Chapter 4 - Smoke and Steel
The wooden double doors of the penthouse master suite shattered inward with a deafening crash, showering the Persian rugs in splinters and shrapnel. Three masked operatives in matte-black tactical gear poured through the threshold, weapons raised, moving with the synchronized precision of elite military contractors.
Sebastian didn't wait for them to deploy flashbangs. He rolled hard to the left behind a heavy marble console, his Sig Sauer barking twice in rapid succession.
Bang-bang.
The lead operative dropped instantly, a clean round punching through his ceramic chest plate and dropping him to the floor. The remaining two returned fire wildly, chewing up the marble countertop and sending shards flying into the air.
“Clear the flank!” one of them barked in a raspy, foreign accent.
Sebastian slid across the floor, coming up behind a velvet chaise lounge, and squeezed off another round, clipping the second mercenary’s shoulder. The man stumbled backward, swearing fiercely.
Before Sebastian could neutralize the third, a familiar voice echoed from the shattered doorway, dripping with mocking amusement.
“Impressive, boss,” drawled Dominic Vance, stepping casually through the smoke. He wasn't wearing tactical gear; he wore his usual tailored suit, holding a silenced submachine gun loosely in his right hand. A cold, smug grin twisted his lips. “Always wondered if your reflexes were as sharp as your reputation.”
Sebastian rose slowly from behind the lounge, keeping his pistol leveled directly at Dominic’s chest. The realization didn't shock him; it simply hardened the ice in his veins.
“Dominic,” Sebastian said quietly. “Thirteen years of loyalty, and you sell out to the highest bidder. Who bought you? Moreau? Or the Bratva?”
“Please, Sebastian, don't make it sound so pedestrian,” Dominic chuckled, pacing slowly across the ruined room. “It’s not about money. It’s about fatigue. You’ve grown soft. You sit in your ivory tower playing king while the world below burns. And now? Now you’re distracted by some fragile little college girl you picked up at a lounge.”
Sebastian’s finger tightened on the trigger. “Keep her name out of your mouth.”
“Oh, she’s right behind that wall panel, isn't she?” Dominic taunted, stepping toward the walk-in closet. “The little vault you built for your dirty secrets. Let’s see how long she lasts once we pump a little tear gas into the ventilation ports.”
Sebastian lunged forward, but the remaining mercenary brought the butt of his assault rifle down hard across Sebastian’s temple.
A sharp spike of pain exploded behind Sebastian’s eyes. He staggered sideways, crashing against the mahogany desk, blood instantly trickling down his cheek from a jagged cut above his left eyebrow. He fought to keep his footing, but two more operatives swarmed him from behind, slamming him down onto his knees and pinning his arms behind his back.
Dominic walked over, looking down at his captured boss with absolute triumph in his eyes. He pressed the barrel of his silenced submachine gun against Sebastian’s forehead.
“End of the line, boss,” Dominic whispered. “Open the vault, or I splatter your brains across your own custom wallpaper.”
Inside the hidden panic room, pressed flat against the reinforced steel door, Valerie listened to every word through the digital monitor speaker. Her hands flew over her mouth to stifle a scream. Tears streamed hot and fast down her cheeks as she heard the unmistakable sound of Sebastian being beaten.
She looked around the tiny, sterile room. There was no escape hatch, no secondary weapon, no way out—except for a heavy manual override lever mounted on the wall, designed to vent the shelter’s high-pressure oxygen system in case of fire.
Valerie stared at the lever. If she pulled it, it would create a massive chemical pressure release into the main penthouse suite, blinding anyone outside with thick, suffocating fog.
May you like
It was a suicidal gamble. But as she heard Dominic laugh outside, she knew she had only one choice.
With a cry of fierce determination, Valerie reached up and threw the lever with all her might.
