the dog behind her.
Adrian stumbled in next, clutching the flash drive tightly in his bloody fist.
Dante backed into the room last, firing his remaining bullets up the smoke-filled stairwell.
"Close it," Dante shouted, slapping the large red emergency lock button on the wall.
The heavy steel door began to slowly slide shut, inch by agonizing inch.
Through the narrowing gap, Elena saw the lead mercenary reach the bottom of the stairs wearing a gas mask.
The man raised a heavy rocket launcher and aimed it directly at the closing gap.
"Get down," Adrian roared, throwing his entire body over Elena and Sophia.
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Titan stood proudly in front of them, barking one final, defiant challenge at the attacker.
The mercenary pulled the trigger, sending the explosive projectile flying straight toward the panic room.
