Chapter 25 - Fire and Snow
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"Down!" Madison screamed, lunging across the desk and tackling Ethan to the floor just as the grenade exploded with a blinding white flash and a deafening shockwave.
Plaster dust rained down from the ceiling. Glass shattered into thousands of glowing shards as automatic rifle fire tore through the wooden walls of the chalet.
Arthur rolled behind a stone fireplace, bringing his submachine gun up and firing three controlled bursts through the broken window frame. Two mercenaries in black alpine gear tumbled backward off the balcony, their weapons clattering against the icy stones outside.
"Move to the basement tunnel!" Arthur shouted over the deafening roar of gunfire. "Now!"
Director Vance drew his sidearm, firing suppressive rounds toward the rear doorway as three more attackers smashed through the kitchen doors.
Madison pulled Ethan by his tactical collar, crouching low as bullets stitched a line of splintered wood across the desk above their heads. She leaned around the corner of the hallway, brought her sights up, and dropped an advancing mercenary with two crisp shots to the chest plate.
"Ethan, run!" Madison yelled, shoving him toward the heavy steel basement door at the end of the corridor.
"I'm not leaving without my drone!" Ethan cried out, turning back toward the main room.
"Forget the drone!" Madison barked, grabbing him by the jacket and hurling him into the dark stairwell.
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"I can't forget it!" Ethan screamed over the noise of another grenade detonation upstairs. "The code isn't just in the drone, Maddie! The drone is the third key!"
Madison froze on the top stair, turning her head back toward the flaming living room.
