Chapter 6 - The Pyrotechnic Gambit
The wine cellar led up a short flight of stairs to a side door that opened directly into the venue’s expansive central courtyard. Beyond the manicured hedges and stone fountains lay the landscaping shed, and inside it, their only ticket out of this nightmare.
But standing between them and the shed was fifty yards of open ground, bathed in moonlight and currently targeted by a high-caliber sniper rifle perched on the estate’s slate roof.
Gabriel peeked through the frosted glass of the side door. “I can’t see the shooter, but if they have thermal optics, the darkness won’t save us.”
“They don’t need thermal if I blind them,” Natalie said, tapping furiously on her tablet.
Gabriel looked at her, his eyebrow raised. “Explain.”
“You paid for the Platinum Wedding Package,” Natalie said, not looking up from her screen. “That includes a ten-minute, computer-synchronized pyrotechnic show intended to go off during the cake cutting. The launch tubes are set up all around the courtyard perimeter and on the lower roofs.”
Daniel’s eyes widened in realization. “You want to set off the fireworks.”
“Not just set them off,” Natalie corrected, bypassing the safety protocols on the software. “Normally, they fire in a sequence. I’m overriding the sequencer. I’m going to ignite every single mortar, flare, and strobe light simultaneously. It will create a massive wall of fire, smoke, and blinding light. Thermal optics can’t see through a wall of burning phosphorus, and night vision goggles will be completely blown out by the flash.”
Gabriel smiled. It was a cold, predatory smile. “Natalie Shaw, you are significantly underpaid.”
“I’m adding a hazard fee to the final invoice,” she muttered, her finger hovering over the digital ‘IGNITE ALL’ button. “When I press this, you have maybe twenty seconds of absolute chaos before the smoke clears. Are you ready?”
Gabriel grabbed Bianca by the arm, hauling her to her feet. “Daniel, you take point. I’ve got the bride.”
Daniel racked the slide of his weapon. “Ready.”
Natalie took a deep breath. “Three. Two. One.”
She slammed her finger onto the screen.
Outside, the night erupted. It didn’t sound like a celebration; it sounded like an artillery barrage. Hundreds of professional-grade fireworks detonated at ground level and in the air all at once. The courtyard was instantly engulfed in a blinding, terrifying storm of red, gold, and white fire. Deafening booms shook the stone walls of the estate. Thick, acrid smoke instantly flooded the space.
“Go!” Gabriel roared.
Daniel kicked the door open, and they plunged into the inferno. Natalie ran right behind them, keeping her head down. Sparks rained down on them like burning hail. The noise was absolute, a chaotic symphony of explosions that drowned out any possibility of gunfire.
Natalie glanced toward the roof. She couldn’t see anything. The glare of the strobes and the bursting chrysanthemums of fire had turned the night sky into a blinding canvas of light.
They reached the landscaping shed. Daniel kicked the wooden door off its hinges. Inside sat a heavy-duty, reinforced utility truck used for hauling trees. The keys were hanging on a pegboard right next to the door.
Daniel tossed the keys to Gabriel. “Drive. I’ll cover the rear.”
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Gabriel shoved Bianca into the middle seat, jumping behind the wheel. Natalie scrambled into the passenger side just as Gabriel cranked the engine. The heavy V8 roared to life.
“Hold on!” Gabriel shouted, slamming the truck into gear. He didn’t bother opening the garage door. He drove straight through it, shattering the wood into splinters as they blasted out of the shed and onto the dark service road.
