Chapter 19 - The Hallway of Glass
The upper-level hallway was thick with acrid white smoke from the ground-floor blast. Emergency red strobe lights cut through the haze, casting long, twisting shadows across the priceless oil paintings lining the walls.
Vance and Marco were positioned behind a massive marble pillar, returning fire down the grand staircase as three of Cross’s operatives pushed upward, laying down a suppressing hail of submachine gun fire.
"We're running low on 9mm, Boss!" Marco shouted over the roar of gunfire, his shoulder bleeding from a graze wound.
"Hold the line," Enzo gritted out, leaning out to squeeze off two precise shots that dropped the lead operative.
Suddenly, a heavy bootstep sounded behind them from the west wing corridor. Enzo spun around, his pistol raised—and froze.
Vance stepped out of the smoke, her coat flying open, holding the heavy stainless steel medical shears like a tactical blade, her face smeared with soot but her eyes burning with absolute fury.
"What the hell are you doing out here?!" Enzo yelled over the gunfire, grabbing her arm and shoving her behind the marble pillar.
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"You forgot your backup," Vera panted, pointing down the corridor where a fourth operative was sneaking up behind them with a silenced carbine aimed directly at Enzo's blind spot.
Before Enzo could turn, Vera lunged forward with surprising athletic speed, grabbing a heavy brass floor vase and hurling it with all her might. The massive urn slammed squarely into the operative's chest, knocking him off balance just long enough for Marco to pivot and put him down with a single clean shot.
