Chapter 26 - THROUGH THE ASHES
The tunnel was long, damp, and claustrophobic. Every few yards, Luca’s breath caught in his throat, his body trembling with the sheer effort of staying upright. Elena could feel the heat radiating from his torso, the fresh blood beginning to soak through the outer bandage she had applied.
"Lean on me more," she whispered, her voice bouncing faintly off the curved brick arches. "Don't try to be proud right now."
"I am not proud," Luca grunted, his boots dragging slightly against the muddy floor. "I am calculating how many rounds I have left in this magazine."
"You're impossible."
"So you've told me."
They reached an iron ladder set into the wall, leading upward toward an ornamental wooden grate. Above them, the sounds of shouting, breaking glass, and the crackle of fire were distinctly audible. Luca paused, signaling for absolute silence. He switched off the flashlight.
Through the gaps in the wooden grate above, Elena could see the opulent chandeliers of the main hall, flickering wildly against thick plumes of black smoke.
Two men in tactical vests stood near the base of the grand staircase, speaking in low, hurried voices.
"Where's the boss?" one asked, his accent thick and guttural.
"Still at the bunker door with the torch team," the other replied, kicking a broken marble bust aside. "He says five minutes. If Rossi doesn't come out, we slit the kid's throat and wire the whole estate with C4. Burn it all down."
Elena’s heart leaped into her throat. *Wire the whole estate.* They weren't just here to assassinate Luca; they intended to erase the Rossi empire completely.
Luca leaned close to her ear, his breath hot against her skin. "I'm going to take the two below. As soon as they drop, we climb up. You head for the service corridor behind the dining room—Leo is being held by the fountain, forty feet away."
"You can't take them alone from this angle," Elena protested in a frantic whisper. "You can't even raise your right arm all the way!"
"Watch me," he murmured.
Luca pulled a sound suppressor from his pocket and twisted it onto the barrel of his weapon. Slowly, soundlessly, he pushed the wooden grate upward by a mere inch. Through the narrow slit, he aligned the sights.
*Pfft. Pfft.*
Two suppressed pops spat from the weapon.
The two mercenaries collapsed simultaneously onto the Persian rug, their bodies folding like marionettes with severed strings, completely devoid of life.
Luca pushed the grate wide open and hauled himself up onto the floorboards with a muffled grunt of agony. Elena scrambled up right behind him, instantly dropping into a low crouch amidst the shadows of the mezzanine.
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The air was suffocating, thick with the stench of burning timber and spilled blood. Across the expanse of the great hall, kneeling by the fountain beneath the flickering lights, Leo looked battered and terrified, weeping quietly as a solitary guard stood over him with a raised revolver.
***
