Chapter 28 - SACRIFICE AT DAWN
Vincent didn't drop his weapon. Instead, he smiled—a cold, humorless curve of his lips that made Julian’s hand hesitate on the trigger.
“You always were arrogant, Julian,” Vincent said, his voice echoing clearly through the chamber. “You think you’re the smartest man in the room. But you forgot one simple detail.”
Julian’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What nonsense are you babbling about?”
“You relied on Marcus Vance’s master security codes,” Vincent replied evenly. “And you assumed Daniel Bennett’s files only contained bank accounts and smuggling routes.”
Through the communications earpiece, Vincent muttered a single word: “Now, Clara.”
Three miles away in the fisherman's shack, I slammed my hand down on the red execution key on Daniel Bennett’s decrypted terminal.
Daniel had not just built the facility; he had designed its master electrical failsafe.
Suddenly, every single light in the naval battery exploded into a blinding flash of white sparks. The primary power grid shut down entirely, plunging the room into pitch-black darkness. Simultaneously, the hydraulic emergency vents opened, unleashing a deafening torrent of high-pressure steam into the observation platform from the overhead pipes.
Julian’s men screamed in surprise and pain as the scalding vapor blinded them. Gunfire erupted wildly into the darkness, chewing chunks out of the concrete walls.
“Grace, stay down!” Elena shouted, pulling the little girl flat against the damp floor beneath an overturned steel desk.
Vincent didn't need the lights. He activated his infrared night-vision goggles and charged up the metal stairs leading to the observation platform like an avenging demon.
*Crack. Crack. Crack.*
Vincent fired three precise double-taps into the mist. Three of Julian’s mercenaries fell over the railing, splashing heavily into the dark water of the dry dock below.
The remaining guards scrambled toward the submersible, but Elena, firing from behind the barricade with ruthless precision, pinned them down.
Julian, his face blistered by steam and his tailored suit soaked, frantically tried to reach the stairs to the boat. He swung his gun wildly toward the shadows.
“Moretti! Where are you? Face me!” Julian shrieked.
A massive fist exploded out of the steam, striking Julian squarely across the jaw. The sickening sound of bone shattering echoed through the dock as Julian was lifted off his feet, crashing violently against the iron railing. The detonator slipped from his grasp, tumbling over the edge and sinking into the black water below.
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Julian lay on his back, spitting blood and broken teeth, looking up into the barrel of Vincent’s gun.
***
