Chapter 19 - The unbroken shield
Before Cassian's fingers could snap, Damian pulled the triggers.
Twin blasts echoed like thunder inside the enclosed bunker. Cassian anticipated the move, diving sideways behind a concrete support pillar as heavy rounds pulverized the stone, sending blinding clouds of dust into the corridor.
"Kill them all!" Cassian screamed from behind the pillar. "Bring me the girl alive!"
Four more heavily armed mercenaries surged into the hallway, opening fire with automatic rifles. Damian dropped to one knee, returning fire with lethal precision, dropping two operatives instantly with clean center-mass shots.
"Mara! Take Lila and run through the service tunnel behind the terminal!" Damian shouted over the deafening roar of gunfire. "It leads out to the boathouse on the lake! Marco has a boat waiting!"
"I won't leave you!" Mara cried, scrambling up while pulling Lila with her.
"Move!" Damian roared, firing his final magazine to suppress the advancing shooters. "She is my niece! She is a Vance! Protect her!"
Mara grabbed Lila’s arm, tears streaming down her soot-stained face, and sprinted toward the narrow utility tunnel behind the shattered server rack.
Cassian darted out from behind the pillar, his eyes locked on Lila's retreating figure. He raised a custom automatic pistol, aiming directly at Mara's back to clear his path to the child.
"Lila is my key!" Cassian screamed.
Damian threw his empty weapon directly into Cassian’s face. The heavy steel frame struck Cassian’s forehead, shattering his aim as his gun went off, the shot burying itself harmlessly in the concrete ceiling.
Damian closed the gap in a single stride, tackling his older brother to the floor. The two Vance brothers collided with animalistic ferocity, rolling across the spent brass shells, trading vicious punches that cracked bone and drew dark blood.
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"She will never belong to you!" Damian snarled, slamming his fist into Cassian's scarred jaw.
Cassian coughed blood, but his hand suddenly snatched a combat knife from his boot. With a sickening thrust, he drove the blade deep into Damian’s side.
