Page 38
The trap door!
My eyes widen as I whip my head around, looking at the trap door that leads to the basement from the living room. Part of the original construction of the house, it's made fully of wood.
And it's not bulletproof.
"I'm fucked," I whisper to myself, wildly looking around.
I can run across and hurry to the blood room, but they would undoubtedly make it downstairs before that and I'd be a direct target in an open field. They'd shoot before I could do anything.
No, that's not an option.
Turning around, I catalogue the various rooms around. Even the panic room is too far, but that's out of the question as long as Vlad's not with me. I could never save myself knowing he'd be a living target. No matter how proficient he is in everything, he is not immortal.
A little closer is the shooting range, and as I hear the latch of the wood give, I know I have the best shot of getting there, maybe even arming myself further.
I sprint as fast as I can, getting to the door just as the trap door is smashed to pieces. Closing the door, I will myself not to despair. I just need to find guns and ammo.
Granted, I hadn't had as many shooting lessons as I'd like to feel comfortable with a gun, but I guess today is an exception.
Opening up the gun cabinet, I try to remember Vlad's lessons.
I need something that can hold the most rounds, since I know I'm slow at reloading and that's time I cannot waste.
Sorting through various handguns, I finally find a rifle. Checking the cartilage, I'm happy to see it's fully loaded so I won't have to spend time looking for that too.
Armed to my best ability, I head to the tablet on the wall, plugging in the password and accessing the feed from the hallway.
Three people are down, searching the basement, with the rest still upstairs.
Ok, three isn't that much. Three is doable.
But not for me.
Damn, but what am I doing? I'm not a warrior. I'm the furthest thing from one if one takes into account the fact that I've spent twenty years in a Goddamn convent. But conflict and death won't care if I'm a nun or a soldier, so I'd better put on my big girl panties and brave this through.
For now, I just need to make it to Vlad.
Releasing a breath, I nod to myself. But as I look at the screen again, I realize the men are already heading to the other side of the level.
To the blood room.
I don't know how they will find Vlad, and if he'll be in any capacity to fight. His moods are so fickle that I simply cannot risk it.
Pursing my lips, I say a small prayer before I open the door.
Rifle under my arm, my stance ready as he'd taught me, I get on my haunches and I aim.
The three men are in formation, one ahead, two behind.
I have the advantage that they haven't realized my presence yet, so I focus on the one ahead, since I'm thinking he might be the leader.
Since they are all dressed in uniform, likely with bulletproof equipment underneath, my only bet is the head.
Once I have a good aim, the rifle pointed at the back of his head, at the bare skin between his neck and his cap, I squeeze the trigger.
I reel backwards as the bullet flies towards its target, promptly embedding itself right where his skull meets the cervical vertebrae.
It's a split second where he falls to the ground, the other two men immediately on me as they bark some orders.
Blinking rapidly, I realize there's no time to lose. Not when they're also shooting at me. I barely have time to throw myself inside the room before bullets fly past the door.
Time is of essence as I have to quickly decide how to tackle this. The men will surely come to the room, and just like the hallway, it's an open field.
Trying to keep a handle on my panic, I realize that the only hiding place is… behind the door.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, situating myself behind the door and waiting for them to burst through. If I can take one down, then I can handle just one person, right?
I better hope so.
A few more seconds and the men almost tear down the door.
"We need to get to Kuznetsov." One notes while the other grunts, using his fingers to signal something.
I wait until they are further into the room before I announce my presence. Holding tightly onto the rifle, I aim, managing to nab one of them in his cheek.
Blood spurts out as he falls to his knees, his gun dropping to the ground, his screams of pain worse than a woman's. I don't even have time to consider that as I see the other aim at me.
Before I realize what I'm doing, I pull the door toward me, using it as a shield.
Bullets hit the steel door, and I'm grateful that Vlad's had the entire level custom made. It certainly made the difference between life and death just now.
Debating what to do next, I take a risk and I drop the rifle.
At this point it's all about timing, and taking the time to get the target right might cost me precious seconds. Wrapping my fingers around the hilt of a knife, I wait until the bullets quiet before peeking inside the room, immediately throwing the knife at him.
Missed.
