Chapter 11
The sharp, high-voltage crackle of the taser cutting through the damp air sent a shiver down Julian’s spine. The blue electrical arc illuminated Marcus’s silhouette as he rounded the concrete pillar, his heavy tactical vest and dark uniform standing out starkly against the dull grey walls.
Marcus raised his weapon, the laser sight painting a bright red dot directly against Julian’s chest. "End of the line, Julian. Drop to your knees and put your hands behind your back."
Julian didn't drop. Instead, with a sudden, explosive motion, he reached out and grabbed the heavy black transmitter box off the wall junction, ripping its cables free in a shower of blue sparks. He hurled the heavy metal housing directly at Marcus’s face.
Marcus cursed, instinctively ducking to avoid the flying missile. The box shattered against the concrete floor behind him, but the distraction was enough. Julian lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into Marcus’s midsection and driving the security officer backward against the corrugated pipe wall.
The taser discharged wildly into the ceiling, sending a blinding spray of blue sparks down onto the wet floor. Marcus grunted, swinging the heavy butt of the weapon toward Julian’s head, but Julian ducked under the blow and delivered a sharp, concentrated strike to Marcus’s solar plexus.
Marcus stumbled backward, gasping for air, his tactical flashlight clattering onto the concrete and rolling into the shadows.
"Clara, run!" Julian shouted over the scuffle, grabbing Marcus by the collar and driving him down onto the wet floor.
Clara didn't hesitate. Ignoring the searing pain in her ankle, she pushed off the concrete pillar and began hobbling as fast as she could down the dark tunnel in the direction opposite the approaching security team, using the faint green emergency lights on the floor as her guide.
Marcus thrashed beneath Julian, his strength returning as he managed to pin one of Julian’s arms behind his back. "You absolute fool," Marcus choked out, pressing his forearm against Julian’s windpipe. "You think you can fight the entire corporate security apparatus?"
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Julian struggled for air, his vision beginning to blur at the edges as pressure mounted on his neck. With his free hand, he groped blindly across the wet concrete until his fingers brushed against the metal casing of the shattered transmitter box. Finding a jagged edge of exposed copper wire, Julian jammed it directly against Marcus’s tactical vest’s battery pack.
A violent, blinding flash of short-circuiting electricity illuminated the entire tunnel, accompanied by a loud pop and a sharp smell of ozone. Marcus stiffened instantly, his eyes rolling back as the electrical feedback knocked him unconscious.
