Chapter 17
Before Volkov could signal his guards to seize her, the grand hall plunged into absolute, pitch-black darkness. Elias had slipped away to the breaker room, driving a heavy tactical spike directly through the estate's primary and secondary power conduits.
Panic erupted instantly. The sophisticated calm of the auction shattered into a cacophony of screams, breaking glass, and the frantic shouts of bodyguards deploying flashlights. But Clara did not need the light. She had memorized the spatial dimensions of the room the moment she walked in.
Volkov’s lead bodyguard lunged toward where Clara had been standing, but she was already moving. She dropped low, sweeping his legs out from under him, and drove her elbow brutally into his temple as he fell. The man collapsed without a sound.
The emergency backup lights flickered on, bathing the hall in a sickly, strobing red glow. The room was a warzone. The high-society guests were scrambling for the exits, trampling each other in a desperate bid for survival. Volkov was retreating toward the grand staircase, shielded by three heavily armed contractors who were drawing submachine guns from beneath their tailored jackets.
"Elias, weapons free!" Clara barked into her hidden comms.
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From the balcony above, Elias opened fire. He had commandeered an automated defense turret from the security hub. A precise, devastating volley of suppressed rounds rained down, neutralizing two of Volkov’s guards before they could even acquire a target. Clara sprinted across the marble floor, sliding behind a massive marble pillar just as the third guard unleashed a hail of bullets that chewed the stone to dust inches from her face.
She drew her compact pistol from the thigh holster hidden beneath her gown. She didn't peek out. She calculated the angle, rolled out from behind the pillar in a low crouch, and fired two rapid, controlled shots. The contractor dropped, a neat hole perfectly centered in his chest. Clara didn't pause to admire the work. She vaulted over a shattered champagne fountain and sprinted toward the master server case in the center of the room.
