Chapter 10
The rhythmic echo of heavy boots struck the concrete floor of the utility tunnel, growing louder with every passing second. The sound wasn't coming from the ladder they had just descended, but from deeper within the subterranean labyrinth ahead, blocking their only apparent path of escape.
"Someone's coming," Clara whispered, her hand tightening reflexively around Julian’s arm. She winced as the movement aggravated her sprained wrist, biting back a sharp cry of pain.
Julian quickly clicked off the tactical flashlight, plunging them back into near-total darkness save for the faint, pulsing green glow of the data transmitter box on the wall. He guided Clara behind the thick concrete support pillar, pressing her back against the rough surface and stepping in front of her to block any line of sight from the approaching footsteps.
"Stay behind me and don't make a sound," Julian murmured, his hand slipping inside his suit jacket to check for anything he could use as a defense. His fingers brushed against a heavy metal pen in his breast pocket—hardly a weapon, but better than nothing.
The footsteps slowed, stopping about twenty yards away from their hiding spot. A bright beam of a high-intensity industrial flashlight swept across the opposite wall, painting the corrugated pipes in harsh white light. The beam drifted closer, illuminating the stagnant water on the floor and slowly climbing the concrete pillar just inches from where Julian stood.
"I know you're down here, Julian," a voice called out through the damp air. It wasn't Walter. It was a younger, sharper voice—the facility’s chief security officer, Marcus, whom Julian had briefly met during the initial compliance briefing two weeks ago. "You can't outrun the internal tracking system. The whole sub-basement is monitored by motion sensors."
Julian didn't answer. He kept his breathing slow and controlled, willing his heart rate to drop so the sound wouldn't give away their position.
"Save yourself the trouble," Marcus continued, his footsteps resuming at a slow, deliberate pace. "Walter wants you alive, but he didn't specify how many bones you need to have intact when you get back upstairs. Step out with your hands on your head."
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The flashlight beam swept across the floor again, stopping directly on the edge of Julian’s polished leather shoe protruding from behind the pillar. Marcus’s footsteps stopped dead.
"Found you," Marcus muttered. The sound of a heavy-duty taser clicking to life echoed sharply down the narrow concrete corridor.
