Chapter 4 - Blood in the Snow
The central courtyard of the Vale mansion was a vast, snow-draped stone square surrounded by two-story arched colonnades. It was designed as an open-air sanctuary, but tonight it had become a kill zone.
Red laser sights danced through the falling snow as black-clad mercenaries descended from the roof on ropes, tactical flashlights cutting through the dark. Muzzle flashes illuminated the snow in violent, strobing bursts of orange and yellow.
Dominic moved through the shadows of the eastern colonnade like a ghost born of the house itself. In his left hand, he held Clara’s small fist; in his right, his pistol barked with rhythmic, terrifying precision. Every shot he fired found its mark, dropping advancing mercenaries before they could even locate his position.
Beside them, Bear was a blur of brown fur and fury. The dog didn't bark; he lunged from the shadows, tearing into the tactical gear of any mercenary who dared get within ten feet of Clara, sinking his teeth into limbs and dragging them into the snow.
"Lucian!" Dominic shouted over the roar of gunfire, ducking behind a heavy marble pillar as a volley of submachine-gun fire chewed into the stone above his head. "Where is the armored transport?"
"In the underground garage beneath the courtyard!" Lucian yelled back over the comms, firing from a second-story balcony. "The elevator is disabled because of the power cut! You have to take the manual stairs through the wine cellar!"
"Understood!" Dominic looked down at Clara. Her face was pale, covered in marble dust, but she didn't scream. She kept her eyes locked on Dominic’s face, holding onto his coat with both hands.
"Can you run?" Dominic asked her.
"Yes!" she shouted over the noise.
"Good. When I say run, we head for that iron door at the end of the hall. Don't stop for anything."
Before Dominic could move, a flashbang grenade landed on the stone floor five feet in front of them, sparking wildly.
Dominic didn't hesitate. He threw his heavy body over Clara, covering her small frame completely with his tactical vest and his own flesh, pressing her face into his chest.
BOOM!
A blinding flash of white light and a concussive shockwave slammed into Dominic’s back. Pain flared through his spine, his ears ringing with a deafening, high-pitched scream. He spat blood onto the snow, his vision swimming with red and white spots.
Through the ringing in his ears, he heard heavy footsteps approaching.
A tall mercenary in dark urban camouflage stepped through the smoke, his assault rifle raised, pointing straight at Dominic’s head.
"Dominic Vale," the mercenary’s voice rasped through a tactical gas mask. "The Director sends his warmest regards."
Dominic lay on the snow, his body paralyzed by the stun shock, unable to raise his weapon in time. Clara was trapped beneath him, sobbing softly.
The mercenary’s finger tightened on the trigger.
Suddenly, a streak of brown fur erupted from the smoke!
Bear leaped six feet through the air, sinking his jaws directly into the mercenary’s throat! The force of the strike sent the heavy soldier crashing backward into the snow. The rifle fired harmlessly into the sky, its rounds tracing red arcs through the falling snow.
The mercenary screamed, beating at the dog with his heavy fists, but Bear refused to let go, dragging the man down into the frozen ground.
The distraction was all Dominic needed.
With a roar of pure rage, Dominic pushed himself up off the snow, drew a heavy tactical knife from his boot, and lunged forward, finishing the mercenary with a single, brutal strike.
Dominic gasped for air, his chest heaving, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. He looked down at Bear. The dog stood over the fallen soldier, panting heavily, a deep cut along his ribs from a piece of shrapnel, but his eyes were still bright, still fierce.
Dominic reached down, touching the dog’s head gently. "Good boy," he whispered. "Good boy, Bear."
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He scooped Clara up into his left arm, holding her tight against his chest, and gestured to the dog. "Come on!"
They bolted through the iron door, diving into the dark, stone stairwell that led down into the depths of the estate, leaving the war in the courtyard behind them.
