Chapter 235

• GUSTAVO
• ~•~
• I moved through the smoke-filled corridors with the same steady pace I had used in every fight before this one. The air stayed thick with gunpowder and the sharp smell of fresh blood. My soldiers fought hard around me. Shouts bounced off the high walls. Bullets cracked through the hallways. Bodies dropped on the marble and the wide staircases. I kept my pistol raised and my steps even. I did not run. I did not duck. I simply kept going forward. Each room we cleared brought another short burst of violence. My men kicked open doors and returned fire clean and fast. Guards fell under the weight of our push. Still, every second stretched too long. The resistance came at us with order. Ricci’s men fell back in tight groups. They used the corners and the doorways like they had practiced this exact moment. I felt the trap closing even as we pushed deeper.