Chapter 5 - Out of the Ashes
The explosion blew the heavy iron grate into the dark subterranean water line, sending a shockwave that threw them against the concrete floor. Val grabbed Mia, wrapping his jacket over her head, and pulled Sarah toward the gaping hole as gray mist swirled down from the ceiling vents.
They dropped into two feet of rushing storm runoff. The air was foul and damp, but breathable. Silas followed closely behind, coughing violently and clutching his bruised ribs. Above them, alarms wailed faintly across the vast estate grounds, drowned out by the rumbling thunder of an approaching storm.
They moved in silence through the dark tunnels beneath the estate, guided only by the narrow beam of Val’s weapon light. Mia clung to her father’s chest without a sound, her little eyes wide with terrified discipline. She had been trained since infancy for nights like this.
“The tunnel drains into the ravine behind the vineyard,” Silas whispered from behind. “From there, we have a safehouse four miles west.”
“No safehouses,” Val murmured, his voice cold as the runoff water soaking their knees. “If Declan compromised the inner mainframe, every safehouse in the city is already staked out. We go to the old harbor.”
May you like
“The docks are controlled by the Russian syndicate,” Sarah pointed out, shivering in her soaked uniform. “They hate you as much as Declan does.”
Val stopped at the rusty iron ladder leading up to the forest floor. He turned his head slightly, his profile carved out of darkness. “They hate me, Sarah. But they fear me. There is a difference.”
