Chapter 17 - The Final Stand
We descended the rusted iron staircase into the massive, cavernous smelting chamber below. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur and coal dust, illuminated only by the orange glow of a dormant, massive industrial furnace in the center of the room.
Standing by the master control panel was Frank, a bulky, silver-haired mob boss from New York, holding a wireless digital detonator in his left hand and a heavy automatic pistol in his right.
"Well, well, well," Frank sneered, his voice echoing off the concrete walls. "The legendary Victor Hayes and his little cleaning girl. You really thought you could run an international empire and leave us behind?"
Victor stepped forward, placing himself slightly in front of me and Liam, his posture completely relaxed yet coiled like a spring ready to snap.
"You stepped into my city, Frank," Victor said, his voice cold, smooth, and utterly lethal. "And you touched what belongs to me."
"Drop your weapons!" Frank screamed, his finger hovering menacingly over the red detonation button. "One twitch, and I turn this entire mill—and your precious little girlfriend—into ash!"
I looked at Frank, then down at the detonator in his hand. I calculated the distance, the angle, and the exact second it would take for him to press the button.
"You talk too much, Frank," I said calmly.
Before Frank could process my words, I didn't aim for his chest. I didn't aim for his head.
With pinpoint accuracy, I squeezed the trigger of my silver pistol.
BANG.
The bullet struck the exact edge of the wireless detonator in Frank’s hand, shattering the plastic casing into a thousand pieces and sending sparks flying into the air.
Frank shrieked, dropping the useless remnants of the device.
In that split second of distraction, Victor moved like lightning. He drew his Beretta and fired once.
BANG.
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Frank staggered backward, dropping his weapon, and fell heavily onto the concrete floor, motionless.
The echo of the gunshot faded into silence.
