Chapter 8 - Siege at Dawn
The heavy oak doors of the mansion echoed with the deafening sound of breaching charges.
"Move! Move! Move!" Viktor barked, grabbing Julian by the shoulder and shoving him toward a concealed panel behind the mahogany bookshelves. "In here! Through the utility tunnel!"
"What about you and Gabriel?" Julian shouted over the roar of gunfire echoing from the foyer.
"We’ll buy you time! Go!" Viktor roared, drawing his assault rifle and taking a defensive position by the shattered doorway.
Julian scrambled into the dark, stone-lined tunnel just as a massive explosion blew the study doors inward, sending splinters of wood and shrapnel flying across the room. Gunfire erupted in a chaotic, deafening symphony of war.
Stumbling through the damp underground passage, Julian clutched the silver micro-drive tightly against his chest. His breath came in ragged gasps. He could hear shouting behind him, heavy boots splashing through puddles, and the unmistakable pop of suppressed weapons firing in the enclosed space.
He ran blindly through the gloom until a sharp beam of daylight pierced the darkness ahead.
Bursting out of the tunnel exit, Julian found himself on the rocky cliffs overlooking the churning bay of Ciudad San Marcos, far below the main estate. Waiting for him beside a idling speedboat was a solitary figure in a dark trench coat.
"Get in, kid," a voice called out.
Julian hesitated, staring at the driver. It was one of Gabriel’s senior loyalists, a woman named Carla whom he had seen managing the estate's communications.
"Where are Gabriel and Viktor?" Julian demanded, clutching his chest.
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"They’re holding the main house so you can make it to the federal courthouse," Carla said urgently, holding out a hand to pull him into the boat. "If you don't reach Prosecutor Miller with that drive, your grandmother died for nothing!"
Julian bit his lip, a tear mixing with the sea salt on his cheek. He leaped into the speedboat, and the engine roared to life, kicking up a rooster tail of white foam as it shot across the bay toward the city center.
