Chapter 13 - Under Siege
The bunker's emergency sirens wailed in red strobe pulses. Through the security monitors mounted on the wall, Clara saw three armored black SUVs plowing through the compound’s reinforced iron fences, trading gunfire with Sean’s security personnel.
""Richard didn't act alone,"" Edward growled, tearing off his monitoring patches and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.
""Edward, your stitches!"" Clara shouted, rushing to support his shoulder.
""Pain is a luxury we don't have,"" he replied, opening a concealed wall safe near the headboard and retrieving two Glock 19 handguns. He racked the slide on both and handed one directly to Clara. ""Do you know how to shoot?""
""No,"" she admitted, her hands trembling as she held the heavy polymer weapon.
""Keep your finger off the trigger until you want whatever you're looking at to disappear,"" Edward said, his eyes steady, anchoring her panic. ""Aim center-mass. Don't hesitate.""
Sean burst through the reinforced suite door, brass shell casings falling from his tactical vest. ""Boss, it’s not just Richard's mercenaries! The Blackwood Syndicate is here—they’re the ones who financed the hit from the start!""
""The Blackwoods,"" Edward spat the name like poison. ""They owned the dummy company trying to acquire Arthur Vance's pharmaceutical patents.""
""They've cut power to the lower levels,"" Sean warned. ""We have three minutes before they breach the blast door.""
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Suddenly, the lights flickered and died completely, plunging the safehouse into inky blackness, illuminated only by the rhythmic flash of crimson emergency beacons.
From the end of the long concrete tunnel outside, heavy hydraulic cutting torches began hissing against the steel door.
