Chapter 20 - Ashes of the Past
The explosion ripped through the lower foundations of the Adler’s Nest with the force of an artillery strike. The concrete pillars supporting the cliffside terrace fractured instantly, sending a massive tremor through the upper floors that threw Avery and Marcus violently against the elevator walls.
Upstairs in the master study, the ceiling groaned and began to shower pulverized drywall and concrete dust across the floor.
“Captain! The lower charges just detonated! The whole cliff face is giving way!” Reed’s voice screamed over the comms link, broken by heavy static and the sound of falling masonry.
“Get out of the study! Fall back to the upper landing!” Avery shouted back, grabbing the black storage drive from the floor and hauling Marcus up by his collar.
The elevator car suddenly shuddered, its cables snapping with a horrific metallic shriek as the emergency brakes locked automatically, trapping them midway between the upper study and the lower motor court.
“We’re stuck!” Marcus yelled, panic finally breaking through his manic composure as he banged his fists against the jammed steel doors.
“Shut up and help me pry these doors!” Avery ordered, jamming his multi-tool into the slim seam between the elevator panels and throwing his entire body weight against the steel.
With a screech of tearing metal, the doors gave way an inch, then two, revealing a dark, crumbling utility shaft choked with dust and acrid smoke.
Avery shoved Marcus through the gap first, following closely behind as they scrambled onto a narrow concrete ledge overlooking the burning ruins of the chalet’s lower level. The entire valley was visible below through the massive breaches in the stone architecture, the storm winds howling through the shattered glass walls like a chorus of ghosts.
Across the ruined terrace, Reed and Brock were pulling themselves out from beneath a collapsed timber beam, coughing violently in the smoke but still holding their weapons at the ready.
“Captain! Over here!” Reed yelled, waving toward the private ski-lift gondola station clinging to the rear cliff wall—the only remaining escape route off the mountain.
Avery hoisted Marcus over his shoulder like a sack of grain, ignoring the protest of his injured shoulder, and sprinted across the unstable stone flagging toward the gondola platform.
As they piled into the heavy metal cable car, Avery slammed the emergency override lever down, locking the pneumatic hatch just as the first armored SUV from the convoy smashed through the outer courtyard gates below, its mounted heavy weapons pivoting upward toward their position.
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With a sharp mechanical lurch, the cable car detached from the station platform, sliding smoothly out over the sheer vertical drop of the alpine cliff into the freezing embrace of the night storm, leaving the burning ruins of the Adler’s Nest—and the dark secrets of the syndicate—vanishing into the snow far behind them.
Avery sat down on the metal bench of the swaying gondola, breathing heavily, the small black storage drive clutched tightly in his hand. The war wasn't over, but for the first time in weeks, they held the key to the armory.
