Chapter 9 - The Blinding Fog
A deafening hiss erupted from the ceiling vents as heavy halon gas and industrial fire retardant fog blanketed the entire library in less than a second. The white cloud was so thick it completely erased vision, turning the luxurious room into an opaque white void.
Julian fired blindly, the heavy boom of his magnum echoing like thunder, but the bullet slammed uselessly into a marble statue behind Dominic. Julian coughed, gagging as the halon gas starved the room of oxygen, stinging his eyes and burning his throat. "Kill him!" he shrieked into his throat mic. "Kill him now!"
Dominic had anticipated the discharge. The moment the valves opened, he had pulled up his tactical respirator over his nose and mouth, simultaneously pulling the protective plastic hood over the twins' heads to shield their delicate lungs from the inert gas.
In the blindness of the fog, Dominic was a ghost.
He moved on muscle memory. Two rapid footsteps through the mist. A dull, wet crack as Dominic's combat boot shattered the kneecap of the second surviving mercenary. Before the man could fall, Dominic drove an elbow into his temple, silencing him permanently.
Julian stumbled backwards through the haze, swinging his revolver wildly. "Dominic! Show yourself, you coward!"
A massive, tattooed hand shot out from the swirling white vapor, wrapping around Julian’s throat with hydraulic force.
The ivory revolver was knocked from Julian’s grip, clattering across the floor. Dominic lifted his younger brother off his feet, slamming him against the mahogany study desk with a violent crash that sent paperwork and crystal carafes shattering in all directions.
"You threatened my children in their own home," Dominic whispered through his respirator, his voice sounding like a demon from the underworld.
Julian clawed desperately at Dominic’s iron fingers, his face turning purplish-blue, his designer suit twisting under Dominic's crushing grip. "D-Dominic... please... we share the same blood..."
"Blood means nothing," Dominic growled, pressing his thumb against Julian’s carotid artery. "Loyalty is everything."
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Just as Julian's eyes began to roll back, the sound of an assault rifle charging clicked directly behind Dominic’s head.
"Drop him, Vance," a woman's icy voice said. "Or your pretty little maid dies first."
