Chapter 5 - The Key in the Lining
The heavy steel door of the safe room shuddered.
A red light flashed above the keypad, indicating the manual override was in progress. They had less than a minute.
Nora backed against the far wall, her hands instinctively coming up to shield Leo. The little boy gripped her coat tightly, burying his face in the gray wool.
Dominic didn’t panic. He moved with frightening efficiency. He grabbed a heavy metal supply crate and dragged it in front of the door, buying them seconds. Then he turned to the security monitors, his eyes flying across the screens, searching for a way out.
“He’s bypassing the primary firewall,” Dominic said, his jaw locked tight. “He must have someone in my IT department feeding him the codes.”
“He’s going to get in,” Nora choked out, the memory of Declan’s hands around her throat making her vision blur. “He just wants the locker receipt. Give it to him. Let him have the bag.”
Dominic turned to her, his dark eyes intense. “If I give him the receipt, he leaves here, destroys the evidence that proves who killed my wife, and he hunts you down later to tie up the loose end. Giving him what he wants is a death sentence.”
The keypad beeped rapidly. The door hissed, breaking its airtight seal.
Dominic raised his pistol, aiming directly at the center of the heavy steel door. “Get behind the medical desk. Keep Leo down. Do not look up.”
Nora scrambled behind the heavy steel desk, pulling Leo with her. She wrapped her arms around the trembling child, pressing her cheek against the top of his head.
The door flew open.
Gunfire instantly filled the small room.
Dominic fired three precise shots. A man in tactical gear crumpled in the doorway, but it wasn't Declan. It was one of the outsourced guards.
Two more men flooded into the room, returning fire. Bullets shattered the monitors, sending glass and sparks raining down on Nora and Leo. Dominic dove behind a structural pillar, returning fire with lethal accuracy. Another man went down.
But the third man tackled Dominic to the ground. The gun skittered across the floor, stopping inches from the desk where Nora was hiding.
Dominic and the guard engaged in a brutal, hand-to-hand struggle. Dominic was larger, but the guard was heavily armored. The guard pulled a combat knife, driving it downward. Dominic caught his wrist, muscles straining as the blade hovered inches from his neck.
Nora stared at the gun on the floor.
She had never held a weapon in her life. She hated violence. It was all she had known for two years. But looking at Leo, terrified and helpless in her arms, a fierce, protective fire ignited in her chest.
She let go of Leo.
Nora crawled out from behind the desk. Her bruised ribs screamed in agony, but she forced herself forward. She grabbed the heavy black pistol with both hands. It was freezing cold.
She didn't aim. She just pointed it at the guard on top of Dominic and pulled the trigger.
The gun kicked violently, bruising the palm of her hand.
The shot hit the guard in the shoulder. He screamed, dropping the knife and rolling off Dominic.
Dominic didn't hesitate. He grabbed the dropped knife and struck the guard with the hilt, knocking him unconscious.
Panting heavily, Dominic stood up, wiping a smear of blood from his cheek. He looked at Nora. She was sitting on the floor, shaking uncontrollably, still pointing the gun at the empty doorway.
He gently stepped forward and placed his hand over hers, lowering the weapon.
“You’re okay,” Dominic said softly. “You got him.”
Nora dropped the gun as if it were on fire. She scrambled back to Leo, pulling him into her arms again.
“We have to move,” Dominic said, checking the corridor outside. “Declan sent his cannon fodder down here. He’s upstairs, holding the ballroom hostage.”
He pulled Nora to her feet. As he did, the inner lining of her cheap gray coat snagged on the edge of the shattered desk. The fabric tore.
Something fell out of the lining and hit the floor with a soft metallic clink.
Nora froze.
Dominic looked down.
It wasn’t a receipt. It was a small, silver brass key with the number 402 etched into the side.
Nora stared at it in disbelief. “I… I hid the key in my coat yesterday morning. I was so terrified he would find it in my pocket, I cut a hole in the lining and pushed it down to the hem.”
Dominic looked from the key to the receipt in his hand. “Then what is this?”
Nora examined the crumpled thermal paper. The date at the top wasn't today. It was from three days ago.
“It’s a decoy,” Nora gasped. “Declan must have planted this fake receipt in my pocket to see if I’d run. He wanted me to lead him to the real locker.”
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Dominic picked up the silver key. A dangerous, cold smile spread across his face.
“Declan thinks he has the upper hand because he holds the ballroom,” Dominic said, his voice deadly quiet. “He doesn't realize we hold the only thing he actually wants.”
