Chapter 5 - Blackout
Red emergency beacons snapped on along the floorboards, casting long, bloody shadows across the hallway. The high-pitched whine of backup generators began to spin up deep in the hospital’s sub-basement, but the ventilation fans groaned and ground to a halt.
""Stay here,"" Dante commanded Elena, his voice cutting through the rising panic of nurses and visitors emerging from adjacent rooms.
""Dante, no! The monitors are down!"" Elena cried, turning toward the glass room where Paige lay.
Dante didn't hesitate. He bypassed the guard, kicked the manual release bar on the sliding glass door, and stepped inside. The pediatric ward was lit only by the ambient red glow of the hallway and the faint luminescent dials of battery-operated vitals equipment. The room was deathly quiet. Dante moved to the crib. The infant was awake, her large brown eyes reflecting the dim crimson light, her tiny lips parted as she made a faint, breathless whimper.
Dante reached down, his scarred fingers sliding gently beneath her back and neck, scooping her up along with the thick pink swaddling blanket. She weighed almost nothing—a fragile, warm bundle against the heavy wool of his tailored coat. As he lifted her against his chest, Paige let out a tiny sigh, her forehead resting against the open collar of his white shirt, right above his collarbone. Dante’s breath hitched. A primal, suffocating instinct seized his chest, an emotion he had never permitted himself to feel: absolute, terrifying vulnerability.
""We have to go,"" he said, stepping back out of the room.
""You can't take her out of the ICU!"" the doctor protested, rushing to block the exit. ""She needs continuous oxygen and an IV flush!""
""If she stays here, she dies in ten minutes,"" Dante said, not breaking stride. ""They cut the main grid to disable the security cameras and keycard locks. They're already inside the building.""
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Elena scrambled after him, clutching his coat sleeve. ""Who is inside?""
Dante didn't answer. At the far end of the corridor, the heavy fire exit doors swung open. Two men dressed in dark utility uniforms stepped through. They weren't hospital maintenance. They wore tactical gloves and carried short-barreled suppressed submachine guns tucked tight against their ribs. The lead man raised his weapon directly at Dante’s chest.
