Chapter 6 - The Siege of North Harbor
The glass window of the hospital door shattered into a thousand glittering shards.
A flashbang grenade bounced into the room, hissing as it rolled across the linoleum.
"Shield!" Dominic roared, throwing his weight against a heavy medical cart, flipping it on its side to block the blast.
The grenade exploded with a deafening, blinding white light. Even with his eyes closed, the sheer force of the sound made Dominic's ears ring, but his training kept him focused. He rose from behind the cart, his weapon aiming through the smoke as three masked men in tactical gear rushed through the broken doorway.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Dominic fired three precise shots. The first two men collapsed instantly, their weapons clattering to the floor. The third man lunged for cover behind the sink, firing a wild burst of automatic gunfire that shattered the glass medicine cabinets, sending a rain of glass and pills over the floor.
From the hallway, the booming sound of Aaron’s heavy-caliber handgun echoed, followed by the grunts of men engaging in brutal, close-quarters combat.
"Dominic!" a voice called out from the smoke near the door.
It was Victor Ross. He wasn't wearing a mask. He stood in the doorway, a smug, arrogant smile on his face, flanked by two more armed mercenaries. He held a small, heavy detonator in his left hand.
"You really are a fool, Dominic," Victor sneered, his voice dripping with triumphant malice. "All this security for a little girl? You should have kept your blood to yourself. The moment you showed your hand, you gave me the keys to the kingdom."
"You won't leave this building alive, Victor," Dominic said, his voice coming from the shadows behind the overturned cart.
"Maybe not," Victor laughed. "But neither will she. I’ve got three blocks of C4 rigged to the hospital's main oxygen tanks downstairs. You step out from behind that cart, or I press this button and blow this entire wing to the moon."
Under the bed, Claire squeezed Lily’s hand, her chest heaving as she tried to keep from screaming. Lily’s eyes suddenly fluttered open, her young mind confused and terrified by the smoke, the red lights, and the sound of gunfire.
"Mom?" Lily whispered, her voice weak and raspy. "What's... what's happening?"
"Shh, baby, stay quiet," Claire whispered back, tears streaming down her face. "Just stay still. I love you."
Dominic heard his daughter's voice. The sound of her fear was like a knife turning in his gut. He looked at the detonator in Victor’s hand. He had less than a second to act.
"You want the throne, Victor?" Dominic said, slowly stepping out from behind the medical cart, his hands raised, his weapon held loosely in his right hand. "Take it. It’s yours. Just let the girl go. She has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, she has everything to do with it," Victor said, his eyes flashing with a sick pleasure as he raised his gun to aim directly at Dominic's chest. "Once you’re dead, and she’s dead, there are no more Vales. The empire is mine. Legally, and by force."
"You forgot one thing, Victor," Dominic said, a cold, predatory smile slowly appearing on his face.
"What's that?"
"Aaron."
Before Victor could pull the trigger, the ventilation grate in the ceiling directly above him shattered. Aaron Mercer dropped down like a shadow, his heavy combat knife slicing through the hand holding the detonator.
Victor screamed in agony as his hand, still clutching the detonator, fell to the floor. Dominic lunged forward, his weapon firing twice into the chests of the two mercenaries before they could react.
Dominic tackled Victor to the ground, his fingers wrapping around the traitor's throat, slamming his head against the hard linoleum floor.
"You touched my family," Dominic growled, his voice sounding like it came from the very depths of hell. "You die."
With a final, brutal twist, the threat of Victor Ross was ended forever.
Silence returned to the room, save for the quiet, terrified whimpering of Lily from beneath the bed. Dominic stood up, his suit covered in dust and blood, but his eyes were fixed on the bed.
He slowly walked over and knelt down, pulling back the sterile drapes.
Claire was clutching Lily, both of them shaking with terror. Dominic reached out his broad, scarred hand, his fingers trembling as he gently brushed a strand of dark hair away from Lily’s face.
"It's over," Dominic whispered, his voice incredibly soft, completely devoid of the violence he had just unleashed. "You're safe now, Lily. I promise you. You're safe."
Lily looked at the man with the scarred face and the kind, sorrowful gray eyes—the man whose blood was currently keeping her heart beating.
"Who are you?" she asked softly.
May you like
Dominic looked at Claire, who gave him a small, tearful nod of permission.
"I'm your dad," Dominic said. "And I'm never leaving you again."
