Chapter 10 - The Ambush at the Clinic
"They're here," Jordan hissed, grabbing his medical bag and pulling Lena toward the basement freight elevator. "The freight lift goes directly to the underground utility tunnel that connects to the old district storm drain."
He hit the call button. The rusted elevator groaned as its counterweights shifted.
Before the metal gate could descend, the heavy steel door to the basement was kicked off its frame. Detective Miller stepped through, his revolver drawn, a bloody bandage taped haphazardly over his broken cheekbone. Behind him were two armed contractors in full tactical gear, their submachine guns raised.
"Step away from the lift, Jordan," Miller barked, his voice raw with venom. "Step away, or I paint this basement with both of you."
Jordan didn't step away. Instead, he shoved Lena hard into the open cage of the freight elevator and pulled the emergency manual override lever inside the frame.
"Jordan, don't!" Lena screamed, grabbing at the iron mesh door as it slammed shut between them.
"Take the tunnel to the harbor docks, Lena! Pier 42! Victoria’s old partner is waiting!" Jordan yelled, turning his back to the elevator and facing Miller's team.
Miller didn't hesitate. He raised his revolver and fired three consecutive rounds.
Jordan collapsed against the elevator grate, his blood spraying through the diamond-patterned mesh onto Lena's face and clothes. With his dying breath, Jordan reached out and severed the external power junction with a steel prybar, locking the elevator into a one-way downward descent.
"No!" Lena cried, her voice cracking as the lift plummeted into the pitch-black utility shaft.
Above her, Miller cursed violently, firing two rounds down through the elevator roof. The bullets ricocheted off the iron cables with deafening clangs, throwing sparks into the darkness, but the elevator had already dropped out of his line of sight.
The cage hit the bottom of the shaft with a bone-jarring crash. The emergency springs absorbed the impact, throwing Lena to the damp concrete floor.
She lay there for a second, surrounded by absolute silence save for the distant rush of subterranean water. Her face was smeared with Jordan's blood; her heart thrashed against her ribs like a trapped bird.
May you like
Slowly, she pushed herself up. The files and the thermal container were intact in her hands.
Ahead of her lay the arched brick tunnel of the storm drain, illuminated only by the faint glow of maintenance bulbs spaced fifty yards apart. She wiped the tears and blood from her eyes with her sleeve, gripped the evidence tighter, and stepped forward into the cold, dark depths beneath the city.
