Chapter 9 - The Siege of the Estate
The grand Benadetti estate was transformed into a horrific warzone. The pristine marble driveway was littered with broken glass, spent shell casings, and burning security vehicles. The front oak doors had been blasted inward, hanging off their iron hinges.
Cassian rammed the armored SUV straight through the front portico, smashing into two enemy shooters standing in the foyer.
Marco erupted from the passenger door before the vehicle had even come to a complete halt, his Kimber .45 raised, firing with lethal, instinctive precision. He cleared the grand staircase in seconds, stepping over fallen mercenaries as he drove deeper into the burning mansion.
The second-floor hallway was filled with acrid black smoke. At the far end, standing in front of the charred, melting iron door of the library panic room, was Julian Vance.
He stood leaning on his cane, holding a small detonator in one hand and a heavy revolver in the other, watching his two remaining men set the final thermal charge against the door lock.
"You're late, Marco," Julian said, turning around slowly, his burned face illuminated by the white-hot flare of the thermite charge.
"It ends here, Julian," Marco said, advancing down the hallway, taking no cover, ignoring the blood dripping down his own coat from his fractured ribs.
The two mercenaries turned to fire, but Marco was faster. He fired twice, hitting both men squarely in the chest before they could raise their weapons. They crumpled to the floor, leaving Julian standing alone against the wall of fire.
Julian raised his revolver, his hand shaking with rage and physical weakness. "I survived the river, Marco! I survived the fire! You cannot kill a man who has already been to hell!"
"You didn't survive the river to get revenge, Julian," Marco said, stopping ten feet away, his gun leveled directly at Julian's forehead. "You survived because I let you fall instead of finishing the job. I won't make that mistake twice."
Julian screamed a curse and squeezed the trigger.
Marco stepped to the side, feeling the bullet graze his cheekbone, and fired a single, decisive round.
The bullet struck Julian’s revolver directly, shattering the cylinder and severing his fingers. Julian fell back against the burning door, clutching his mangled hand, sliding down the wall into the ash and embers.
Marco stepped over him, pulled the fire extinguisher from the wall mount, and blasted the thermite charge, smothering the chemical reaction before it could breach the inner panic room seal.
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He tapped the secret biometric code into the scorched wall panel.
The heavy iron door hissed open.
