Chapter 6 - Smoke and Lead in the CorridorThe air in the hallway smelled of cordite, ozone, and fresh blood.
Vincent stalked down the carpeted corridor of the thirty-ninth floor like a panther in the dark. The emergency strobe lights cast long, jagged shadows across the walls, turning the luxury paintings into distorted silhouettes.
Footsteps pounded up the service stairs ahead. Three men in tactical gear, faces hidden behind reinforced black balaclavas, burst through the fire door with assault rifles raised.
They didn't even have time to aim.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Vincent’s pistol barked three times in rapid succession. The lead mercenary took a round directly through the center of his ceramic plate, the impact lifting him off his feet before he crashed hard against the wall and slid down in a heap.
The second mercenary spun, firing wildly into the drywall, but Vincent was already moving, sliding across the slick floor and putting a bullet through the man’s knee. As the gunman screamed and dropped, Vincent’s boot came down hard on his windpipe, silencing him instantly.
The third mercenary froze, his rifle shaking. “Costello—”
Vincent didn't let him finish. A clean shot to the chest ended it.
Stepping over the bodies, Vincent pressed his earpiece. “Leo. Status.”
“Master suite is locked down tight, Boss,” Leo’s voice crackled through the static. “Mrs. Costello is safe inside the panic room. But we’ve got motion sensors tripping on the roof. They’re coming from above, too.”
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Vincent’s eyes narrowed. Marcus hadn’t just sent a hit squad; he had mounted a full-scale assault.
“Hold the room,” Vincent ordered, reloading his weapon with a fresh magazine. “I’m going up to the roof. Let’s see how much Marcus loves his own mercenaries.”
