Chapter 10
The flow of passengers split into two currents as they entered the main concourse of Concourse C, some heading toward baggage claim while others hurried toward connecting gates. Elena grabbed Maya’s small hand firmly, her grip tight enough to ensure the girl wouldn't get swept away in the dense crowd of travelers rushing through the terminal. “Keep your head down and keep moving,” Elena murmured, quickening her pace as they wove expertly between groups of tourists and businessmen dragging heavy luggage. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the two men in dark coats peel away from the arrival board and begin walking briskly in their direction, their eyes locked onto Elena’s grey suit jacket. Panic threatened to override her professional detachment, but she forced her breathing to remain slow and steady, channeling years of corporate crisis management into sheer survival instinct. “They’re behind us, aren’t they?” Maya asked without looking back, her voice remarkably calm for a nine-year-old child being pursued by corporate operatives. “Yes,” Elena replied tersely. “We need to lose them before we reach the main atrium.” Spotting a set of double doors marked Authorized Personnel Only leading toward the baggage service corridors, Elena didn't hesitate. She pushed the heavy metal bar on the door with her hip, pulling Maya through just as one of the men in the dark coats called out her name from twenty yards back. The door clicked shut behind them with a heavy, satisfying thud, plunging them into a quiet, industrial labyrinth of concrete walls, humming utility pipes, and flickering fluorescent lights far away from the polished terrazzo floors of the public terminal.
