Chapter 12 - Fire in the Snow and the Fall of the Traitor
The snow in the Adirondacks was waist-deep, illuminated by the burning wreckage of Vance’s assault vehicles.
Dante and Mara led the counter-assault under the cover of a blinding blizzard. Mara moved through the tree line with silent, predatory grace, flanking the mercenaries who had pinned Dante’s security outpost down.
Crack! Crack!
Mara fired two precision shots, neutralizing the heavy machine gunner stationed on the hospital’s southern perimeter.
"Move up!" Dante roared, advancing through the snow like an unstoppable force of nature, his shotgun clearing the entryway.
Mara sprinted through the medical facility corridors, kicking open the door to Room 402.
Her mother sat safe inside the reinforced panic room, guarded by two of Dante’s elite personal bodyguards who had held the line against fifteen attackers.
"Mara!" her mother cried, tears spilling down her weathered cheeks.
Mara hugged her mother tightly. "You're safe, Mom. It's over. It's all over."
A shadow fell across the doorway.
Victor Vance stood there, bleeding from a shoulder wound, a detonator clutched in his shaking hand.
"If I go down, the whole clinic burns!" Victor screamed, his eyes wild with insane desperation.
Before Victor could depress the thumb switch, a hand made of iron clamped around his wrist.
Dante Marcel emerged from the smoke behind Victor. With a single, sickening snap, Dante broke Victor’s wrist like a dry twig. The detonator fell harmlessly into the snow.
Dante slammed the aging traitor against the wall, his blade pressed against Victor’s throat.
Dante looked over his shoulder at Mara.
"The verdict is yours, Mara," Dante said calmly.
Mara walked out of the room. She looked into the terrified eyes of the uncle who had destroyed her family, driven her into poverty, and forced her to hide for years.
May you like
"Justice," Mara said coldly.
Dante’s blade moved in a blur of silver.
