Chapter 5 - The Ambush and the FallThe room was stretched so tight with tension that even the rain outside seemed to fall in slow motion.
Garrett Holloway's finger twitched against the trigger of his revolver. Sweat beaded on his forehead, glistening under the bright chandelier lights. He looked at Damian's calm, unyielding expression, then at the sleek device plugged into his safe, its green light flashing wildly as the final files transferred.
"Kill them both," Holloway suddenly shrieked, stepping backward out of the library room. "Dump the bodies! I'll pay you ten million each!"
Before the guards could pull their triggers, Damian moved with frightening speed.
He swept his arm outward, slamming his heavy tactical flashlight into the jaw of the lead guard, knocking him unconscious instantly. In the same motion, Damian grabbed the falling guard's assault rifle, spinning around and firing a controlled three-round burst into the shoulders of two other guards, dropping them to the floor.
"Sienna! Down!" Damian roared.
Sienna ducked beneath the heavy oak desk just as the fourth guard opened fire, shattering the glass windows and raining wooden splinters across the room.
Sienna didn't freeze. She pulled her compact stun gun from her holster, rolled out from under the desk, and fired directly into the guard's neck. The man collapsed with a heavy thud.
"Data transfer complete!" Nico screamed through the comms. "Sienna, pull the drive!"
Sienna snatched the obsidian drive from the safe, shoving it into her suit pocket.
She stood up to sprint toward Damian, but a gunshot echoed from the hallway outside.
BANG.
Damian stumbled backward, a harsh gasp escaping his lips as a high-caliber bullet struck him in the side, tearing through his tactical armor. He hit the edge of the desk, blood pooling quickly against his black uniform.
"DAMIAN!" Sienna screamed, horror tearing through her chest.
Holloway stood in the hallway doorway, smoking revolver in hand, a vicious, triumphant sneer on his face. "One down, girl. Now it's your turn."
Holloway raised the gun toward Sienna.
Raw, blinding fury exploded inside Sienna’s chest. The memory of her brother’s body being pulled from the ocean merged with the image of Damian bleeding on the floor. She didn't hesitate. She grabbed a heavy bronze bust of heavy marble off the desk and threw it with military precision directly at Holloway's face.
The heavy statue struck Holloway squarely across his jaw. His nose shattered with a gruesome crunch, and he crashed backward onto the marble hallway floor, dropping his gun.
Sienna leaped over the desk, picked up Holloway's fallen revolver, and pressed the cold steel barrel directly against the center of his forehead.
Holloway sputtered blood, clutching his broken nose, his eyes wide with absolute, pathetic terror as he stared up into the eyes of Caleb Cross's sister.
"Please... please don't shoot..." Holloway whimpered, shaking violently. "I'll give you money! Millions! Whatever you want!"
Sienna’s finger rested on the trigger. Her heart thundered in her ears. Every impulse inside her shouted to press down, to end the monster who had stolen her brother and ruined her life.
"Sienna..." a weak, rasping voice called from the room.
Sienna looked back. Damian was leaning against the desk, holding his bleeding side, his eyes fixed on her.
"Don't do it..." Damian rasped softly, his blood dripping onto the carpet. "Don't ruin your life for him. He's not worth your future."
Sienna looked back down at Holloway. The pathetic, whimpering coward on the floor wasn't worth becoming a murderer.
With a cold, swift strike, Sienna slammed the heavy handle of the gun across Holloway's temple, knocking him completely unconscious.
She turned around and rushed back into the library, throwing her arms around Damian, supporting his heavy weight as he groaned in pain.
"I've got you," Sienna sobbed, her tears mixing with the rain on her face. "I've got you, Damian. Stay with me!"
"I'm not going anywhere..." Damian whispered, forcing a weak smile as he rested his heavy head against her shoulder. "We won, Sienna."
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Nico and three of Damian's men burst through the shattered balcony glass, weapons drawn, taking control of the room.
"Get the medic!" Nico shouted into his radio. "We need an extraction now!"
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