Part 13 — The Final Sacrifice
The echo of gunshots thundered off the steep sandstone walls of the quarry. The water in the deep basin splashed wildly as stray bullets struck the surface.
Elias moved with the lethal precision that had once made Viktor Kroll the most feared man in the underworld, yet driven by the protective love of Elias Vermeer. He fired two aimed shots. The two mercenaries beside Voss collapsed before they could fully raise their weapons.
Voss, blood pouring from his broken nose, scrambled frantically across the wet gravel to reach the dropped remote control.
“Julian! Get Elena!” Elias yelled, cutting off Voss's path.
Julian sprinted through the muzzle flashes toward the wooden post, pulled a pocket knife from his jacket, and began frantically cutting through the thick ropes binding Elena.
Voss grabbed the remote control. His face contorted into a grotesque mask of pure hatred. “If I don't get rich, nobody leaves here alive!” he roared, slamming his thumb onto the red button.
A deep, rumbling groan vibrated through the foundation of the quarry.
It wasn't Elena's chair that exploded—Elias had already disarmed that explosive charge thirty minutes prior while secretly scouting the quarry. But Anouk's old charges deep inside the rock fissures of the north wall detonated.
A deafening explosion tore open the silence of the night. Cracks webbed through the sandstone above them at terrifying speed. Tons of rock detached from the cliffside, crashing into the water basin with tremendous force. A massive tidal wave of freezing water and mud surged over the bank.
“The cliff is coming down! Get out!” Elias roared.
Julian severed the final rope. Elena collapsed forward, but Julian caught her and held her up. Together, they ran toward the narrow exit path leading out of the quarry.
Voss pulled himself up, driven mad by defeat. He drew a concealed derringer pistol from his sleeve and aimed it directly at Julian's back.
“If your father ruined me, the son pays!” Voss screamed.
Elias caught the movement in the corner of his eye. Time seemed to slow down for him. He saw the gun in Voss's hand. He saw Julian's unsuspecting back as he pulled Elena up the incline.
In that fraction of a second, there was no longer any doubt. No conflict between Viktor Kroll and Elias Vermeer. There was only the duty of a father.
Elias threw himself between the gun and his son.
The shot cracked.
The bullet struck Elias square in the chest. The impact was like being hit by a sledgehammer. He stumbled backward, but he didn't fall. With one final, superhuman effort, he grabbed Voss by the lapels of his coat and dragged the screaming doctor backward over the edge of the embankment.
Together, they plunged into the churning, black water of the basin, just as a colossal boulder detached from the north wall and buried the spot where they fell under tons of rock.
“DAD!” Julian screamed, the cry tearing through his throat.
He tried to rush back, wanting to tear away the stones with his bare hands, but Elena grabbed his arm with all her strength.
“No, Julian! It's too late! The whole cliff is collapsing!” she cried through her tears. “He gave his life so you could live! Run!”
A second rockslide buried the headlights of the sedans. Darkness swallowed the quarry. Julian allowed Elena to pull him up the slope as behind them, the quarry of Bad Bentheim turned into an eternal tomb of water and stone.
The sounds of the collapse slowly faded. Only the patter of the rain remained.
Beneath the rubble, deep in the cold, dark water, lay Elias.
Water filled his lungs; the pain in his chest gradually faded into a numb stillness. His eyes were open, looking up through the black depths toward the night sky, where the clouds parted for a brief moment to reveal a single, brilliantly shining star.
In his final breaths, visions rose before his mind's eye.
Not the penthouse in Zurich. Not the violent acts of Viktor Kroll.
He saw Anna. She stood on a wide, sunlit beach, the wind blowing her blonde hair across her face, extending her hand toward him.
“You made it, Elias,” he heard her voice in his mind. “You died as the man I loved.”
A peaceful smile touched the lips of the dying man. Elias Vermeer closed his eyes.
The monster was dead. The accountant had come home.
