Chapter 6: Ambush in the Rust**
“Take Lily through the drainage pipe behind the engine racks!” Marcus hissed, shoving Julian toward the back emergency hatch. “It leads straight to the railway corridor. Go!”
“I’m not leaving you behind again, Marc,” Julian protested, refusing to budge.
“You’re protecting your daughter! Now move!”
The heavy metal door of the office buckled violently inward with a deafening crash. Victor Cole stepped through the doorway, flanked by two armed men in plain tactical gear. Without saying a word, Cole raised a suppressed sidearm.
Marcus fired two rounds into the doorframe, forcing the intruders to dive behind heavy tool cabinets. The sharp crack of gunfire reverberated painfully within the confined space.
Julian grabbed Lily, shielding her small frame with his entire body as shards of glass rained down from the shattered office windows. He kicked open the rusted back hatch, lowering Lily into the concrete conduit below.
“Dad! Come on!” Lily screamed over the gunfire.
Julian dropped into the narrow tunnel just as a bullet sparked against the concrete lip above his head. Looking back through the opening, he saw Marcus take down one of the gunmen before being tackled against the metal worktable.
“Run, Jules!” Marcus roared from the shadows. “Don’t stop until you reach the vault!”
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With a heavy heart and gritted teeth, Julian pulled the heavy steel grate shut over the pipe, sealing the tunnel as footsteps pounded above them on the metal roof.
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