Chapter 8 - The Breach
The second kick against the steel door was even harder, making the heavy deadbolt groan in protest as the metal frame bowed inward by half an inch. Lily screamed again, terrified by the sudden noise, burying her face into Leo's chest as he wrapped his entire body around hers to shield her from whatever was coming through that barrier.
"Miller!" a muffled voice shouted from the dark alley outside, the tone dripping with cold, corporate menace. "We know you're in there with the kids! Hand over the case and walk away, and nobody else gets hurt!"
Miller stood rigidly beside the door frame, his pistol raised and pointed squarely at the deadbolt. He didn't answer the voice, his face a mask of absolute, hardened calm. He glanced back over his shoulder toward the operating table where Dr. Vance was frantically tying off the final suture on Lily’s knee and slapping a large sterile bandage over the wound.
"Done," Vance whispered, ripping off his bloody latex gloves and tossing them into a metal bin. "She's stitched, but she shouldn't walk on it for a week. There's a fire escape ladder in the back storage room that drops down into the canal maintenance tunnel. Move!"
"What about you, Doc?" Leo asked, lifting Lily back into his arms. She groaned softly, clinging to his neck.
"I've lived too long anyway," Vance replied, reaching under the counter and pulling out a heavy pump-action shotgun. "Now get out of here before you ruin my night."
A third kick shattered the wooden casing around the deadbolt. The heavy steel door popped inward with a deafening bang, crashing against the concrete wall. Two men in identical black tactical suits and dark sunglasses stepped through the threshold, their suppressed pistols already raised and scanning the darkened room.
Miller didn't hesitate. He fired two quick shots into the floor directly in front of the intruders, the muzzle flashes blindingly bright in the dim room, the deafening cracks shaking the small space. "Back off!" Miller roared.
The tactical agents scattered, diving behind industrial shelving as return fire sparked against the metal walls, sending dangerous ricochets screaming through the air.
"Go! Through the back storage room now!" Miller yelled over the gunfire, firing another controlled burst toward the doorway to pin the attackers down.
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Leo didn't look back. With Lily clutched tightly in his arms, he sprinted blindly into the dark storage room, guided only by the faint green glow of the emergency exit sign at the far end of the corridor.
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