Chapter 15 - A Dance with Death
The heavy bass of the electronic music vibrated through the floorboards of the nightclub,
masking the deadly,
quiet conversation happening at the VIP bar.
Marco offered his hand to Eleanor,
his eyes full of dark,
suggestive intent,
completely unaware that he was flirting with a woman capable of snapping his neck in three seconds.
"I can forgive a spilled drink,"
Marco said,
his voice low and greasy,
leaning uncomfortably close to her,
"If you let me show you to the private lounges upstairs."
"I would love that,"
Eleanor replied,
smiling sweetly,
reaching out to take his hand,
her gloved fingers wrapping gently around his thick palm.
Inside the surveillance van,
Asher gripped the edge of the console,
his knuckles turning completely white,
a muscle feathering in his jaw as he watched the man touch the woman who had saved our family.
"I swear to God,
if he tries anything,
I am driving this van through the front doors,"
Asher growled,
his protective instincts flaring wildly,
ignoring the tactical parameters of the mission.
"Stand down,
Overlord,"
Eleanor's voice commanded sharply over the radio,
the sweet tone completely gone,
replaced by the icy authority of the Phantom.
She allowed Marco to lead her away from the crowded bar,
walking down a dimly lit,
secluded hallway lined with heavy velvet curtains,
heading straight toward the private elevator bank that led to Donatello's vault.
There were two heavily armed guards standing in front of the gold-plated elevator doors,
their hands resting casually on the grips of their submachine guns,
their eyes narrowing suspiciously as Marco approached with a stranger.
"She's with me,"
Marco barked,
waving the guards away,
asserting his dominance,
trying to impress the beautiful woman in the crimson dress.
He stepped up to the biometric scanner mounted on the wall,
pressing his right thumb firmly against the glowing green glass,
waiting for the system to verify his identity.
The machine beeped softly,
the heavy metal doors sliding open with a quiet hiss,
revealing the plush interior of the private elevator.
"After you,
gorgeous,"
Marco smirked,
gesturing for her to step inside the metal box.
Eleanor stepped past him,
her movements slow,
deliberate,
and the moment Marco followed her inside,
the heavy doors slid shut,
sealing them in complete privacy.
Silas immediately hit a command on his keyboard,
hijacking the elevator's internal controls,
stopping the car abruptly between the second and third floors,
plunging the small cabin into sudden,
dim emergency lighting.
"What the hell?"
Marco muttered,
reaching into his jacket for his weapon,
panic briefly flashing across his brutish face.
He never even had the chance to draw his gun.
Eleanor moved faster than the human eye could track,
a blur of crimson silk and lethal precision,
driving the heel of her hand directly into his throat,
crushing his windpipe instantly,
silencing his scream before it could begin.
Marco choked,
stumbling backward against the mirrored wall,
his eyes wide with sheer,
unadulterated terror,
realizing he had invited a predator into the cage.
She grabbed his right arm,
twisting it behind his back with a sickening crack,
forcing him to his knees,
pinning him to the floor of the elevator with her knee pressed hard against his spine.
She did not hesitate,
she did not show mercy,
she simply pulled a small,
razor-sharp scalpel from the hidden seam of her gown.
"I need your thumbprint,
Marco,"
Eleanor whispered coldly,
her voice devoid of emotion,
"And I do not need you attached to it."
Inside the van,
I looked away from the monitor,
my stomach churning as a brief,
muffled sound of slicing flesh echoed over the radio,
followed by the heavy thud of a lifeless body hitting the floor.
"Biometric acquired,"
Eleanor reported calmly,
her breathing completely steady,
not a single drop of blood on her immaculate dress,
having executed the man with surgical,
terrifying perfection.
"Silas,
start the elevator,"
she commanded,
standing over the corpse without a second glance.
"Moving to the top floor,
Phantom,"
Silas replied,
his voice shaking slightly,
having just witnessed a brutal assassination live on camera.
The elevator surged upward,
carrying the phantom of Fairhaven closer to the heart of the enemy's empire,
ready to strike the final,
May you like
devastating blow against the man who dared to threaten her broken,
adopted family.
