Chapter 12 - Skyward Reckoning
The downdraft from the helicopter whipped Vincent's hair across his face as he charged across the lawn, his boots tearing into the rain-soaked turf. The mercenary guarding the open cabin door leveled a carbine at him, spraying a burst of automatic fire that ripped through the grass at Vincent's feet.
Vincent slid on his knees through the mud, firing a controlled three-round burst directly through the open cabin floor. The contractor tumbled backward, incapacitated, dropping his weapon onto the grass.
Julian shrieked at the pilot, pounding frantically on the cockpit partition: ""Lift off! Get us out of here! Now!""
The helicopter surged upward, its nose pitching forward as it cleared the courtyard balustrade, climbing ten feet into the air.
Vincent surged to his feet, lunging forward with every ounce of strength he possessed. He leaped, his fingers catching the cold, slick aluminum of the helicopter's left landing skid just as it swung over the edge of the stone terrace.
The sheer force of the sudden weight dragged on Vincent’s dislocated shoulder, sending a spike of agony through his stitched ribs. He hung suspended sixty feet above the rocky cliffs below the estate.
""Vincent!"" Julian screamed over the roar of the turbine, leaning out of the open door with a heavy wrench in his hands. ""Let go, you bastard! Die like your brother!""
Julian brought the heavy steel tool down viciously toward Vincent’s hands.
Vincent swung his legs forward, using the momentum to kick upward. His steel-toed boot caught Julian squarely in the chest, knocking the older man backward into the passenger seats. In that split second, Vincent pulled himself up onto the skid, hooked his arm through the cabin frame, and dragged his upper body inside.
The pilot glanced back in terror, trying to bank the aircraft violently to throw Vincent off, but Vincent drew his sidearm and pressed the cold muzzle against the pilot's headset.
""Level it out,"" Vincent said, his voice terrifyingly calm amid the howling slipstream. ""Land back on the grass. Or we all hit the mountain together.""
The pilot swallowed hard, his knuckles white on the cyclic stick. He immediately leveled the rotor disc, bringing the aircraft into a steady, shuddering hover over the lawn.
Julian scrambled across the floor, clutching his broken ribs, his eyes wild with animal terror as Vincent stepped down into the cabin.
""You can't kill me,"" Julian gasped, backing against the rear bulkhead. ""I'm her father! My blood is in her veins!""
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Vincent stood over him, towering like an angel of death, his gun lowered at his side. ""Blood is an accident, Julian. Family is what you bleed for.""
Before Julian could answer, the helicopter's tail rotor gave a sickening screech—struck by a high-velocity sniper round from the treeline below.
