Chapter 18 - The Cost of Empire
The battle for the estate raged for three agonizing hours before the Moretti forces finally pushed the Russians back to the main gates.
The mansion was completely devastated, its priceless art and antique furniture reduced to bullet-riddled kindling.
Arthur and Clara stood in the ruined foyer, surrounded by exhausted, bleeding guards who were securing the perimeter.
“Volkov didn't lead this assault,” Arthur observed grimly, kicking a dropped Russian rifle across the marble floor.
“He sent his foot soldiers to tire us out.”
Suddenly, the heavy roar of a massive diesel engine echoed from the long driveway leading up to the estate.
A reinforced armored personnel carrier smashed through the ruined front gates, accelerating directly toward the main entrance.
“Get down!” Arthur bellowed, shoving Clara violently behind the remains of a thick marble wall.
The APC rammed straight through the front doors, taking down the entire structural archway in an explosion of brick and dust.
The heavy steel hatch of the vehicle popped open, and a towering man with a shaved head and a heavy machine gun emerged.
It was Viktor Volkov’s chief enforcer, a brutal giant of a man named Ivan.
Ivan opened fire indiscriminately, the massive caliber bullets tearing through the estate’s remaining defenses like wet paper.
Several of Arthur’s men fell instantly, unable to pierce the heavy armor of the vehicle with their standard weapons.
Arthur realized they were going to be slaughtered if he didn't draw the heavy fire away from his surviving men.
He looked at Clara, his dark eyes softening for a fraction of a second, silently saying goodbye.
“Arthur, no!” Clara screamed, realizing exactly what he was about to do.
He broke cover, sprinting across the open foyer with terrifying speed, firing his rifle directly at the gunner’s armored turret.
Ivan immediately tracked Arthur’s movement, turning the heavy machine gun and unleashing a hail of massive bullets.
Arthur managed to toss a frag grenade into the open hatch of the APC just as a heavy round caught him in the side.
The impact spun Arthur around violently, throwing him to the floor in a spray of bright red blood.
A split second later, the grenade detonated inside the armored vehicle, incinerating Ivan and neutralizing the threat instantly.
The foyer fell deathly silent, save for the crackling of small fires burning in the wreckage.
Clara ran out from behind the wall, falling to her knees beside Arthur’s massive, unmoving body.
“Arthur!” she sobbed, pressing both of her hands violently against the gaping wound on his side.
Blood was pouring through her fingers, hot and impossibly fast.
He coughed, opening his eyes slowly to look at her terrified, tear-streaked face.
“I got him,” Arthur gasped, offering her a weak, blood-stained smile.
“You idiot, stay with me!” Clara screamed, turning back to the surviving guards who were standing in shock.
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“Get the medic down here right now, or I will kill every single one of you myself!” she roared.
The men scrambled into action, terrified of the sheer, primal fury radiating from their desperate queen.
