Chapter 14
In the absolute darkness of the sub-level chamber, tactical training took over entirely. Shouts echoed off the concrete walls as the security operatives scrambled to reacquire their targets through the blinding dust cloud. Marcus dropped low, rolling beneath the rusted steel desk just as a volley of suppressed gunfire chewed through the wooden surface above him, showering him in splinters.
Elena moved like a phantom through the shadows. Utilizing her knowledge of the room's layout, she closed the distance on the nearest operative, swept his legs out from under him, and disarmed him with a fluid, devastating joint lock before he could adjust his weapon sights.
"Marcus, move!" she called out sharply, grabbing the fallen operative's encrypted radio comms unit from his tactical vest.
Marcus scrambled out from beneath the desk, his shoulder flaring with sharp pain from the impact, but adrenaline kept the injury at bay. Together, they sprinted toward the narrow maintenance shaft that led back up to the upper levels, diving into the vertical pipe just as Grant managed to recover his footing and fire a warning shot down the corridor.
They climbed the vertical ladder with frantic, desperate speed, their boots slamming against the rungs as they ascended level by level, leaving the dark, stagnant air of the sub-level behind. Bursting through the heavy access grate behind the barracks, they broke out into the cool, pre-dawn air of the main facility compound.
The eastern sky was just beginning to streak with a pale, bruised violet light. The surrounding watchtowers were dark, but the automated perimeter alarms were beginning to chime a low, persistent warning tone across the complex network.
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"We need to get to the comms relay tower on the roof," Marcus panted, wiping sweat and dust from his forehead with the back of his grappling glove. "If we broadcast the audit file on an open military emergency frequency before the system locks us out, the oversight committee won't be able to bury it."
"Move," Elena commanded, already sprinting toward the exterior stairwell leading to the roof.
