Chapter 13 - Under the City
Beneath the paved streets of Seattle lay a forgotten network of subterranean tunnels—remnants of the Great Fire of 1889, where brick archways and rusted steam pipes ran like veins through the city’s underbelly.
The four siblings walked in single file through the damp darkness, illuminated only by the tactical lights mounted on Tristan’s rifle and Cole’s shotgun. Julian Vance stumbled ahead of them, gagged with heavy tape, his hands bound behind his back, propelled forward by Tristan’s iron grip.
""How much further?"" Elena whispered, shivering in the damp, subterranean chill. Her injuries were taking their toll; her face was pale, and every breath rattled in her chest.
""Two hundred yards,"" Clara answered without hesitating. She moved through the maze of abandoned brick cellars with total confidence. ""The tunnel terminates right beneath the Fairmont’s primary service pantry. My foster father used to smuggle machine parts through here when the longshoremen went on strike.""
Leo checked his handheld monitor. ""Victor Vance has forty private security guards deployed across the mezzanine. He’s taking no chances. The moment we breach the service doors, we’ll trigger internal sensors.""
""Let them trigger,"" Cole said, adjusting his blood-soaked bandage. ""Tristan, you take the sound booth above the ballroom. Kill their audio, feed Leo’s drive onto the main projection screens.""
""Consider it done,"" Tristan nodded.
""Elena, Clara, you stay behind me until the room is contained,"" Cole continued, looking at both of his sisters. ""No heroics. We expose Victor, we break his hold, and we walk out.""
""And what about him?"" Elena asked, glancing back at Julian.
Julian glared at her with pure venom, his eyes bloodshot, muffled curses dying behind the thick tape on his mouth.
Cole stepped in front of Julian, grabbing him by the lapels of his ruined tuxedo. ""Julian is our insurance policy. Victor Vance sacrificed his own son the moment he sent him to that diner. Let’s see if he’s willing to pull the trigger himself.""
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Clara stopped in front of a rusted iron ladder leading up to a heavy steel trapdoor. ""This is it. The service pantry right behind the banquet stage.""
Cole racked his shotgun. ""Time to collect the family debt.""
