Chapter 6 - The Subterranean Map
The yellow beam of Arthur’s penlight swept across a rotting wooden crate resting against the curved brick wall of the storm drain. Arthur motioned for Leo to sit, kneeling down beside the shivering toddler and the brown puppy. The dog had finally stopped trembling, its big dark eyes blinking curiously at the flickering light.
“Listen to me, Leo,” Arthur said, using the boy’s name for the first time. The sound of it in the dark tunnel made the toddler shrink back slightly. “Up there on the surface, every camera on every corner is programmed to look for an oversized jacket and a mismatched pair of socks. They know what you’re wearing.”
Leo looked down at his dirty sleeves. He slowly unzipped the stiff zipper a few inches, exposing the thin cotton shirt underneath, which was stained with mud and old food. “Can I take it off?”
“Not yet,” Arthur warned, shaking his head. “The wind down here bites harder than you think, and that dog needs your body heat just as much as you need his. But we do need to change your trail.”
Arthur reached into his deep trench coat and pulled out a rolled-up blueprint of the city’s ancient sewer system, spreading it across the rotting wooden crate. The paper was yellowed with age, crisscrossed with faded red ink markings and handwritten notes in the margins.
“See this red line?” Arthur tapped a fingernail against a tunnel branching off toward the financial district. “This leads straight beneath the central bank. It’s an old escape route built during the prohibition era. Nobody uses it anymore—except for the rats and the people who want to stay invisible.”
Leo leaned over the map, pointing a dirty finger at a small star drawn near the riverbank. “Does this go to my house?”
Arthur hesitated, his weathered face softening for a split second before hardening again. “That house doesn’t exist anymore, kid. The fire took care of the physical address. Right now, your house is wherever you can lay your head without someone trying to steal that gold pin.”
“Why do they want it so bad?” Leo asked softly, resting his chin on the puppy’s head. “It’s just a piece of shiny metal.”
“That piece of shiny metal is the only legal proof that the mayor’s foundation looted the city pension fund to build his private estate,” a crisp, familiar voice echoed from the dark tunnel behind them.
May you like
Both Arthur and Leo spun around. Out of the shadows stepped Councilwoman Evelyn Vance, her navy blazer soaked at the hem from wading through the lower drain pipes, holding a heavy iron crowbar in her right hand.
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