Chapter 15 - THE VIPER'S NESTThe titanium blast door groaned, bowing inward under the assault of a heavy breaching charge.
"Go! Now!" Julian barked.
Maria pushed Elena into the chute first, clutching Leo tightly to her chest. They vanished into the dark, screaming as they slid down the steep, icy metal tube. Maria went next, diving headfirst into the abyss to protect her sister and the child.
The door exploded.
A fireball ripped into the nursery, throwing Julian and Alexander to the floor. Mercenaries poured through the smoke, laser sights cutting through the dust.
Julian didn't hesitate. He grabbed Alexander by his custom silk tie and threw them both backward into the dark chute.
They plummeted into total darkness. The slide was terrifyingly steep, tossing them side to side as they careened down the belly of the mountain. Julian held tightly to Alexander, not out of brotherly love, but to ensure his human shield didn't trigger the biometric dead-man's switch.
Clang!
They hit a junction box, violently altering their trajectory. Julian saw a glowing red light approaching rapidly below—the incinerator furnace.
"Override the furnace!" Julian roared at Alexander over the rushing wind.
"I can't! It's automated!" Alexander screamed, genuine terror finally breaking his arrogant facade.
Julian drew his weapon, aiming in the pitch black. He saw the glowing control panel of the furnace gate zooming toward them. He had a fraction of a second. He fired three times.
The bullets shattered the control panel. The massive heavy iron gate of the furnace slammed shut just as they passed over it, diverting them down the secondary waste chute.
They shot out of the side of the mountain like bullets, launching into the freezing night air.
Julian hit the deep snowbank hard, the impact knocking the wind completely out of his lungs. He tumbled uncontrollably down the steep slope, finally coming to a halt buried waist-deep in the freezing powder.
He gasped for air, his vision swimming. Fifty yards away, he heard a baby crying.
Leo.
Julian dug himself out, adrenaline surging through his battered body. He limped through the snow toward the sound. Maria and Elena had landed safely in a massive drift. Elena was rocking Leo, who was unharmed but crying from the cold.
"We're alive," Maria panted, checking her sister for injuries. "Julian, we made it."
But a sudden, dry click made everyone freeze.
Julian turned slowly. Alexander stood ten feet away, battered, bleeding, his suit in ruins. But in his hand, he held a flare gun he had retrieved from the snow, aimed directly at Leo.
"No one walks away from me," Alexander snarled, his eyes burning with absolute madness. "I am the heir. I am the king!"
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"It's over, Alex," Julian said, slowly raising his empty hands, stepping between his brother and his son. "You have no money. Your fortress is compromised. You have nothing."
"I have the power to destroy you!" Alexander screamed, his finger tightening on the trigger.
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