Chapter 6 - The Broken Clock
Vance rolled hard to the left just as the heavy iron pipe smashed into the concrete floor, sending a shower of sparks and pulverized rock into the air. He used the momentum of his roll to sweep Silas’s legs.
It was like kicking a sequoia tree. Silas barely staggered.
The enforcer grabbed Vance by the collar of his Kevlar jacket and hoisted him into the air with one hand, slamming him brutally against a steel support beam. The breath was knocked out of Vance's lungs in a violent rush.
"I'm going to snap your neck, and then I'm going to make the old man listen while you choke on your own blood," Silas sneered, his grip tightening.
Vance’s hands scrambled against Silas’s massive arm, but he couldn't break the grip. His vision began to tunnel, the edges turning dark and static. He looked past Silas’s shoulder and saw Elias, still hanging from the chains, completely defenseless.
Not again, Vance thought, the trauma of his past igniting a final, desperate surge of adrenaline. I am not losing someone else.
Vance stopped trying to break the grip. Instead, he dropped his pistol, grabbed the karambit with his free right hand, and didn't aim for flesh. He aimed for the thick leather strap of Silas's tactical vest holding his shoulder holster. He jammed the curved blade behind the strap and yanked downward with all his remaining strength.
The strap severed. Silas’s heavy sidearm—a massive .50 caliber hand cannon—tumbled toward the floor.
Vance caught the falling gun out of the air with his left hand, pressing the barrel directly against the center of Silas’s chest piece, and pulled the trigger.
The roar of the weapon in the enclosed space was catastrophic. The sheer kinetic force of the round, even hitting body armor, was like getting hit by a moving truck. Silas’s eyes widened in shock as the impact blew him backward, breaking his grip on Vance. The giant man crashed into a stack of oil drums, wheezing for air, his ribs undoubtedly shattered beneath the Kevlar.
Vance didn't hesitate. He dropped the heavy gun, grabbed the chain winch, and rapidly lowered Elias to the ground.
"Elias," Vance whispered, catching the old man as he fell. "Elias, stay with me."
The clockmaker coughed, his unseeing eyes fluttering open. He reached out a trembling hand, finding Vance’s face. "Vance? You foolish boy... I told you to stay out of the rain."
"We're leaving," Vance said, hauling the old man onto his shoulder.
May you like
Behind them, Silas groaned, trying to push himself up from the floor, coughing up blood. "You... you're dead, Vance. The Commodore... he'll burn the whole harbor down to find you."
Vance turned back, his eyes cold and empty. "Tell the Commodore I have his ledger. I know about your side-hustle, Silas. Let's see who burns first."
