Chapter 8
The silence inside the underground bunker was sudden and absolute, a stark contrast to the chaotic firefight raging on the other side of the steel door. The small, reinforced room was illuminated by a soft, humming overhead light, revealing survival supplies, a bank of security monitors, and a few military-style cots.
Elise set Noah down on one of the cots, her hands shaking violently. "Stay right here, Noah. Don't move."
The toddler nodded, his round rosy cheeks pale with fear, clutching his plush rabbit to his chest.
Elise rushed to the bank of security monitors. Several screens displayed static, the cameras destroyed in the assault, but the feed covering the subterranean corridor was still active. She watched in horror as the tactical feed played out. Marcus was bleeding heavily from his shoulder, hopelessly pinned down behind the shattered wine crates. Daphne’s mercenaries were advancing slowly, laying down suppressive fire.
Suddenly, Daphne stepped directly in front of the camera, looking straight into the lens. She raised a small, black explosive charge, pressing it against the lens of the camera before stepping back. The screen went to static.
"She's going to blow the door," Elise gasped, backing away from the monitors.
She looked around the bunker frantically, searching for anything she could use to defend them. There were no firearms left in the room; the armory had likely been emptied during the initial perimeter defense. She found a heavy, steel fire extinguisher mounted on the wall. She pulled it off its bracket, gripping the cold metal cylinder tightly. It wasn't much, but she refused to die cowering in a corner.
"Cover your ears, Noah!" Elise shouted, dropping to the floor and curling her body protectively in front of the cot.
A deafening, concussive blast rocked the bunker. The heavy steel door groaned in agony as the locking bolts were violently sheared off. Smoke poured into the room through the cracks. The door swung inward, hitting the concrete wall with a massive crash.
Through the swirling smoke, Daphne stepped into the bunker, her suppressed pistol raised. The two mercenaries flanked her, scanning the room.
"Well, well," Daphne sneered, her eyes locking onto Elise kneeling on the floor. "End of the line, Elise."
"Get away from him," Elise said, her voice remarkably steady despite the terror threatening to collapse her lungs. She gripped the fire extinguisher, pulling the safety pin.
"You ruined my life," Daphne hissed, taking a slow step closer. "I was going to be the queen of this city. And Nolan threw me away because you played house with his brat."
"You threw yourself away the moment you decided to be a monster," Elise shot back, her expressive eyes blazing with defiant anger.
"Brave words for a dead woman," Daphne laughed, aiming the pistol directly at Elise’s chest. "I'm going to shoot you, and then I'm going to take the boy to my father as a bargaining chip to secure Nolan's surrender."
Daphne's finger tightened on the trigger.
Elise didn't hesitate. She squeezed the handle of the fire extinguisher, spraying a massive, blinding cloud of thick white chemical foam directly into Daphne's face.
Daphne shrieked in shock and pain, stumbling backward as the chemicals burned her eyes. The pistol discharged wildly, the bullet sparking harmlessly against the ceiling. The two mercenaries raised their weapons, momentarily blinded by the expanding cloud of foam.
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Elise hurled the heavy steel cylinder with all her might. It struck one of the mercenaries squarely in the chest, knocking the wind out of him and dropping him to his knees. But the second mercenary recovered, stepping through the foam and leveling his assault rifle at Elise.
Before he could pull the trigger, a shadow tore through the doorway behind him, moving with the speed and brutality of a nightmare.
