“They are too proud to work together,” Marcus said, his footsteps getting louder.

“They would rather burn the city than share it.”

“You underestimate them,” I said.

“They hate each other, but they hate losing more.”

I lifted the fire extinguisher off its hook.

It was incredibly heavy, straining the muscles in my arms.

“Find her,” Marcus told the guard with the light.

The beam of light hit my face, blinding me for a second.

The guard lunged forward, his hand outstretched to grab my collar.

I swung the heavy iron cylinder with both hands.

It connected with the guard’s collarbone with a dull, sickening crack.

The guard groaned and stumbled backward, dropping the flashlight.

The flashlight rolled across the floor, illuminating the hallway in spinning arcs of white light.

I grabbed the flashlight before it stopped rolling and scrambled down the hallway, away from the vault.

“Get her!” Marcus screamed.

A gunshot echoed in the confined space, the sound deafeningly loud.

The bullet chipped the brick near my ear, showering my shoulder with plaster dust.

I ran toward the storage rooms at the far end of the basement.