Chapter 8 - The Basement Fire
Vincent bypassed the elevator and threw himself down the emergency stairwell.
He leaped over entire flights of stairs in a desperate race against time.
The smell of thick chemical smoke was already drifting up the shaft.
He burst through the heavy steel door leading to the sub-basement.
The boiler room was completely consumed by raging orange flames.
The heat was so intense it singed the eyebrows right off his face.
Vincent pulled his jacket over his mouth and screamed Hannah's name.
He could barely see through the suffocating black smoke.
He heard the sound of a brutal physical struggle near the main water valves.
Vincent ran blindly through the fire and found Marcus pinning Hannah to the concrete floor.
Marcus was severely burned but his hands were wrapped tightly around Hannah's throat.
Hannah was clawing fiercely at his face but her strength was fading.
Vincent roared like a wild animal and tackled his former best friend.
The two men crashed violently into a massive network of steel pipes.
Marcus pulled a tactical hunting knife from his boot and slashed wildly.
The blade sliced deeply across Vincent's forearm but he did not feel the pain.
Vincent disarmed Marcus with a brutal punch to the jaw.
He pinned Marcus against the scalding hot metal of the boiler tank.
Marcus choked and laughed blood onto Vincent's shirt.
He wheezed that Vincent was finally acting like a real boss again.
Vincent looked at the man who had destroyed his entire life in a matter of hours.
He realized Marcus did not deserve the mercy of a quick death.
Vincent stepped back and let Marcus collapse to the burning floor.
He turned away and left the traitor to be consumed by the flames he started.
Vincent ran over to Hannah and pulled her gently into his arms.
She was coughing violently but she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
He carried her through the blinding smoke toward the emergency exit tunnel.
They burst out into the freezing alleyway behind the hotel.
The icy winter air hit their lungs like absolute magic.
Vincent collapsed against a brick wall holding his wife against his chest.
Sirens wailed loudly in the distance as the city responded to the chaos.
Hannah reached up and touched the deep knife wound on his arm.
She tore a strip of fabric from her shirt and expertly tied a tight tourniquet.
Even in the middle of a warzone she was still fixing broken things.
Vincent looked into her beautiful eyes and made a solemn vow.
He promised her he was completely done with the mafia life forever.
Hannah smiled weakly and kissed his soot-stained cheek.
May you like
She told him that was the best news she had heard all year.
Suddenly the heavy steel door of the alleyway burst open with a massive crash.
