Chapter 49 - The Avalanche of Justice
Inside the server room, the two bodyguards stepped forward to execute Claire. She didn't reach for the pistol in her thigh holster. Instead, she kicked the heavy steel server rack directly beside her, sending it crashing into the primary power conduit. A massive shower of sparks erupted, plunging the room into absolute, pitch-black darkness. In the chaos, Claire dropped to the floor, drawing her micro-compact pistol. She fired twice, the suppressed shots dropping both bodyguards before they could even trigger their flashlights. Lord Sterling screamed in terror, stumbling backward toward the door.
Claire lunged forward, grabbing Sterling by the lapels of his charcoal suit. She drove him against the wall, pressing the hot barrel of her pistol directly under his chin. "You funded the cartel that killed my mother," Claire hissed, her voice vibrating with unforgiving rage. "You built the cage I lived in. Now, you burn with it." She slammed the butt of the pistol into his temple, knocking the billionaire unconscious. Without a second glance, Claire hit the master detonator in her hand and sprinted for the reinforced emergency stairwell.
The C-4 explosives detonated with a catastrophic roar. The entire foundation of the glass mansion fractured. Up in the courtyard, the shockwave violently threw The Architect and his snipers to the ground. Marcus moved like a blur of violence. He drew his combat knife, closed the distance to The Architect, and drove the blade directly through the gap in the mercenary's heavy armor, plunging it deep into his chest. The Architect gasped, his masked face staring up at the federal commander in shock. "The avalanche," Marcus whispered, twisting the blade. The structural explosion had triggered a massive, million-ton wall of snow and ice from the peaks above. The roaring white death descended upon the mansion, burying The Sovereign Trust, their wealth, and their masked commander under a mountain of inescapable ice.
