Chapter 5 - THE SILVER LIGHTER
The small hospital room exploded into chaos.
The deafening roar of suppressed gunfire shattered the sterile silence. Plaster from the walls rained down as bullets shredded the dry-erase board above the empty bed.
Lorenzo moved with terrifying speed.
He didn't retreat. He lunged forward.
He grabbed the heavy metal IV stand and hurled it like a javelin directly at the leading mercenary. The heavy steel base crashed into the man’s chest, sending him crashing back into the hallway.
In the same fluid motion, Lorenzo fired twice. The second mercenary dropped to the floor, his weapon clattering across the tiles.
"Get down!" Lorenzo roared to Mia, diving behind the overturned hospital bed for cover.
The third mercenary laid down a blanket of suppressing fire, shredding the mattress just inches above Lorenzo’s head. Feathers and stuffing filled the air like a twisted snowstorm.
Mia was pressed flat against the cold linoleum, her hands over her ears. She was terrified. But as she looked through the legs of the bed, she saw the third mercenary advancing slowly, reloading his weapon. Lorenzo was pinned down, unable to get a clear shot.
Mia wasn't going to be invisible anymore.
She scrambled on her hands and knees toward the wall near the bathroom door. Resting in a red metal bracket was a heavy, industrial fire extinguisher.
Mia grabbed the metal handle with both hands. It was incredibly heavy, nearly half her body weight. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the burning in her small muscles, and lifted it off the bracket.
She didn't try to aim. She didn't try to be brave. She just shoved it with all her might across the slippery floor.
The heavy red cylinder slid rapidly across the linoleum, crashing violently into the advancing mercenary's shins.
The man cried out in surprise, his legs buckling as he pitched forward.
That single second of distraction was all Lorenzo needed.
Lorenzo rolled out from behind the bed and fired one precise shot. The third mercenary collapsed, unmoving.
Silence descended on the ruined hospital room, broken only by the sound of the fire alarm blaring in the hallway.
Lorenzo slowly stood up, keeping his gun raised. He walked into the hallway.
Gilbert was scrambling backward on his hands and knees, whimpering in terror. He tried to turn and run, but Lorenzo's heavy boot came down hard on Gilbert's chest, pinning him to the floor.
"Please!" Gilbert begged, throwing his hands over his face. "Please, Lorenzo! They made me do it! Celeste promised me the debts would be cleared!"
Lorenzo stared down at the cowardly manager with absolute disgust.
"You sold out a ten-year-old girl who trusted you," Lorenzo sneered.
Lorenzo reached down and yanked Gilbert up by his shirt collar, slamming him against the wall. As he did, something heavy fell out of Gilbert's jacket pocket and clattered onto the floor.
Mia walked cautiously out of the room. She looked down at the object.
It was a heavy, polished silver lighter. Engraved deeply into the metal were the initials: C.V.
Celeste Vane.
Mia picked it up. "This belongs to the woman from the restaurant. The one with the green bracelet."
Lorenzo looked at the lighter, his jaw clenching. "Celeste didn't just escape the explosion. She orchestrated it with Victor. They are using you as bait to trap me at the pier."
Gilbert sobbed, nodding frantically. "Yes! Yes! It's a trap! Victor rigged Pier 44 with C-4 explosives! If you go there, he's going to blow the entire warehouse into the river. He just wants the girl to force her mother to sign over Thomas's old security codes!"
Lorenzo dropped Gilbert to the floor in disgust. "Silas. Handcuff him to the radiator. Let the police find him."
Lorenzo turned to Mia. He knelt down, placing his large hands on her shoulders. His eyes were entirely serious.
"Mia, listen to me," Lorenzo said firmly. "I am leaving you here with Silas. He is going to lock you in the hospital security room. You will be completely safe."
Mia shook her head violently, tears springing to her eyes. "No! I'm coming with you! That's my mom!"
"It's a suicide mission," Lorenzo said, his voice softening with a heartbreaking sadness. "I lost your father because he tried to protect me. I will not lose his daughter too. If I don't make it back... Silas will take care of you. You will never have to carry a napkin or worry about a bill again."
Before Mia could protest, Lorenzo stood up.
Silas gently grabbed Mia's arm, pulling her back.
"Keep her safe, Silas," Lorenzo commanded.
He didn't look back as he sprinted down the hallway, rushing toward the deadly trap waiting at Pier 44.
Silas led a crying Mia into the reinforced hospital security office down the hall. He locked the heavy steel door from the inside.
"Sit tight, kid," Silas said gently, taking up a position by the door. "The boss knows what he's doing."
Mia wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve. She sat on the rolling office chair, looking around the small room.
She wasn't going to sit tight.
Her eyes landed on the massive, square air conditioning vent set low into the wall near the floorboards. It was secured with four simple Phillips-head screws.
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Mia looked down at the silver lighter in her hand. The bottom edge was flat and sharp.
She was small. She was quiet. And she was going to save her mother.
