Chapter 18 - THE FINAL BATTLE
"You have thirty seconds to decide, Mark," Victor said smoothly, taking another slow sip from his glass.
"Lower the weapon, or watch your entire life crumble right in front of you."
Mark’s hand trembled against the cold steel of the grip, his knuckles turning ghost-white.
His heart pounded wildly against his ribs, every beat echoing like a war drum in his ears.
Outside, the heavy thud of shotgun blasts and shattering glass signaled that Jax’s men were holding off the perimeter guards.
"I don't need to shoot you, Uncle," Mark said through gritted teeth, his tone dropping into a lethal whisper.
"I just need you to open that vault."
Before Victor could react, Jax burst through the shattered glass doors behind Mark, drenched in rainwater and blood.
With a single fluid motion, Jax threw a heavy steel flashbang grenade up the marble staircase.
The device bounced twice against the carpeted steps before exploding with a blinding white flash and a deafening boom.
BANG!
The shockwave rattled the chandelier above, shattering three display cases lining the foyer wall.
Victor shrieked in sudden shock, dropping his scotch glass as the blinding light burned his retinas.
The two mercenaries guarding the top landing stumbled backward, firing their assault rifles wildly into the ceiling.
"Move! Go!" Jax bellowed, providing suppressive fire with his shotgun.
Mark didn't hesitate for a single second.
He charged up the grand staircase like an enraged beast, vaulting over the marble balustrade.
He tackled Victor around the waist, throwing the elderly doctor forcefully against the heavy oak doors of the private laboratory.
The doors burst open under their combined weight, sending both men crashing onto the polished steel floor inside.
Victor scrambled across the tiles, reaching frantically for a small panic button mounted beneath a metal workbench.
Mark lunged forward, grabbing Victor by his collar and slamming him face-first against the cold metal edge of the table.
"Where is it?!" Mark roared, drawing the heavy tactical knife from his vest and pinning Victor’s right hand to the surface.
The sharp blade bit deep into the wooden table between Victor's fingers, missing skin by a fraction of an inch.
Victor gasped for breath, his arrogant composure instantly vanishing as blood trickled into his grey beard.
"Behind... behind the painting!" Victor panicked, pointing a trembling finger toward a large oil portrait of Mark’s father hanging on the far wall.
Mark pulled the knife free and yanked the heavy canvas off the wall, tearing the frame from its hinges.
Concealed behind it was a massive, digital steel wall safe with a glowing red LED keypad.
A digital countdown timer on the display screen was actively ticking down in bright red numbers: 18:42... 18:41... 18:40...
"The combination, Victor!" Mark demanded, turning the blade back toward his uncle's throat.
Victor let out a raspy, hysterical chuckle, coughing up blood onto his white lab coat.
"It's a randomized six-digit cipher, Mark!" Victor wheezed out with sinister amusement.
"Your father set the master override sequence twenty years ago!"
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"If you enter the wrong code three times, the vault automatically releases a pressurized acid charge into the inner tray!"
"The cure will be completely dissolved before you can blink!"
