Chapter 3 - THE SNIPER IN THE SNOW — Escaping the Golden Cage
Billy didn't waste a single second.
The moment the limousine's taillights disappeared, he locked the door and turned to the girls. "Pack nothing. We are leaving right now."
"Where are we going?" Tessa asked, wiping her nose with her sleeve. "Is the bad man coming back?"
"Yes," Billy said, walking to his bookshelf. He reached behind a thick volume of Roman History and pulled a hidden lever. A soft click echoed as a section of the wall popped open, revealing a hidden wall safe. Inside lay three passports under different names, a burner satellite phone, and two stacks of high-denomination cash.
"He is coming back with more men. And we won't be here when he does."
Billy quickly stuffed the cash and passports into a black canvas backpack. He grabbed two of his thickest winter coats, wrapping them around Maisie and Tessa like oversized blankets.
"Listen to me," Billy said, kneeling in front of them, looking into their identical brown eyes—Eleanor's eyes. "I am your father. I know this is scary, and I know you don't know me. But I loved your mother very much, and I will not let anyone hurt you. Do you trust me?"
Maisie looked at the black backpack, then at the gun tucked into Billy’s waistband, and finally into his eyes. She nodded slowly. "You gave us hot chocolate. The white room men only gave us cold water. We trust you."
Billy felt a tear slip down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly and stood up. "We go out through the basement. There's a coal chute that leads to the alleyway. The snow will cover our tracks, but we have to be fast."
As they hurried down the creaking basement stairs, a sudden, sharp crack echoed from the street above.
The living room window shattered.
"Down!" Billy yelled, throwing himself over the girls as glass rained down on the floorboards above them.
Through the floor joists, Billy heard the heavy thump of tactical boots landing on his living room floor. Richard hadn't waited twenty-four hours. He had left a cleanup crew behind to finish the job immediately.
Red laser sights danced across the basement ceiling, shining through the cracks in the wooden floorboards.
"They have night vision," Billy whispered. "Keep low. Crawl."
He guided the girls toward the rusty iron coal chute at the back of the basement. He pushed the heavy latch, forcing the metal door open. The freezing night air blasted inside, bringing a flurry of snow with it.
"Maisie, go first. Climb up and wait for me. Tessa, you go next."
He helped the girls scramble up the narrow, coal-dusted chute. Just as Tessa's feet disappeared into the dark night, the basement door at the top of the stairs blew off its hinges with a deafening bang.
A flash-bang grenade bounced down the stairs, blindingly bright.
Billy closed his eyes just in time, shielding his face. The explosion rocked the small basement, sending a wave of heat and deafening noise over him. His ears rang, but his adrenaline kept him moving. He scrambled up the coal chute, his boots slipping on the slick metal, and burst out into the dark, snow-covered alley.
A figure loomed in the darkness at the end of the alley—a sniper clad in white winter camouflage, raising a rifle.
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Billy didn't hesitate. He raised his captured pistol and fired three times. The sniper crumpled into the snow.
"Come on!" Billy gasped, grabbing the girls' hands. They ran through the blinding blizzard, their footprints instantly swallowed by the falling snow. But Billy knew they couldn't run on foot forever. They needed a vehicle, and they needed to get to the one place Richard Vance would never think to look: the Mercer family vaults, deep beneath the historic library where Billy used to teach.
