Chapter 6 - The Fall of the Traitor
The heavy doors of the penthouse ballroom blew off their hinges with a deafening, explosive BOOM!
A cloud of plaster dust, shattered wood, and blue smoke swept across the marble floor as the blast knocked three guards near the entrance off their feet!
Panic erupted inside the room! Men screamed, reaching inside their jackets for weapons, throwing over mahogany tables to use as makeshift cover!
Through the thick smoke walked Marcus Cole.
He looked like a resurrected god of war, his black trench coat billowing behind him, his dark eyes locked directly onto Victor standing at the head of the main table.
"MARCUS!" Victor shrieked, dropping his glass of scotch, his face draining of all color. "SHOOT HIM! KILL HIM!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Marcus fired three heavy rounds from his hip with terrifying speed! Three of Victor’s personal bodyguards dropped instantly, their weapons clattering onto the marble floor!
"BEAR! CLEAR THE RIGHT!" Lily’s voice rang out from the doorway!
The massive black mastiff bounded through the smoke like a shadow demon! He hit a guard attempting to flank Marcus, clamping his jaws around the man's forearm and tearing him backward over a velvet couch!
Lily stepped into the room, holding her captured pistol in a tight, two-handed grip. She didn't fire wildly. She moved with cold, tactical calculation, taking cover behind a thick marble pillar, firing single, precise shots whenever a gunman tried to raise his weapon toward Marcus.
THWIP! THWIP!
A gunman on the left fell, shot cleanly through the shoulder!
The ballroom turned into a battleground of blinding flashes, roaring gunfire, and the shouts of dying men. But Marcus walked through the chaos as if he were entirely untouchable, his gun roaring steadily, dropping every lieutenant who had voted to end his life.
Victor, realizing his forty men were being systematically decimated by a ghost, a child, and a dog, grabbed the leather briefcase containing the syndicate's master accounts and ran toward the private exit behind the bar!
"MARCUS! HE'S RUNNING!" Lily shouted through the roar of gunfire!
Marcus didn't run. He raised his pistol, aimed at the heavy chandelier chain directly above the bar, and pulled the trigger twice.
BANG! BANG!
The iron link snapped!
The three-ton crystal chandelier plummeted from the ceiling, crashing down directly onto the bar in a blinding explosion of glass, wood, and brass, cutting off Victor’s escape route!
Victor was thrown backward by the force of the blast, landing on his back in the middle of the dance floor, the leather briefcase flying from his grip.
He looked up through the dust, gasping for air.
A pair of heavy leather boots stopped six inches from his face.
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Victor looked up. Marcus stood over him, his gun lowered, his shadow blotting out the bright ceiling lights.
Beside Marcus stood Lily, her hands resting calmly on her pistol, her dark eyes filled with absolute, unyielding judgment. Beside her, Bear stood panting heavily, his broad chest covered in drywall dust, his amber eyes locked onto Victor’s throat.
