Chapter 26 - The Diplomatic Seal
"The mill's old timber chute," Gabriel whispered urgently, pointing toward an iron grate behind the woodstove. "It leads out into the flume race, directly beneath the frozen waterfall. It bypasses their thermal perimeter because the running water masks your body heat."
"What about you?" I demanded.
Gabriel picked up his rifle and clicked a drum magazine into the receiver. "Someone has to hold the stairwell and trigger the boiler override. If the gas canisters hit, I'll detonate the propane reserves and take thirty of them to hell with me."
"Gabriel—"
"Go, Julian!" the old soldier hissed, his eyes burning with fierce loyalty. "Sarah didn't die so you could stand here arguing with an old ghost! Take the girl, reach Montreal! The Swiss Consular Gala is tonight at the Mount Royal Pavilion. Marcus Vance will be there to file the declaration of her death. You walk that child into the ballroom before the midnight chime, or none of this matters!"
I grabbed the floral handbag, threw the strap over my shoulder, and hoisted Lily into my arms. "Thank you, Gabriel."
"Make them bleed, Julian," he murmured.
I kicked open the rusted iron grate behind the stove and slid into the pitch-black, freezing wooden chute, shielding Lily’s head with my forearms.
We shot down the slick, iced timber run, plunging through darkness until we burst out beneath the roaring curtain of the half-frozen waterfall. The icy spray stole my breath, but I scrambled onto the snowy bank, hauling Lily behind a dense thicket of black spruce.
Behind us, a massive orange fireball erupted from the mill cellar with an earth-shattering boom.
The timber mill collapsed into a roaring inferno, sending shockwaves across the valley and throwing burning timbers into the night sky. Mercenary shouts and automatic gunfire erupted around the perimeter, chaos swallowing the hunter force as Gabriel’s final trap took its toll.
I didn't look back. With Lily clutched against my chest, I plunged through the waist-deep snow, crossing the invisible boundary stone that marked the Canadian border.
Ahead of us, parked in a snowbound service road just as Gabriel had arranged, sat an old black sedan with diplomatic plates, the keys taped beneath the rear wheel well. I placed Lily in the back seat, wrapped her in an emergency thermal foil blanket, and jammed the key into the ignition.
May you like
The engine roared to life. I spun the wheel, sending snow flying from the spinning tires, and tore north toward the glowing skyline of Montreal.
***
