Chapter 8 - Fire and Fury
A deafening hiss tore through the kitchen as a massive, blinding cloud of high-pressure dry chemical powder blasted out of the nozzle.
Julian choked, blinded instantly by the dense white fog of ammonium phosphate. The corrosive powder filled his eyes, nose, and lungs. He coughed violently, firing two frantic, wild rounds that ripped through the upper cabinetry, showering the kitchen in broken plates and flying porcelain.
David charged forward through the chemical haze, using the heavy metal canister of the extinguisher like a battering ram. He slammed the full weight of the twenty-pound tank directly into Julian’s chest.
Julian grunted as the breath was violently knocked from his lungs, crashing backward against the center island. The gun slipped from his hand, clattering against the slate floor tiles and sliding under the stainless-steel refrigerator.
David didn't give him a second to recover. He drove his fists into Julian’s jaw with all the fury of a father who had spent twenty-one nights weeping over an empty child’s bed. Julian’s head snapped back, his nose shattering with a crunch. He slumped down against the cabinets, dazed and spitting blood.
David didn’t wait for him to stand. He grabbed the dropped phone from the floor, turned on his heel, and dove feet-first into the laundry chute.
Gravity took him. He plummeted down the smooth metal incline, shooting out into the dim, subterranean chill of the garage storage room, landing hard on a pile of padded blankets and laundry sacks.
“Daddy!” Maya whispered from the shadows. She and Leo were huddled behind a stack of winter tires.
David scrambled to his feet, checking both children frantically. “You okay? Both of you?”
They nodded, clingy and shivering.
David looked around the garage. Julian’s high-end sports car and luxury SUV sat parked on the polished epoxy floor. Above them, the heavy electronic garage doors were dead—locked down by the power cut David had caused upstairs.
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Then, from the ceiling chute above them, came the scraping sound of someone sliding down.
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