Chapter 5 - Out of the Ashes
The air inside the warehouse erupted into a deafening symphony of gunfire and shattering glass.
"Get down!" Adrian roared, grabbing Evelyn’s arm and pulling her behind the thick steel chassis of the mobile lab unit just as a hail of automatic fire tore through the glass window where she had been standing seconds before.
The concrete floor chipped and sparked around them. Marcus’s snipers on the roof began firing back, their high-caliber rounds piercing the windshields of Valenti’s armored SUVs.
"Marcus!" Adrian shouted into his radio over the roar of the gunfight. "Deploy the suppression gas! Now!"
"Sir, you're still in the blast zone!" Marcus yelled back.
"Do it!"
A second later, several canisters on the ceiling hissed open, releasing a thick, white chemical fog that rapidly filled the warehouse, obscuring everyone's vision and causing Valenti’s men to cough violently.
Adrian grabbed Evelyn’s hand. His grip was tight, grounding her amidst the chaos. "We need to move. Now."
They sprinted through the dense fog toward the eastern exit. Behind them, they could hear Victor Valenti screaming orders, his men firing blindly into the white mist.
Suddenly, a shadow lunged out of the fog. It was one of Valenti’s heavy enforcers, brandishing a tactical shotgun.
Adrian didn't hesitate. He stepped in front of Evelyn, firing two rounds from his pistol. The man fell, but a stray pellet from the shotgun grazed Adrian’s shoulder, tearing through his dark jacket and leaving a deep, bloody gash.
Adrian grunted, his pace faltering.
"Adrian!" Evelyn caught him, supporting his weight. She could feel the warm, sticky blood soaking through his shirt.
"I'm fine," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Keep moving."
They burst through the heavy fire exit into the cool desert night. Marcus was waiting in a black armored sedan, the engine roaring.
"Get in! Get in!" Marcus shouted, firing his rifle over the top of the door to cover their retreat.
Evelyn helped Adrian into the back seat, scrambling in after him as Marcus slammed the car into reverse, tires screaming as they tore out of the industrial park.
Behind them, the warehouse exploded into a ball of orange flame as one of Marcus’s snipers hit the fuel depot.
Inside the speeding car, the air was thick with the scent of ozone and blood. Adrian was slumped against the leather seat, his face pale, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps.
Evelyn immediately went into doctor mode. She ripped open his shirt, exposing the jagged wound on his shoulder. The shotgun pellets had torn through the deltoid muscle, narrowly missing the main subclavian artery, but the bleeding was profuse.
"Marcus, we need to go to a hospital," she said, her hands already applying pressure with her lab coat.
"No hospitals," Adrian gasped, his hand reaching up to grab her wrist. His grip was weak, but his eyes were fierce. "The Valentis have scouts at every ER in the city. If we go there, we are dead. Take me back to the mansion."
"You have internal bleeding, Adrian!" she protested. "I don't have the equipment at the mansion to perform surgery!"
"You're a surgeon, Evelyn," Adrian whispered, his eyes locking onto hers with absolute, unwavering trust. "Fix me."
Evelyn looked at his pale face, then at her hands covered in his blood. The familiar panic of her past tried to rise, but she pushed it down. This man had protected her. He had stood between her and a hail of bullets.
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"Marcus, drive faster," she ordered, her voice turning cold and professional. "And call ahead. I need sterile drapes, a minor surgical tray, local anesthetic, and every unit of O-negative blood you have in the mansion’s vault."
Marcus looked in the rearview mirror, his face filled with a sudden, deep respect. "Yes, Doctor."
