Chapter 13 - The Scalpel and the Bullet
Julian didn't hesitate. He leveled his weapon at Christian, but the surgeon dove behind the heavy central monitoring console, returning fire wildly. Bullets ricocheted off metal tables and shattered glass bottles of saline.
""You're too late, Julian!"" Christian shouted over the blaring klaxons. ""The ventilation system is locked! In three minutes, the gas will liquefy Clara’s lungs, and then it fills this room!""
Julian didn't answer. He dropped his spent rifle, drew his sidearm, and vaulted cleanly over the console.
Christian lunged with a spare scalpel, aiming directly for Julian’s throat. Julian caught the surgeon’s wrist inches from his skin, twisting the bone until a sharp snap echoed in the chamber. Christian howled in agony, dropping the blade, but swung a desperate left hook that caught Julian across the jaw.
Julian didn't flinch. Driven by a cold, unstoppable fury, he drove Christian into the concrete wall, his hand closing around the doctor's throat, lifting him until Christian’s polished shoes kicked uselessly in the air.
""You touched her,"" Julian whispered, his thumb pressing into Christian’s windpipe until the surgeon’s eyes bulged with terror. ""I told you that you made a mistake.""
""Julian! The console!"" Lois screamed from the gurney, coughing as the first tendrils of gas leaked through the seams of Clara’s chamber. ""The override code is in his coat pocket!""
Julian threw Christian to the floor like a sack of garbage, knocking him senseless. He ripped a laminated card from Christian’s pocket and swiped it through the master console, terminating the gas flow and popping the latches on both Clara’s room and Lois’s gurney.
Lois broke free and threw herself into Julian’s arms, weeping uncontrollably.
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""I have you,"" Julian breathed, his hands holding her trembling head against his chest. ""I have both of you.""
Suddenly, the blast doors behind them shuddered. Eleanor Thorne stepped through the haze, holding a small silver revolver pointed directly at her son’s heart.
