Chapter 9 - Ambush in the Dark
"Stay down!" Dominic yelled, grabbing Elena by the shoulder and forcing her onto the floorboard of the SUV.
A relentless barrage of lead pulverized the reinforced windows of the vehicle. The bulletproof glass spider-webbed instantly, holding together under the tremendous impact but completely obscuring their vision. The metallic hail drummed against the armored chassis like a catastrophic storm.
Viktor kicked his door open an inch, firing three rapid shots blindly through the gap to force the shooters to take cover, then slammed it shut as rounds punched through the outer paneling.
"They brought heavy calibers!" Viktor yelled over the deafening noise. "The armor won't hold more than two minutes against sustained fire!"
Dominic reached beneath his seat and pulled out two smoke canisters. He pulled the pins with his teeth and shoved them out through the partially broken rear window. Dense, acrid gray smoke billowed instantly into the narrow confines of the tunnel, masking the SUV in an impenetrable fog.
"Elena, listen to me," Dominic said, gripping her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Behind this brick wall is an old drainage conduit that leads up to the subway maintenance tracks. Can you crawl?"
She nodded terrified, but her jaw clenched with sudden resolve. "I can."
"Viktor, suppressive fire on my mark," Dominic ordered. "We push to the side maintenance hatch."
"Ready," Viktor growled, pulling two fresh magazines from his vest.
"Mark!"
Viktor kicked the driver's side door wide open, unleashing a sustained, deafening volley of fire into the smoke-filled tunnel. Dominic kicked open the rear door, shielding Elena with his own body as he guided her toward a rusted iron door set into the arched brickwork. Bullets whizzed past his ears, chipping concrete and brick dust into their eyes.
Dominic slammed his shoulder against the iron door. The rusted latch gave way with a screech, and he shoved Elena inside the narrow shaft.
He turned to cover Viktor, but through the thinning smoke, he saw Viktor stumble. A heavy round had caught his lieutenant in the lower abdomen, spinning the giant man around.
"Viktor!" Dominic yelled, stepping back into the open tunnel.
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"Go, boss!" Viktor roared, slamming his back against the SUV and raising his weapon with bloody hands. "They have the tunnel cut off! You won't make it if you carry me! Finish Sterling!"
Before Dominic could move, a secondary explosion ripped through the front of the SUV, collapsing the tunnel ceiling between them and burying the vehicle in tons of falling rock and pulverized mortar.
