Chapter 15 - The Hitman in the Shadows
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The two armed men moved with terrifying, tactical precision. They didn't speak. One kicked my purse aside while the other swept the room, the red laser sight of his pistol cutting through the dim vault lighting.
My heart hammered violently against my ribs. Every breath I took stretched the burned skin across my back, threatening to rip the gauze and send me screaming into shock. Lena clamped a hand over her own mouth, tears of sheer terror streaming down her face.
The first hitman approached our aisle. He raised his weapon.
In a split second of pure desperation, I grabbed the heavy, solid steel deposit box drawer I had left on the floor and shoved it with all my remaining strength. It slid across the polished marble floor and slammed violently into the hitman's shins.
He cursed and stumbled forward.
"Run!" I screamed at Lena.
Lena bolted, hitting the fire alarm on the wall. Deafening sirens instantly blared, and the vault's emergency strobe lights began flashing, disorienting the shooters. The second man fired wildly, a bullet sparking off the metal box inches from my head.
I scrambled up the spiral staircase behind Lena, adrenaline entirely masking the pain in my back. We burst through the lobby doors. The night manager was already on the phone with the police, shouting in panic.
We threw ourselves into Lena's sedan, and she slammed her foot on the gas, tearing out of the parking lot just as the two hitmen emerged from the bank.
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"He's going to kill us!" Lena sobbed, gripping the wheel. "He has eyes everywhere!"
"No," I said, my voice hardening into steel. I clutched my father's journal to my chest. "He thinks we're running. It's time we stop playing defense. I'm going to burn his entire world to the ground."
