Richard Blackwood walks through the shattered door as if he’s arriving at a business eting with his expensive suit unmarred, hair perfectly styled, and carrying a leather briefcase.
Behind him, there were six more rcenaries with weapons trained on us.
"Anthony. Katherine." His smile is warm and friendly. The sa smile he used to greet Katherine at Premier Financial every morning, I believe. "So good to see you both. Though these circumstances are rather... dramatic."
I keep Katherine behind , my weapon raised, even knowing we’re outgunned, outnumbered, and outmaneuvered.
"Richard." Katherine’s voice is steadier than I expected. "Or should I say Ricardo?"
"Richard is fine. I’ve been Richard Blackwood longer than I was Ricardo Ramírez." He sets his briefcase on the overturned table and opens it casually. "That boy died thirty years ago when Thomas Marvin murdered his family."
"Your family killed first," Thomas says from across the room, his weapon trained on Richard despite the odds. "They terrorized Tony’s mother while she was pregnant. The stress caused premature labor, and the complications killed her."
"Casualties of war." Richard’s expression doesn’t change. "But Thomas, you didn’t just kill the n responsible. You hunted down my mother and my sisters, who were ages fourteen and nine. You killed children to send a ssage."
The room goes quiet.
I look at my father, and I see the truth in his face - the guilt he’s carried for thirty years.
"I was following orders," Thomas says, but his voice lacks conviction. "Margaret said-"
"I don’t care what Margaret said." Richard’s calm breaks, showing his rage underneath. "You pulled the trigger and murdered little girls who had nothing to do with criminal operations. You made it personal, Thomas, so I made it personal too."
He pulls docunts from the briefcase and spreads them on the table.
"Transfer of ownership - Marvin Industries. All holdings, assets, legitimate and otherwise. You sign them over to ."
"No," I say flatly.
"No?" Richard smiles. "Let provide so motivation."
He gestures, and two of his rcenaries drag soone into the room.
Marco.
He’s been beaten badly, with his face swollen, and one eye shut, moving like his ribs are broken. They threw him to the floor between us.
"Marco here has been very helpful," Richard says pleasantly. "Singing like a canary from his FBI cell until I had him extracted an hour ago. Amazing what you can accomplish with the right contacts." He puts a gun to Marco’s head. "Sign the papers, Anthony, or I kill him."
Marco looks at with desperate, terrified eyes.
"Then Thomas," Richard continues. "Then your brilliant little brother Elliot. And finally, Katherine. I’ll make you watch each one die, starting with the woman you love... and then I’ll kill you."
Katherine’s hand finds mine.
I look at the papers, at Marco’s beaten face, at my father bleeding from earlier wounds, at Elliot’s terrified expression through the laptop cara. Then, at Katherine beside , who is ready to die fighting rather than surrender.
"Don’t." Katherine’s voice is quiet but firm. "Whatever you choose, I’m with you. But don’t give him what he wants."
Because she knows what I know - signing won’t save anyone. Richard will kill us all regardless. This is his revenge, not negotiation. He wants Marvin’s family destroyed completely.
"You have ten seconds," Richard says, cocking the gun. "Ten. Nine. Eight-"
Thomas moves.
Despite his wounded shoulder and being outgunned, my father lunges at Richard with a roar of desperate rage.
"Run! Get Katherine out!"
Gunfire erupts.
Thomas takes multiple hits - his shoulder, chest, and side but his montum carries him into Richard, knocking them both down. The briefcase scatters docunts everywhere.
"GO!" Thomas screams, even as he’s bleeding out. "ANTHONY, GET HER OUT!"
Chaos explodes. Luca’s n opened fire, and the rcenaries returned it. The apartnt transforms into a war zone - bullets, smoke, screaming.
I’m torn - every instinct says help my father, protect the man who just sacrificed himself for . But his eyes et mine across the chaos, and I see the ssage there.
Save her... save Katherine. Live.
Luca grabs my arm. "Ergency exit! Now!"
He’s already pulling Katherine toward the back bedroom, toward the fire escape we mapped earlier. Elliot’s laptop was tucked under his other arm.
I look back at Thomas. He’s on the ground, bleeding from multiple wounds, with Richard standing over him, gun raised for the kill shot.
"TONY!" Katherine screams. "Please! We have to go!"
Thomas mouths two words: "Live free."
Then Richard fires.
I run.
Luca kicks open the bedroom window, the fire escape beyond. Katherine’s already climbing through, with Elliot behind her. I’m following when-
More gunfire. Close... damn too close.
Luca grunts, stumbles. Blood blooms across his shirt - hit in the side. But he keeps moving, keeps pushing us down the fire escape.
Behind us, I hear Richard’s voice: "Kill them! All of them! Make sure no one escapes!"
We’re racing down the fire escape, forty floors of tal stairs spiraling downward. Bullets spark off railings around us. Katherine’s ahead, moving fast, Elliot beside her.
Sirens howling and finally... The FBI, police, and real responders drawn by the genuine firefight.
"Keep going!" I push them faster. "Don’t stop!"
We hit the 35th, 30th, and 25th floors.
More gunshots from above from Richard’s rcenaries on the fire escape behind us.
Luca’s slowing, his blood loss taking its toll. I grab his arm and half-carry him down the stairs.
The 20th floor, the 15th.
I hear helicopters. FBI tactical teams rappelling down from above. Finally, they’re here.
Then-
Smoke grenades explode around us. Gray smoke flooded the fire escape, blinding us.
I lost sight of Katherine as I couldn’t see anything... couldn’t breathe through the smoke.
"Katherine!" I’m screaming her na, reaching for where she should be.
"Tony!" Her voice, muffled, and distant. "I can’t-"
More gunfire was getting closer.
Soone grabs and drags through the smoke. FBI tactical gear. They’re pulling us off the fire escape, through a window, into an apartnt evacuated by civilians.
"Katherine! Where’s Katherine?!"
"We’ve got her! We’ve got her!" An agent yelled in my face. "Everyone’s secure! Stop fighting!"
But I can’t see her, I can’t confirm that she’s safe.
Then the smoke clears slowly.
I’m on the 12th floor, surrounded by FBI agents. Luca beside , dics working on his gunshot wound. Elliot huddled in the corner, his laptop sohow still clutched to his chest.
"Katherine?" My voice is raw.
An agent points out. "There. She’s there."
I see her across the room, wrapped in a shock blanket, dics checking her for injuries. She’s alive and whole. Looking for with the sa desperation I’m feeling.
Our eyes et across the chaos.
Then my phone rings. It’s Morrison.
"Tony." Her voice is shaking. "We breached the 40th floor. Richard Blackwood escaped through the roof via Helicopter extraction. He’s gone." A pause. "We found three bodies. Marco Marvin - deceased. Two unknown - deceased." Her voice breaks. "And your father, Thomas Marvin - he’s in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds. The dics are working on him, but-" She can’t finish.
I can’t breathe.
"He’s alive?" The question cos out strangled.
"Barely. Tony, you need to get to Manhattan General. Now. If you want to-" She stops. "Just get there... fast."
The call ends.
I look at Katherine across the room, at Elliot, and at Luca being loaded onto a stretcher.
My father is dying.
And sowhere in this city, Richard Blackwood is free, already planning his next move.
But right now, all I can think about is getting to the hospital before it’s too late to say goodbye.
And then I heard gunshots, felt sothing by my side, before everything turned to black.
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