Chapter 25 - The Price of Severance
Before Anton could spin up the barrels of the rotary cannon, Julian lunged forward, not retreating, but closing the distance at blinding speed. The opening salvo of heavy rounds chewed through the concrete consoles behind him, turning steel and circuit boards into flying shrapnel.
Julian slid beneath the sweeping arc of fire, drawing two magnetic breaching charges from his belt. As he passed beneath Anton's reach, he slapped both charges directly onto the hydraulic actuators of the giant's right knee joint and rolled clear into the shadow of a mainframe pillar.
*Click. BOOM.*
The localized explosion shattered the armor plating and tore through the mercenary's mechanical brace. Anton roared in fury, collapsing onto one knee as black hydraulic fluid and blood pooled onto the floor. Yet the giant swung his massive armored arm sideways, striking Julian across the chest.
The impact sent Julian flying across the room, slamming hard into an iron support beam. Two ribs cracked with a sharp, agonizing pop. Julian coughed up a spatter of blood, the air violently ripped from his lungs. He looked at the timer on his cracked watch: *02:45:11.*
Anton stood back up, dragging his mangled leg, his face twisted in sadistic ecstasy. He discarded the rotary gun and drew a six-inch combat vibro-blade humming with high-frequency lethality. "You got soft, Julian! You spent seven years playing daddy in a glass palace! You forgot how to hurt!"
Anton plunged the blade down toward Julian's throat.
Julian didn't flinch. In that split second, the cold, calculating intelligence took over. He caught Anton's wrist with both hands, twisting his hips to redirect the momentum. Using the giant’s massive weight against him, Julian kicked Anton's wounded knee with his steel-toed combat boot.
Anton howled as the shattered joint gave way completely. Julian rolled on top of him, reversing the blade in mid-air, and drove the humming steel directly through the unarmored collar seam beneath Anton's helmet.
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The giant convulsed once, his eyes wide in shock, before his massive frame went limp against the blood-soaked floor.
Julian lay there for three agonizing breaths, holding his cracked ribs, his vision swimming with gray spots. Then, Maya’s crying voice echoed through his mind. He forced himself upright, pulled the blade free, and reloaded his sidearm with hands that did not tremble.
