Chapter 26: Bullets and Blood
"Kill the lights."
In a practiced reflex that was second nature to him, he drew his silver Desert Eagle from the waistband at the small of his back. The muzzle of the massive weapon aimed straight at the crystal chandelier in the center of the room.
BOOM!
The explosion from the Desert Eagle thundered, shattering the crystal chandelier into pieces. Shards of glass rained down on the marble floor like deadly hail. The room was instantly plunged into pitch darkness, leaving only the glimmer of Paris city lights filtering through the large glass windows.
At the same moment, the bedroom door was detonated from the outside.
BOOM!
The C4 explosion shattered the hinges of the thick oak door, sending wood splinters and thick white smoke into the room.
Agatha, who was standing tall, did not have time to fully dodge. The shockwave forced her to throw herself behind a nearby marble pillar. She grimaced, feeling the stitches on her back throb painfully as if pulled by force. However, she did not let the pain master her.
"Frans, status?" Xavier hissed into the intercom. He had already rolled to the other side of the room, hiding behind a heavy vanity table.
"They are using heat sensors! They are already inside! Don't stay in the open!" Frans's voice sounded panicked amidst the noise of the firefight from the lower floor.
Four black shadows rushed in through the smoke. Tactical flashlights on the ends of their assault rifles swept the room with fast movements. They did not need visual light. They were shooting based on body heat.
DOR! DOR!
Two enemy bullets hit the pillar where Agatha was taking cover. Stone chips grazed her cheek.
Agatha peeked briefly, then slid out from her hiding place with a low movement. Xavier's oversized black shirt fluttered as she fired the Glock 19 in her hand.
DOR! DOR!
Two of Agatha's bullets hit the chest of the nearest enemy. The man stumbled back, but did not fall.
"Damn, high-grade bulletproof vest," Agatha growled. She corrected her aim in a split second.
DOR!
Agatha's third shot landed right on the man's neck, the narrow gap between the helmet and the vest. Blood sprayed heavily. The man clutched his neck, and he collapsed instantly.
On the other side, Xavier moved with the brutality of an apex predator. The Desert Eagle in his hand spat fire. The sound was deafening, but its destructive power was terrifying. The large-caliber bullet did not care about protective vests. It punched through the second enemy's chest, throwing his body against the back wall with a gaping hole.
"Agatha, two o'clock!" Xavier shouted a warning.
An enemy who had slipped past their guard rushed toward Agatha. The man was huge, a member built like a tank. Before Agatha could aim her pistol, the man kicked Agatha's hand, sending the Glock 19 flying far away.
The man then slammed the butt of his rifle into Agatha's wounded shoulder.
"Argh!" Agatha stifled a scream. Her body was thrown to the floor. The pain in her back exploded, making her vision white out for a moment.
The enemy drew a knife from his waist, ready to plunge it into Agatha's chest. However, he made a fatal mistake. He underestimated the woman who was in pain.
Agatha stared at the knife with darkened hazel eyes. Instead of retreating, she lunged forward, letting the knife graze her left arm to get the perfect striking distance. Her right hand drew her silver dagger from her waist.
SCHLUCK!
Agatha stabbed the dagger into the enemy's inner thigh, twisted it cruelly, then pulled it out. As the man roared in pain, Agatha rose, and with a graceful yet lethal spinning motion, she slit the man's throat from the side.
Warm blood sprayed heavily, soaking Agatha's beautiful face and the black shirt she wore.
"You are too slow. So boring," Agatha whispered coldly right into the corpse's ear as his body slid to the floor.
CRASH!
The balcony glass on the right side of the room shattered into pieces. An intruder landed from a helicopter rope, immediately aiming his machine gun at Xavier's back, who was busy shooting at enemies in the corridor door.
"Xavier, look out!"
Agatha could not reach her thrown pistol. Without thinking twice, she gripped the handle of her rose dagger, slippery with blood, and threw it with all her might toward the balcony.
The silver blade sliced through the darkness, spinning fast, and embedded itself right in the intruder's throat. The man choked on his own blood, dropped his weapon, and fell backward, hanging stiffly from his harness on the outer balcony.
Xavier turned, seeing the action. He smirked proudly, then finished off the last enemy at the door with a single precision shot to the head.
"Get your dagger, My Little Rose! We have to go!"
Agatha walked limping toward the balcony. The cold Paris night wind slapped her face, which was hot with blood. She pulled the hanging corpse in, stepped on his chest, and forcibly yanked out her silver dagger. The sound of snapping cartilage was horrible.
However, Agatha did not run immediately. She knelt, ripping the sleeve of the corpse's uniform. On the man's wrist, there was a small tattoo of a red-eyed Wolf encircled by rose thorns.
"Xavier," Agatha called, her voice flat but sharp. "Look at this."
Xavier approached while reloading his weapon. His eyes narrowed at the tattoo. "That tattoo looks familiar."
"This is Luigi's private army," Agatha said as she wiped her dagger blade on the corpse's uniform. "He sent hitmen. Is he taking revenge for his dead men?"
"They are too bold attacking in the middle of the city."
The sound of a second helicopter's blades roared closer. A giant spotlight hit the balcony, blinding them.
"Get down!" Xavier pulled Agatha to take cover behind the concrete balcony wall as heavy-caliber bullets began to rain down on them.
Concrete shattered around them. Agatha looked at Xavier, her hazel eyes glinting with madness, her lips curling into a terrifying smirk. "My gun is gone. Give me your other one. I want to give them a farewell greeting."
Xavier did not argue. He pulled a backup Beretta M9 from his ankle holster and handed it to Agatha. "Use it wisely."
"Wow... How many guns are you carrying?" Agatha twirled the pistol in her hand.
Agatha crawled to the corner of the balcony. As the helicopter banked for a second strafing run, Agatha rose. She aimed calmly amidst the chaos.
DOR! DOR! DOR!
Three shots in a row. Not at the body of the helicopter, but at the cockpit glass. The glass cracked, and the final bullet pierced the pilot's temple.
The helicopter lost control, spinning wildly in the air like a fiery top, before crashing into the building across the street and exploding into a massive fireball.
"That is my wife," Xavier smirked with satisfaction, pulling Agatha to her feet.
"Let's go before this building collapses," Agatha invited coldly, tucking the Beretta into her waistband.
"Frans! We are coming down via the emergency stairs! Get the car ready!" Xavier ordered.
They ran out of the ruined penthouse, leaving a trail of corpses filled with the scent of roses as a message that the Rose would not die easily.