Chapter 6 - The Sniper’s Choice“Get down!” I screamed, instinctively throwing my body over Sophie as I hit the cold concrete floor.
A sharp, deafening crack echoed through the cavernous loading bay. Sparks flew off the concrete pillar inches from my head as a high-caliber bullet shattered the stone.
Richard didn't drop. He stood like a statue, his eyes fixed on the shadows above the loading dock.
“Rogue element,” Richard muttered, his voice dangerously calm. “Julian doesn't want a trial. He wants a clean sweep.”
“Mommy, I’m scared!” Sophie sobbed, burying her face into my chest, her little body trembling uncontrollably.
“I’ve got you, baby, I’ve got you,” I whispered, tears streaming down my face as I clutched her tighter. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I looked up at Richard, pure fury replacing my terror. “If we die down here because of your family’s war, I will never forgive you!”
Richard looked down at us, a flicker of deep, unbearable sorrow crossing his face. He crouched beside us, pressing his back against the bullet-scarred pillar.
“You won't die,” he said quietly. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a heavy satellite phone. With a swift movement, he punched in a single emergency code.
“This is Richard Vale. Protocol Omega activated. Sub-level nine. Clear the grid.”
Before I could ask what Protocol Omega meant, the entire subterranean complex shuddered. Overhead, the emergency sprinkler system burst open, drenching us in a freezing downpour of high-pressure water. At the same time, a series of deafening explosions echoed from the main entrance tunnels—charges blowing the blast doors, sealing the exits from the outside world.
The tactical guards scrambled backward, their SUVs caught in a blinding flash of automated defense strobes.
“Now!” Richard yelled, grabbing my arm and pulling me up. “Into the car!”
We scrambled into the back of the Maybach. Richard slammed the armored door shut just as another bullet pinged off the bulletproof glass, leaving a star-shaped fracture right where my head had been a second earlier.
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The Maybach roared to life, its twin-turbo engines screaming as it rocketed forward, smashing straight through a security gate and plunging into the dark, uncharted service tunnels beneath the city.
They’ve escaped the hospital, but they are now running blind in the underground maze of the city. And Julian’s mercenaries are right behind them in the dark.
