Chapter 7 - Blank Bullets
A deafening click echoed through the room instead of a gunshot.
Elena opened her eyes in pure shock.
The gun was completely empty.
Arthur Hart burst into a fit of cruel, echoing laughter.
"Did you really think I would trust you with a loaded weapon?" Arthur mocked.
"This was just a test of your loyalty, and you passed beautifully," he added.
Elena dropped the useless revolver to the floor as a sob tore from her throat.
She realized she had just proven she was willing to kill her own husband.
Luca stared at her, his expression unreadable behind a mask of shock.
"Grab them both," Arthur commanded his men with a wave of his hand.
Two heavy mercenaries shoved Luca to his knees and tied his wrists tightly behind his back.
Another man grabbed Elena by the hair and forced her down next to him.
"You are a sick man, Arthur," Luca spat venomously.
"I am a businessman who is simply removing the competition," Arthur replied calmly.
Arthur walked over to a red emergency box on the wall and pulled out a flare gun.
His men began pouring gallons of gasoline across the cracked hospital floor.
The fumes instantly filled the room, making Elena choke and gasp.
"I am going to burn you both alive and claim the city from your ashes," Arthur declared.
He loaded a bright red flare into the heavy plastic gun.
"Say hello to hell for me," Arthur sneered.
He aimed the flare gun at the gasoline puddle near Luca's boots.
Before Arthur could pull the trigger, the glass windows of the room shattered inward.
Nico and the Moretti soldiers repelled through the broken windows on tactical ropes.
Automatic gunfire erupted instantly, dropping three of Arthur's mercenaries.
In the chaotic panic, Arthur blindly fired the flare gun directly into the pool of gas.
A massive wall of fire erupted instantly, separating Luca and Elena from the exit.
May you like
Arthur and his surviving men sprinted out the door, locking it heavily from the outside.
The flames roared to life, consuming the ancient hospital room in seconds.
