Outside the vault, the air was thick with the smell of ozone and industrial coolant. The Black Skull operatives had set up a heavy-duty tripod holding a condensed nitro-thermal drill. The machine wailed, its diamond-tipped bit glowing white-hot as it bit into the 75cm-thick reinforced tungsten-carbide door.
"Hey, Ethan! Come out now and we won't hurt you!" one of the mercenaries shouted, his voice echoing through the ventilation slats. "Or maybe just a little! But if you make us wait until we crack this thing open, you're going to wish you were never born, you son of a bitch!"
Inside the vault, the girls and Jason watched the external feed on a small, flickering monitor.
"Why do they think Ethan is in here with us?" Cassandra whispered, her voice trembling as she handed Jason a bottle of water.
Lena was busy pouring antiseptic over Jason's shoulder wound, her hands steady despite the chaos. "Don't move, Jason. I need to stop this bleeding," Lena said.
