Chapter 26: The Alliance of Blood and Shadow
Before Camila could process the crushing weight of the revelation, the heavy oak front door of the safe house was violently blown inward.
CRASH!
Flashbang grenades rolled across the stone floor, detonating in blinding flashes of white light and deafening concussive roars.
"Ambush! Sector clear!" Commander Vance shouted instantly, drawing his assault rifle and firing a burst toward the shattered doorway as heavily armed, unidentified operators in unmarked tactical gear swarmed into the building.
"Get down!" Marcus yelled, grabbing Camila by the shoulder and dragging her behind the heavy mahogany table as bullets chewed through the wooden bookshelving overhead.
"Who are they?!" Camila demanded over the deafening roar of automatic gunfire, drawing her sidearm and returning fire toward the silhouette in the doorway.
"Janus," Marcus shouted back, reloading his pistol with practiced efficiency. "They tracked our signal the moment we connected to the Swiss relay. They didn't come to negotiate—they came to erase both of us."
Vance and his tactical team formed a tight defensive perimeter around the table, returning suppressive fire with lethal precision, driving the first wave of attackers back into the hallway.
"We can't hold this position for long!" Vance yelled over the din. "They have heavy reinforcement coming up the stairs!"
Marcus looked at Camila, his expression urgent and desperate. "There’s a secondary escape tunnel beneath the floorboards behind the bookshelf. It leads directly to the river pier. Take it, Camila!"
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"And what about you?" Camila asked, her eyes locking onto his.
"I've been running from them for twenty years," Marcus said, a grim, defiant smile touching his lips as he chambered a fresh round in his weapon. "It’s time to stop hiding."
