Chapter 26
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The silenced gunfire ripped through the basement, striking sparks against the reinforced iron door. The tactical squad moving through the flooded corridor was highly trained, advancing in a staggered formation that left no blind spots.
Samuel crouched behind a tipped-over filing cabinet, checking his magazine. "I've got six rounds left. Laura, how are you looking?"
"Two full clips," Detective Bennett replied, wiping a smear of blood from a graze on her cheek. "But we can't win a sustained firefight in a chokepoint. They have heavy body armor. My standard-issue rounds won't pierce center mass."
Richard looked frantically around the small, windowless room. The ceiling was low, composed of heavy brick archways. "There has to be a secondary ventilation shaft. This room was designed for long-term document storage. It needs airflow to prevent mold."
Vivienne crawled along the floor, staying below the line of fire. She ran her hands along the damp stone wall near the floorboards. Behind a stack of rotting cardboard boxes, her fingers brushed against a cold, rusted iron grate.
"Here!" Vivienne shouted over the deafening crack of gunfire. "I found an old coal chute!"
"Help me pull it open!" Richard yelled, sliding over to her.
Together, they gripped the rusted iron bars and pulled with all their strength. The metal shrieked, resisting for a terrifying moment before the ancient bolts snapped. The grate pulled free, revealing a narrow, angled tunnel leading up into the darkness.
"Go! Go!" Samuel ordered, laying down suppressive fire toward the hallway. "I'll hold them off!"
"We are not leaving you behind!" Laura yelled, grabbing Samuel by the collar of his coat.
"Get in the chute, Detective!" Samuel roared. "That's an order!"
Vivienne scrambled into the narrow tunnel first, clutching the heavy Protocol Omega ledger to her chest. The stone was slick with algae and freezing water. She dragged herself upward, her elbows scraping painfully against the rough brick.
Richard followed closely behind her.
Outside in the flooded corridor, a heavily armored enforcer threw a silver canister into the room.
"Flashbang!" Laura screamed.
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A blinding white light and a deafening concussion rocked the tiny basement room. The sound echoed up the coal chute, disorienting Vivienne and Richard. When the ringing in their ears finally subsided, they heard the heavy boots of the enforcers stepping into the room.
But Laura and Samuel were already in the chute, scrambling frantically up into the dark.
