Chapter 14 - The Final Stand
The blinding blue flash plunged the entire tunnel into temporary darkness.
The mercenaries outside shouted in confusion, momentarily blinded by the light.
Vance didn't waste a single fraction of a second.
He lunged forward, sweeping his leg wildly to trip the closest armed guard.
The massive man hit the concrete floor with a heavy, bone-crunching thud.
Vance immediately snatched the man’s dropped assault rifle.
He rolled behind a rusted metal beam just as the other guards opened fire.
Deafening gunfire echoed through the underground cavern, sparking against the steel train.
Maria threw herself flat onto the damp floor, covering her head with her arms.
“Leo, stay inside!” Maria screamed over the roaring gunfire.
Senator Hayes scrambled backward, cowardly hiding behind his remaining men.
“Kill them all!” Hayes shrieked hysterically.
“Tear that train apart if you have to!”
Vance returned fire with deadly precision, dropping a second mercenary with two shots to the chest.
He was outgunned, but he was a trained Syndicate operative fighting for a child's life.
Inside the train car, Leo was crouched behind a solid mahogany desk.
The two mercenaries who had entered were unconscious on the floor, stunned by the electrified floor plates.
Leo quickly pulled a heavy, brass lever hidden under the desk.
The train’s external defense system immediately activated.
A high-frequency sonic alarm blared from the roof of the vintage car.
The noise was so piercingly loud that the mercenaries outside dropped their weapons.
They clamped their hands over their ears, screaming in immense pain.
Vance, who had anticipated the alarm, had already covered his own ears.
He kicked out the legs of the third mercenary, knocking him out cold with the butt of his rifle.
The final guard tried to run away, but Vance tackled him into a dirty puddle of water.
Within ninety seconds, the intense firefight was completely over.
Senator Hayes stood alone in the center of the tunnel, his silver pistol shaking violently in his hand.
Vance stood up slowly, aiming his rifle directly at the corrupt politician's head.
“Drop it, Marcus,” Vance commanded over the dying wail of the sonic alarm.
Hayes looked at his fallen men, realizing his empire had just crumbled into dust.
He dropped his silver gun, letting it splash into the dirty water at his feet.
“You can’t expose me, Jonathan,” Hayes pleaded desperately, raising his hands.
“I have friends in the highest courts.”
“They will bury this entire incident.”
The heavy steel door of the train slid fully open once again.
Leo stepped out onto the platform, holding a thick, leather-bound book in his small hands.
It was the master ledger of the Crimson Syndicate.
“You don't have friends anymore,” Leo told the corrupt Senator coldly.
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“My dad’s ledger proves you stole millions from the orphan funds.”
“You are going to prison for the rest of your life.”
