Chapter 11 - The Shower of Sparks
The cascade of glowing orange sparks lit up the dark elevator shaft like a canopy of fireworks, casting flickering, demonic shadows against the concrete walls. Clara shielded her face with her ruined red dress, coughing as the acrid smell of burning insulation filled the cramped cab. Above her, the muffled sound of shouting and a violent scuffle echoed down from the hallway floor.
“You’re going down, Vance!” Miller’s voice roared through the open doors, followed by the heavy thud of a body slamming against the marble tiles.
Clara peered up through the narrow gap between the doors just in time to see Miller wrestling the heavy detective to the floor, their limbs entangling amidst the glittering shards of broken glass. Elena stood frozen in the background, her golden gown catching the flickering light as she frantically dialed a burner phone with trembling, manicured fingers.
“Marcus, it’s over, Miller caught Vance!” Elena screamed into the receiver, her carefully maintained composure finally shattering into hysterical tears.
Clara gripped the rusted iron cable tighter, her bleeding palms stinging fiercely as she used the tension to hoist herself upward toward the ceiling hatch of the elevator cab. If she could reach the maintenance catwalk, she could bypass the locked doors and access the master control room where the federal audit files were safely mirrored.
“Not so fast, Clara,” a cold voice whispered from the darkness directly above her head on the catwalk.
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Clara froze, her heart stopping dead in her chest as a pair of polished black leather shoes stepped smoothly onto the metal grating right above the hatch.
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