Chapter 14 - Dark Reckoning
The sudden blackness swallowed the study whole.
Marcus fired instantly, the muzzle flash illuminating the room in blinding, violent strobes. The deafening cracks of his weapon echoed off the stone walls, the rounds splintering the mahogany desk where Maya had been standing a fraction of a second before.
Maya dove to the floor, rolling beneath the heavy oak table as marble chips showered over her head.
""You can't escape this room, Maya!"" Marcus roared in the dark, moving with lethal tactical discipline, his footsteps virtually silent on the stone flags. ""The perimeter is locked!""
From the shadows near the hearth, Julian threw a heavy brass fire iron toward the left corner of the room.
The metallic clang rang out through the blackness. Marcus snapped toward the sound and fired three rapid rounds into the empty bookcase.
The muzzle flash betrayed his position.
Maya leaped from beneath the desk, tackling Marcus from his blind side with the full momentum of her body. They crashed heavily against the floor, Marcus losing his grip on the primary weapon. He struck her across the cheek with his forearm, throwing her off, but Maya scrambled forward, grappling for his holster.
Marcus wrapped his heavy hands around her throat, pinning her down. ""You're just like your father,"" he hissed into her face, squeezing with crushing pressure. ""Arrogant. Sentimental. Weak.""
Maya struggled for air, spots dancing across her vision. Her hands clawed at Marcus's tactical vest, searching for anything—a knife, a clip, a release lever.
Her fingers hooked into the steel pin of Marcus's tactical flashbang grenade strapped to his chest rig.
With her last remaining ounce of strength, Maya pulled the pin.
""Weak?"" Maya choked out. ""No. Prepared.""
Marcus realized what she had done a split second too late. His eyes widened in pure terror. ""You crazy b—""
Maya kicked him backward with both feet, rolling violently behind the heavy steel filing safe in the corner.
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The flashbang detonated with a concussive roar of fifty thousand lumens and one hundred and eighty decibels.
The shockwave tore through the room, lifting Marcus off his feet and slamming him into the concrete wall. The blinding flash illuminated the bunker like a miniature sun before fading into thick, acrid smoke.
