Chapter 12 - The Iron Sister
“I wondered if Julian had the courage to finish you,” Elena Vance said, her voice smooth and devoid of any emotion. She didn't raise her weapon; she simply pocketed the data drive with deliberate slowness. “When they pulled his body from the harbor drainage basin, I knew my brother had failed. He was always sentimental. Weak.”
Diana kept her sidearm raised, the red dot of the laser sight centered directly on Elena’s forehead. “Move two inches, Elena, and you join him.”
Elena smiled thinly, not shifting an ounce of her posture. “You think you can shoot me in the heart of the Consortium? The moment a shot is fired here, the neurotoxin suppression system purges the sub-levels. We both die, Diana. And your precious little girl becomes a ward of the state.”
“The neurotoxin system was decommissioned two years ago due to Swiss environmental regulations,” Diana replied without a heartbeat of hesitation. “You’re bluffing, Elena. And you’re standing between me and my husband’s legacy.”
Elena’s eyes flashed with cold realization. In an explosion of movement, she kicked a heavy steel equipment cart directly at Diana, drawing an antique curved karambit knife from her sleeve as she lunged forward.
Diana fired once. The round shattered the wheel of the cart, throwing Elena off balance, but the blonde assassin recovered instantly, sweeping the curved blade toward Diana’s throat. Diana ducked, feeling the wind of the steel parting her hair, and drove a vicious palm strike into Elena’s collarbone.
The two women collided against the heavy titanium vault door in a flurry of brutal, close-quarters combat. Elena fought with mechanical, ruthless precision, her knife carving vicious arcs through the air, while Diana used devastating Krav Maga defense techniques, utilizing the narrow corridor to limit Elena’s mobility.
Elena sliced downward, catching Diana’s forearm and tearing through the tactical fabric, drawing a line of bright crimson. Diana didn't flinch. She trapped Elena’s blade arm against her torso, twisting her hip to execute a devastating hip throw. Elena slammed heavily onto the hard linoleum floor, but rolled backward instantly, coming up with a backup pistol drawn.
Diana didn't give her the space. She closed the gap with a brutal front kick to Elena’s chest, sending her crashing into the biometric console. The glass terminal shattered, sparking violently. Diana seized Elena’s wrist, slamming it against the steel frame until the weapon clattered away, then drove her knee into the woman’s solar plexus.
Elena slumped to the floor, gasping for air, her lip split and bleeding.
Diana knelt over her, pressing the barrel of her 9mm against Elena’s temple. “The drive,” Diana demanded coldly.
Elena spat blood onto the floor, looking up with defiance. “Take it. It’s too late anyway. My father didn't just empty Thomas’s accounts, Diana. He didn't want the money.”
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Diana retrieved the encrypted drive from Elena’s coat. “What did he want?”
“He used the accounts to purchase the Sterling family’s debt notes,” Elena whispered, laughing hoarsely. “Your father didn't rescue you out of love. He traded Lily to my father to settle his own bankruptcy.”
