Chapter 9 - The Wrath of CerberusA massive, four-hundred-pound blur of muscle, scarred fur, and pure, unadulterated fury burst from the hallway.
Before Viktor or his men could react, Cerberus hit the center of the tactical squad like a runaway freight train. A tactical guard went flying backward, his assault rifle clattering across the marble as the dog's massive jaws clamped onto his ballistic vest, slamming him into a mahogany pillar with bone-cracking force.
"Shoot it! Shoot the damn dog!" Viktor screamed, swinging his weapon around in a panic.
Chaos erupted. Gunfire deafened the penthouse, shattering priceless oil paintings, sending marble chips flying, and punching holes through the floor-to-ceiling windows as the Manhattan wind rushed in.
Through the smoke and flying debris, Emily saw the red laser sights lock onto the charging beast.
"No!" she screamed, abandoning all self-preservation.
Before Enzo could pull her down, Emily bolted across the open floor, diving behind a marble pillar just as a volley of rounds chewed up the floorboards where she had been standing a second before.
Cerberus was a whirlwind of primal violence, tearing through Viktor's enforcers with terrifying efficiency. But Viktor managed to pivot his weapon, the barrel tracking directly toward the charging animal's chest.
"Die, you vicious freak," Viktor snarled, squeezing the trigger.
Click.
Viktor’s gun jammed on the empty chamber of a slide-lock.
In that split second of hesitation, Enzo Dante moved with the blinding speed of a striking viper. He closed the distance across the room, his fist slamming into Viktor’s jaw with a sickening crunch that echoed over the gunfire. Viktor crumpled to the floor, unconscious before he even hit the marble.
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The remaining tactical guards, seeing their leader down and the legendary fighting dog tearing through their flanks, dropped their weapons and scrambled backward toward the elevators, desperately punching the emergency override buttons until the doors finally slammed shut, carrying them away into the night.
Silence rushed back into the penthouse, broken only by the howling wind blowing through the shattered windows and the heavy, ragged panting of the massive dog standing amidst the wreckage.
