Chapter 5: A Dangerous Diversion
Elena slipped off her green rubber cleaning gloves, tucking them into her pocket, and stepped out from the shadow of the pillar, moving silently toward a rusted junction box hanging from the tunnel wall. She grabbed a heavy iron pipe left behind by maintenance workers and struck the metal box with a sharp, echoing clang that reverberated loudly through the subterranean passage. Instantly, the muffled shouts of security guards echoed back from the dark ahead, followed by the hurried splashing of heavy boots running directly toward the sound. A flashlight beam sliced through the darkness, sweeping wildly across the damp walls. Elena ducked low, blending into the dark recesses of a drainage alcove just as two men in black security uniforms rushed past her position.
The guards were cursing loudly, shining their lights into every nook and cranny, completely missing the small figure of Toby huddled behind the concrete pillar a few yards back. Elena waited until their footsteps receded down the branch of the tunnel leading back toward the estate basement before she stood up. She quickly motioned for Toby to follow, moving with urgent, silent strides toward the moonlight filtering through the storm grate near the perimeter fence. The heavy iron grating was rusted around the edges, but a sturdy padlock secured it from the inside. Fortunately, the lock was old and corroded, unlike the industrial security lock she had faced earlier in the wall vent.
Using the iron pipe as a makeshift lever, Elena wedged the end into the rusted shackle and leaned her full body weight against it. The metal groaned in protest, the sound amplified by the enclosed space of the tunnel. Toby watched anxiously, his small hands clasped together in silent prayer. With a sudden, sharp crack, the rusted lock snapped open, falling into the shallow water with a dull splash. Elena pushed the heavy iron grate upward, and a rush of cool, fresh night air flooded into the tunnel. The sweet smell of damp grass and freedom filled their lungs. She hoisted Toby up through the opening, lifting him out onto the dew-soaked lawn of the public park bordering the estate, before hauling herself up behind him into the night.
