Chapter 8 - Falling Glass
The iron bracket snapped with the scream of tearing metal.
The two-ton crystal chandelier plummeted, a glittering avalanche of brass, iron, and hundreds of cut-glass pendants crashing straight down toward the foyer floor. Liam screamed, dropping his glass and throwing himself wildly sideways off the velvet settee just as the massive fixture hit the marble.
The explosion was deafening. Thousands of glass shards detonated outward like shrapnel from an artillery strike, shredding the antique furniture, shattering the surrounding floor-to-ceiling windows, and filling the air with a choking cloud of pulverized plaster and dust.
Taking advantage of the total chaos, Jack broke cover.
He didn't run toward the main entrance. Instead, he darted through the smoke into the service corridor leading to the underground parking garage beneath the carriage house. Two Blackwood contractors burst through the shattered front doors, weapon lights blazing through the thick dust cloud.
"Target moving west!" one shouted, coughing through the plaster dust. "Check the boss!"
"Don't worry about me, you idiots!" Liam shrieked from beneath a pile of broken furniture, his cashmere sweater torn and covered in white dust, a deep gash bleeding across his forehead. "Kill him! Kill them both! If that girl leaves this property alive, you don't get paid!"
Jack didn't slow down. Carrying Elena, his boots pounded down the concrete ramp of the garage. The subterranean space was filled with the Vance family fleet: high-end European sedans, sports coupes, and Eleanor’s armored SUV. But Jack wasn't looking for luxury.
At the far end of the garage, parked beside the maintenance utility bay, sat Dr. Mercer’s private vehicle—a nondescript, heavily tinted black crossover. Jack hit the key fob he had taken from Mercer’s pocket. The amber lights flashed in response.
Jack opened the back door, gently placing Elena across the leather bench seat. She was barely conscious, her eyes rolling back, her skin clammy and grey.
"Hold on, Elena," he pleaded, kissing her burning forehead. "Just five more minutes."
Footsteps pounded on the ramp behind him. Jack spun, raising his weapon as two Blackwood guards rounded the concrete pillar, their MPX submachine guns raised.
"Drop it, Sergeant!" the lead mercenary barked.
Jack didn't drop it. He dropped to one knee instead, using the engine block of Mercer’s car for cover, and fired three double-taps in rapid succession. The lead contractor took two rounds to the center chest plate, knocked flat onto his back by the kinetic impact, while the second guard caught a bullet through the shoulder, dropping his weapon with a sharp cry of agony.
Jack leapt into the driver's seat, slammed the door, and pressed the engine start button. The vehicle roared to life.
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Ahead of him, the heavy iron security gate at the top of the ramp was rapidly lowering, triggered by the mansion's main lockdown system.
Jack slammed the gear shift into drive, floored the accelerator, and aimed the two-ton vehicle straight at the descending steel bars.
