Chapter 6 - The Awakening
Adrian Vale looked terrible, his skin completely pale and his surgical gown stained with fresh blood.
Despite his severe physical weakness, his dark eyes burned with an intense, terrifying fury.
"Get in the ambulance right now, Clara," Adrian commanded, his voice surprisingly strong despite the recent surgery.
I lifted Lily into the back of the vehicle and climbed in right behind her, completely soaked in freezing rain.
Dr. Brooks immediately slammed the heavy doors shut, and the ambulance sped away into the stormy night.
I sat on the floor, shivering violently as I tried to process the impossible sight in front of me.
"How are you awake, and how did you possibly escape Mason?" I asked Adrian in utter disbelief.
Dr. Brooks handed me a warm thermal blanket and quickly checked the bleeding graze on my shoulder.
"When you caused that distraction with the tray, I immediately administered a massive dose of adrenaline and counter-toxins," Dr. Brooks explained.
Adrian had woken up during the ensuing chaos, and Dr. Brooks had used the hospital's underground laundry tunnels to smuggle him out.
"Where is Dante?" Adrian asked me, his tone shifting into something deadly and cold.
I swallowed hard, holding back tears as I explained the brutal ambush at the warehouse.
Adrian closed his eyes slowly, his jaw clenching so tight I thought his teeth might shatter.
"Victoria Sterling is going to pay for every single drop of blood she spilled tonight," Adrian vowed softly.
Lily suddenly peeked out from beneath the thermal blanket, her tiny nose crinkling in the air.
"Uncle Adrian, you do not smell like rotten chicken anymore," Lily stated matter-of-factly.
Adrian’s hardened expression softened instantly, and he reached out to gently squeeze my daughter's hand.
"You saved my life, little one, and I will never forget that," Adrian promised her sincerely.
He looked over at me, and I saw a depth of gratitude in his eyes that transcended his ruthless reputation.
"We need to go to the armory at the docks, it is the only place left that Mason does not know the access codes to," Adrian instructed the driver.
The ambulance navigated the slippery, flooded streets, finally arriving at a massive commercial shipping yard.
We drove into a seemingly empty cargo container, which turned out to be a hidden freight elevator that slowly lowered us underground.
The doors opened to reveal a massive, heavily fortified bunker filled with enough military-grade weapons to start a small war.
Adrian slowly sat up on the stretcher, refusing Dr. Brooks's assistance as he forced himself to stand on his own two feet.
He walked over to a steel workbench and picked up a heavy, custom-made combat pistol.
"We are going to Victoria's private estate, and we are going to end this tonight," Adrian declared.
Just then, my cell phone began ringing loudly from inside my wet uniform pocket.
I pulled it out, entirely shocked to see Dante’s name flashing brightly on the cracked screen.
I answered it immediately, putting it on speakerphone so Adrian could hear his loyal friend's voice.
"Dante, you are alive!" I cried out in immense relief.
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But the voice that responded was not Dante's at all.
"He is barely alive, Clara, but he won't be for much longer unless Adrian surrenders himself at the harbor within the hour," Mason Reed taunted over the line.
