Chapter 16 - THE SHIELD AND THE CROSSFIRE
BANG!
The gunshot roared in the enclosed concrete vault, deafeningly loud.
Clara closed her eyes, bracing for impact—but the bullet never reached her. Julian had burst through the ventilation shaft opening behind the vault, lunging forward with every ounce of strength left in his battered body. He tackled Reyes mid-stride, knocking the Captain’s arm upward as the bullet shattered a fluorescent light fixture overhead, showering the room in sparks.
"Run, Clara! Get Lily out!" Julian bellowed, grappling with Reyes on the slick concrete floor.
The three tactical officers stood frozen for a split second, their radio headsets screaming with panicked commands from Federal Marshals who had just surrounded the building exterior.
"Drop your weapons! Federal agents are entering the lobby!" a tactical officer yelled, stepping away from Reyes. "Captain, it’s over! Stand down!"
"Shoot them!" Reyes shrieked, kicking Julian off him and scrambling for his fallen sidearm. "Shoot them all!"
Realizing Reyes had gone completely rogue, the officers backed out of the breach, refusing to obey his unlawful orders.
Clara didn't hesitate. She grabbed Lily, shielded her behind the open vault door, and raised her snub-nosed revolver. As Reyes lunged for his gun on the ground, Clara pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The round hit Reyes squarely in the shoulder. He collapsed back against the concrete wall, groaning in pain, his weapon sliding across the floor into the shadows.
Julian scrambled up, grabbing Reyes’s fallen sidearm and kicking the Captain’s hands away. "Stay down, Marcus," Julian growled, his voice trembling with years of suppressed rage. "It’s over."
From the corridor above, heavy footsteps and tactical boots thundered down the stairwell. Flashlights cut through the lingering smoke as a squad of heavily armed Federal Marshals, accompanied by State Police, flooded into the vault room with rifles raised.
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"Federal agents! Put your hands up!"
Julian raised his hands slowly, stepping away from Reyes. Clara lowered her revolver, wrapping her arms tightly around Lily as the federal team moved in, securing Reyes in heavy steel handcuffs.
