Chapter 70 - The Siege of the Pier
The subterranean vault erupted into close-quarters madness.
Vincent hauled the dead contractor forward, absorbing the first wave of suppressed rifle rounds into the body armor of the corpse. With his free hand, he lunged toward Emma, pulling her behind the stone pedestal as ricochets sparked violently off the nickel-steel walls.
From the hallway outside, a violent series of explosions rattled the ceiling—Mateo had counter-attacked.
"Moretti security! Clear the choke point!" Mateo’s voice roared from the upper stairwell, accompanied by the devastating thrum of a heavy automatic shotgun tearing through the rear ranks of Evelyn’s security detail.
Smoke, muzzle fire, and screaming filled the narrow stone corridor.
Evelyn, realizing the tactical situation had instantly disintegrated, grabbed the titanium lockbox with one hand and retreated swiftly back through the vault threshold, firing her revolver blindly into the chamber.
"Stop her!" Emma yelled, throwing a shattered stone block across the floor that clipped Evelyn’s ankle, causing the woman to stumble.
Vincent broke from cover, heedless of the gunfire. He tackled Evelyn in the doorway, sending the titanium box skidding across the concrete floor into the dark corridor.
Evelyn rolled, bringing the silver revolver up toward Vincent’s chest.
Vincent knocked the gun aside with his forearm, the round discharging into the stone ceiling. He pinned her against the steel frame of the vault door, his hand closing around her throat.
"Where is the offshore terminal?" Vincent snarled into her face. "Tell me where the fleet is docked!"
Evelyn choked, blood bubbling at the corner of her mouth, but her eyes held only psychotic defiance. "Look out the window of the pump house, nephew... they’re already here."
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Above them, through the heavy ventilation shafts leading to Lake Michigan, the deep, thunderous horn of a massive maritime container vessel shook the very foundations of Foundry Nine.
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