Chapter 4 - Breach at the Gates
The lights in the grand foyer flickered once, then died, plunging the hallway into deep, amber-tinted shadow as the estate’s backup generator kicked in.
"Miller, secure the western perimeter," Adrian commanded, pulling Liya behind him as the sound of shattering glass echoed from the rear courtyard. "They aren't here to talk. Vincent just escalated."
"Adrian," Liya said, her voice shaking despite her best efforts to keep steady. Her fingers were still locked in his grip. "What are they going to do?"
"They’re going to try to take you," he said, not looking back as he drew a heavy, matte-black firearm from a concealed holster beneath his jacket. The cold metal glinted in the dim light. "To prove to the commission that I can't even protect my own doorstep."
The heavy oak front doors shuddered under a massive impact. Someone was using a battering ram.
Miller moved with terrifying efficiency, sliding open a concealed panel in the wainscoting to reveal a narrow, reinforced steel staircase leading down into the subterranean levels of the estate.
"Through here," Miller ordered, gesturing urgently. "The tunnels lead to the secondary vehicle bay."
Adrian shoved Liya toward the opening, but before he could follow, the front doors exploded inward with a deafening crash of splintered wood and iron bolts. Shouts echoed through the foyer as half a dozen masked men dressed in tactical black surged into the manor, automatic weapons raised.
"Go!" Adrian roared, pushing Liya down the first few steps of the stairwell.
Instead of running down into the dark, Liya spun around. She grabbed the edge of the hidden door. "I’m not leaving you here!"
"Liya, get down!" Adrian fired two rapid shots toward the foyer. The sharp, concussive cracks of the gunshots echoed like thunder in the enclosed space.
One of the intruders dropped instantly; the others scrambled for cover behind marble pillars.
Adrian turned back to her, his face pale with fury and something entirely unnamable. "If you don't run right now, they win. Go with Miller!"
Before she could pull the door shut, a heavy hand grabbed her shoulder from behind in the shadows of the stairwell. She gasped, lashing out with her elbow, but a familiar voice hissed in her ear.
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"Quiet, girl," a voice rasped. It wasn't Miller.
Liya’s blood ran cold as she was yanked backward into the absolute darkness of the subterranean tunnel, away from the light, away from Adrian, as the sound of automatic gunfire erupted behind them.
