Chapter 6 - The Viper's TargetBack in the subterranean bunker beneath the study, Clara held Mia tight against her chest in the dim, amber glow of the emergency battery lights. The muffled sounds of gunfire and explosions shook the concrete walls, vibrating through the floorboards.
"Mommy, I'm scared," Mia whispered, burying her face in Clara’s jacket.
"I know, baby. I know. Close your eyes and think of Button," Clara whispered back, though her own hands shook so violently she could barely hold her daughter.
Suddenly, a dull, metallic scraping sound echoed from the ceiling above the bunker.
Clara froze. The trapdoor latch began to rattle.
Someone was trying to override the keypad lock from the study floor.
Click. Whir.
The digital keypad flashed red, then green. The heavy steel lid popped open an inch.
Clara grabbed a heavy iron paperweight from a small metal desk inside the bunker, raising it with both hands, her breath catching in her throat as a gloved hand reached down and grabbed the edge of the hatch.
"Drop the weapon," a cold, metallic voice drifted down from the darkness above.
Clara didn't drop it. As the lid swung open, revealing a masked face illuminated by the red emergency lights, she screamed and brought the iron paperweight down with all her might.
Crack!
The man grunted in pain, his grip slipping for a fraction of a second, but a heavy combat boot slammed down into the bunker, pinning Clara’s wrist against the floor. She cried out as the paperweight slipped from her numbed fingers.
"Got the prize," the mercenary rasped into his shoulder radio, reaching down to grab Mia by the collar of her pink hoodie.
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"Let her go!" Clara shrieked, clawing at the man’s leg.
Before the mercenary could haul Mia out of the bunker, a deafening roar echoed from the doorway of the study above.
