Chapter 34 - Blood on the Hudson
Eleanor hit the marble foyer of St. Jude’s like an incoming storm.
Two tactical guards guarding the entrance never had a chance. Julian took the first one down with a double-tap to the center mass through the cracked entrance glass, while Eleanor stepped over the shattered frame, her ivory suit catching the red reflection of the emergency beacons.
"Leo!" her voice echoed through the vaulted, church-like hallways of the academy.
From the top of the central grand staircase, Leo came sliding down the mahogany banister, hitting the landing in a clean roll. "Mom! Fourth floor—two more mercenaries and Dr. Evans. Evans activated the Cerberus Protocol!"
"Get behind me, Leo," Eleanor commanded, her voice dropping into an icy register that brooked no argument.
Automatic gunfire raked the plaster above their heads, sending dust and centuries-old masonry raining down. Julian returned fire with clinical precision, keeping the stairwell pinned while Eleanor pushed Leo through the administrative corridor toward the rear faculty exit.
"Julian, flank through the gymnasium!" Eleanor shouted, firing two suppressive shots toward the upper mezzanine as another operative appeared with a carbine. Her shot struck the shooter’s shoulder, sending him tumbling over the balustrade into the foyer below.
They burst out into the rear alleyway behind the school, rain lashing against the pavement. Their armored Suburban was idling, but another black van skidded around the corner, attempting to block the alley's exit.
"Get in!" Eleanor shoved Leo into the floorboard of the back seat. Julian sprinted into the driver's seat, threw the vehicle into reverse, slammed hard into a parked delivery van to create an opening, and spun the steering wheel into a violent J-turn.
Tires screamed as they rocketed out onto the West Side Highway, the black van pursuing them inches from their rear bumper. Muzzle flashes lit up the side mirrors as bullets pinged off the Suburban's armored plating.
"They're matching our speed!" Julian yelled, gripping the wheel as the Hudson River churned gray and violent to their left.
"Give me the wheel," Eleanor said. She climbed between the front seats, pulled the emergency handbrake at precisely eighty miles per hour as Julian hit the gas, sending the rear of their heavy SUV swerving violently into the pursuer's front quarter panel.
The black van lost traction on the wet asphalt, flipped twice through the air, and smashed through the highway guardrail, plunging into the icy depths of the Hudson River.
Inside the quiet cabin of the Suburban, Eleanor breathed heavily, her hands shaking slightly as she turned back to her son. She checked his face, his hands, his pulse. "Are you hurt, Leo?"
"I’m fine," Leo said, his eyes wide but steady. He pulled Marcus Evans's cracked encrypted phone from his jacket pocket. "I took this off Marcus before I flashed him. Mom... the Cerberus Protocol wasn't sent from Manhattan. The routing node originated from the Vatican Bank in Rome. And the sender's alias isn't Arthur."
Eleanor stared at the glowing screen. "Who is it?"
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"It’s signed... *The Cardinal*."
***
