Chapter 120 The Vault Struggle

Chapter 120 The Vault Struggle
Adrian’s POV

The heavy hydraulic ram strikes the outer vault door for a second time with a deafening, metallic boom that shatters the remaining glass housings on the wall tracking panels, and the sudden distraction forces Silas's two personal guards to plunge forward into the narrow walkway just as the emergency backup lights flicker violently from the structural impact. I don't wait for the lead shooter to lift his short-barreled automatic rifle because I dive across the corner of the steel work table, catching his forearm with both of my hands and twisting the weapon upward toward the concrete ceiling right as a loud burst of gunfire punches three clean holes into the ventilation ducting overhead.
"Get back against the rear server racks, Maya, and stay flat on the floorboards until I clear this center aisle!" I roar over the deafening noise of the ricochets, using my elbow to smash directly into the first guard's jawline until his grip loosens on the weapon and he stumbles backward into a pile of aluminum transport boxes.

"Adrian, watch your left side because the second guard is moving around the main desk with a tactical baton and he is trying to get behind your shoulder!" Maya screams from the darkness near the storage lockers, her boots scraping against the concrete as she pulls her body into the tight gap between the steel cabinets while keeping the leather certificate pouch pinned tightly under her arm.
"I have him covered, Maya, just keep your head down and don't touch that fallen rifle because the receiver is still hot enough to burn your hands!" I yell back, ducking low as the second attacker swings his heavy metal baton directly at my collarbone, the thick weapon whistling through the pulsing red air before slamming into the edge of the desk frame with a loud, ringing crack.
"Silas, get the leather bags out through the service elevator right now while we hold his son in the main corridor!" the first guard shouts, spitting blood onto the floor as he recovers his footing and reaches into his uniform vest to draw a secondary pistol, but I step inside his line of sight instantly, throwing a heavy left hook that catches him square in the throat and cuts off his voice in a ragged wheeze.

"You are a traitor to your own blood, Adrian, and you think you can stop this entire operation with a single hand weapon while Minister Ade's men are waiting at the terminal gates!" Silas screams from the back of the room, his hands trembling with rage as he grabs the straps of the largest leather bag and tries to drag the physical currency toward the small freight lift panel on the far wall.
"You are not going near that elevator, father, and your paid soldiers are going to spend the rest of this morning in a local medical ward if they take one more step toward Maya!" I fire back, my muscles burning with pure adrenaline as I fight like a man possessed to keep both men trapped in the center aisle, using my larger physical frame to block every single attempt they make to push past me into the dark corner where she is hiding.

"Adrian, the second one is picking up his firearm again, look out behind you!" Maya cries out, her voice filled with an intense urgency that makes me spin around instantly, grabbing the heavy steel chair from beside the supervisor's desk and hurling it across the narrow passage until the metal legs strike the shooter right in the chest, sending him crashing heavily into a row of storage shelves.
"Stay down, both of you, or the next round goes straight into your primary leg joints!" I warn them, my breathing coming in short, ragged gasps as I stand over the two dazed guards with my automatic pistol raised again, my knuckles bruised and covered in fresh sweat from the intense physical struggle under the flashing red emergency bulbs.
"Adrian, we need to move toward the outer door right now because Sofia has completely disabled the hydraulic locks on the main frame, and I can hear Damien shouting from the upper landing of the stairwell!" Maya says, rushing out from the shadow of the server racks and grabbing the sleeve of my wet suit jacket to pull me away from the fallen soldiers before they can recover their senses.

"Did Silas manage to touch the secondary elevator button while I was handling the shooters, Maya, because I don't see his leather bag near the main work table anymore?" I ask, my eyes scanning the smoky room rapidly until I notice that the metal doors of the small freight lift are already closed and the digital floor indicator is moving slowly toward the roof level.
"He took the primary currency sack and ran into the service shaft while you were blocking the second guard, Adrian, but he didn't get the Edinburgh registry books because I have them locked right here in my possession," she answers, her fingers tapping the thick leather bundle under her arm with a stubborn determination that lets me know she isn't about to let his escape ruin our ultimate victory.

"Then he is heading straight for the private marina behind the house where his personal yacht is moored, Maya, so we need to bypass this basement corridor and get to Damien’s sedan before he can clear the harbor boundary line," I state, wrapping my arm securely around her waist to guide her past the groaning guards and toward the heavy outer vault door, which is currently swinging outward as Damien’s crowbar forces the last internal lock pin to snap completely in two.