Chapter 10 - Cornered at the Docks
The doors of the three sedans opened in unison, and a dozen men in dark suits emerged, all carrying automatic weapons. At the front of the formation stood Dr. Vance, his silver hair immaculate despite the damp sea air.
""Impressive resilience, Julian,"" Vance called out over the hum of the idling engines. ""You were always too stubborn to know when a merger was hostile.""
Julian remained at the base of the ladder, putting his body between the mercenary line and the metal rungs leading up to Elena and Lily. He was unarmed now, having lost his weapon during the fall.
""You won't leave this harbor alive, Vance,"" Julian said coldly. ""My private security team was patched into the vehicle’s telemetry. They’re five minutes out.""
""Five minutes is an eternity in our profession,"" Vance said calmly. He signaled to the riflemen beside him. ""Kill Julian. Retrieve the girl. The maid can be tossed into the bay.""
Elena stopped climbing twenty feet up. She looked down at the men raising their weapons at Julian. Her heart screamed. If Julian died, Lily would be thrown into Vance’s cold, manipulative clutches forever.
Her eyes scanned the metal landing beside her. Resting on the crane’s maintenance platform was a massive iron emergency hook, anchored by a heavy industrial tension cable leading to the high-voltage generator box on the pier.
""Julian! Jump!"" Elena screamed at the top of her lungs.
Julian didn't hesitate. Trusting her implicitly, he dove sideways behind an overturned steel pallet. Elena threw her entire weight against the emergency crane release lever, slamming it downward.
The massive, rusted cargo hook swung violently through the air on its thick steel cable, whistling through the fog like a pendulum of death. It smashed directly into the windshield of Vance’s lead sedan, crushing the engine block and triggering the fuel tank.
A massive fireball ripped through the container yard. Shrapnel and shockwaves scattered Vance’s gunmen like matchsticks. The explosion illuminated the night sky, throwing Vance onto the wet pavement with his ears ringing and his suit smoking.
Elena hurried down the ladder, coughing through the rising smoke, reaching Julian as he pulled himself up from behind the pallet.
""Are you insane?"" Julian coughed, a sudden, breathy laugh escaping his bloody lips.
May you like
""I’m a mother,"" Elena retorted fiercely.
Before they could move toward the harbor gate, Vance pulled himself up from the ground, his face scorched, lifting a fallen pistol with shaking, hate-filled hands aimed straight at Elena’s back.
