Chapter 7 - THE GRAND FOYER KILL BOX
The heavy double doors of the Grand Foyer echoed with the dull, metallic thud of thermal cutting torches. Bright orange sparks rained down onto the pristine marble floor as Victor’s assault team worked through the outer lock.
Inside the darkened house, Roman and Claire were positioned on the upper balcony, hidden behind thick, bulletproof balustrades overlooking the foyer. Roman held a heavy assault rifle, while Claire monitored the remote manual trigger for the blast doors.
“Remember,” Roman whispered beside her, “wait until Victor himself steps past the marble pillars. If we trigger the doors too early, he escapes.”
Claire held the detonator pad tightly, her finger resting on the big red switch. “I won’t miss.”
With a deafening explosion, the central lock blew inward. Smoke and fire filled the archway as four heavily armed mercenaries rushed into the room, sweeping their weapon lights across the shadows.
Behind them, stepping calmly through the smoke with a silver cane in one hand and a weapon in the other, was Victor Vance.
“Roman!” Victor’s voice echoed off the high ceilings of the foyer. “Show yourself! Save us both the hassle of tearing this place down stone by stone!”
Victor walked slowly toward the center of the foyer, his boots crunching over the shattered glass and metal debris. His eyes swept the dark balconies above.
“I know you’re up there,” Victor sneered. “And I know you have the girl. Give me the ledger, Roman, and I’ll leave her alive for you to play with!”
Roman glanced at Claire.
“Now,” Roman whispered.
Claire slammed her thumb down on the red button.
Immediately, giant steel blast doors dropped down from the ceiling frames with a thunderous CRASH, sealing the front entrance, the side hallways, and the grand staircase exits. Heavy iron grates slammed down over the balcony railings, trapping Victor and his four men inside the lower level of the foyer.
The mercenaries panicked, opening fire on the steel grates above, but the heavy armor deflected every bullet.
“It’s a trap! Fall back!” one of the mercenaries screamed.
“The doors are sealed!” another yelled, firing wildly at the reinforced entry.
Roman stood up behind the upper grate, looking down at Victor with cold detachment. He pulled a microphone from the balcony console.
“Welcome to Vale House, Victor,” Roman’s voice boomed over the foyer’s sound system. “You wanted my father’s legacy. This foyer is where he executed his enemies.”
Roman pressed a secondary switch on the console.
From hidden vents along the perimeter of the room, thick, white knockout gas began pumping into the trapped space at high pressure.
“Gas! Put your masks on!” Victor shouted, covering his face with his sleeve.
But the mercenaries weren't fast enough. Within seconds, two of the men collapsed to the floor, coughing violently as the heavy sedative air filled their lungs.
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Victor, coughing furiously, raised his pistol and began firing wildly at the upper control panel, trying to shatter the mechanism controlling the gas line.
“Claire,” Roman said quietly. “Keep the floor sealed. I’m going down to finish this.”