Out of bullets, he's abandoning his own weapon and picking up the one of his fallen friend.
Shit!
Already on automatic pilot, I reveal myself once more, my sight clear as I make eye contact with him. He has a smug expression on his face, as if he's already won this, even though his partner is sitting in a blood bath that I caused.
I let my lips spread in a smile before I move my shoulder back, preparing for the throw. He smirks as he takes in my knife, probably expecting me to miss again.
Ah, but I have a surprise for him.
After all, if there's anything I know how to do well, that's survival.
And so I keep my smile on, my fingers tight against the hilt of the kunai, and I throw.
His lips are stuck in a perpetual smile as the tip of my knife lands right in between his eyes. He falls to the floor with a thud, but I can't even gloat in my win.
Not when I have to get to Vlad as soon as possible.
I all but run out of the room, heading straight to the blood room. But just as I am two steps from opening the door, four more people appear in the hallway, all coming from the direction of the hatch.
My eyes widen in horror as I realize I'm truly caught.
Their weapons are pointed toward me as they slowly advance.
I could surrender, but that's simply out of the question. Not when I know what they're likely to do to me if they get me. I'd rather die than open myself up to that type of hell.
I take another knife from the back of my pants, ready to do whatever it takes.
"It's just a girl," one of them mentions as they get closer to me.
"Where's Kuznetsov? He told us he'd be here," another says and I frown.
Who told them?
"Doesn't matter, you know the drill. No witnesses," the third one chimes in, and I know my time's up.
Vlad…
But just as I'm about to either let them kill me, or do the honors myself, the door to the blood room swings open.
A naked Vlad entirely covered in blood struts out, his eyes immediately locking with mine. He looks me up and down, giving a small nod when he realizes I'm unharmed.
As he fully comes out from the room, I realize he's not unarmed. One rifle in one hand, one corpse in the other as he's dragging the body across the floor, he doesn't seem to be still in the throes of an episode.
If anything, he looks perfectly sane.
The men do a double take when they see him, the sight of him in a blood bodysuit seemingly making even seasoned soldiers sweat.
My own heart finally calms down as I know he's here, and that he's lucid. That means they don't stand a chance. And so I release a relieved breath.
"Duck," his voice is soft and I don't even question the command, throwing myself behind him and ducking at the entrance of the blood room.
The entire thing happens in slow motion as Vlad single handedly opens fire on the three men, bullets raining on them and penetrating every inch of their non-armored body. He's so fast they don't even get to point their weapons toward him.
When one makes a feeble attempt at shooting at Vlad, he simply lifts the corpse with one hand, using it as a human shield.
Once everyone's down, he dumps the corpse, hurrying towards me.
"My brave, brave, girl." He takes me into his arms, rocking with me. "I'm sorry I wasn't there earlier," he says, holding me so tight I can barely breathe.
"It's okay," I say, even though my body is trembling slightly from the adrenaline residue. "We're fine. We're both fine." I lean back to look at him.
He shakes his head slightly, cupping my cheeks and laying kisses all over my face. "We need to get out of here," he mentions, tugging me to my feet.
"There are more people upstairs," I tell him what I'd seen on the camera, including the fact that someone must have told them his location.
"Fuck," he curses under his breath.
Passing by the dead men, he picks up their guns, handing me two and keeping two to himself.
"Stay next to me, hell girl. If anyone shoots, get behind me, okay?"
His features are stern, his voice grave as he more or less orders me to let him take any bullets meant for me.
I want to argue, tell him I'd never do something like that, but one look at him and I know he's not likely to be amenable. So I just nod.
"Good," he grunts, taking my hand as we go to the ground level. "We need to get to the car, and then we'll head straight to the airport," he explains, telling me the house is compromised now and he's not taking any risks with my safety.
We're in the service elevator, which luckily has a tablet too, so Vlad is able to monitor the activity in the house.
"You took three out, I took four…" he speaks, more to himself, doing the math as he counts a couple more people on the upper floor. "They fucking sent an entire unit."
A hint of a smile appears on his face, and I frown at him.
"Whoever told them about me gave them good instructions." He smirks, a sinister pull of his lips that promises bloodshed and death.
Table of Contents
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- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38 (Reading here)
- Page 39
- Page 40
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