Chapter 10 - The Reckoning in the Mist
The deafening roar of assault rifle fire hammered against the exterior of the vault, vibrating through the steel and concrete. Christian held his ground at the threshold, firing two heavy slugs through the doorway to force the shooters into cover behind the classic sports car parked in the bay. The echoing blasts bought precious seconds.
""Go, Ava! Move!"" Maya urged, hauling back a heavy metal server cabinet to reveal a narrow escape hatch set flush into the concrete floor. She turned the wheel latch, pulling the iron grate open to reveal a dark, sloping conduit pipe. ""It leads out into the marsh behind the airfield. There’s a road half a mile down.""
Ava looked back at Christian. He was exchanging fire with shadows across the hangar, his expression steely and resolute. He glanced back, catching her gaze through the smoke. ""Give the ledger to Agent Harris at the federal building, Ava! Avenge Julian!""
""I won't let him die for nothing!"" Ava cried.
Maya pushed Ava into the conduit just as a grenade detonated against the outer vault threshold, sending a concussive shockwave rippling through the room. Christian was knocked off his feet, the shotgun skittering across the floor.
Ava slid down the slick, wet metal pipe, tumbling into the freezing, muddy waters of the drainage ditch outside. Above her, through the grate, she heard the heavy crunch of boots entering the vault.
May you like
""Well, well, Christian,"" Marcus’s voice chuckled through the ringing in the air. ""Look at you, bleeding for a dead man's bride. Where did she go?""
Ava scrambled out of the culvert into the knee-high reeds of the airfield perimeter. Thick morning fog clung to the ground like a shroud, obscuring the runway. Her bare hands were scraped and bleeding from the gravel, but she didn't feel the pain. In her jacket pocket, she clutched Julian’s audio recorder and the keycard to his offshore server. Behind her, a single gunshot echoed through the hangar, followed by total, suffocating silence.
