Chapter 14 - THE SUBTERRANEAN CROSSFIRE AND THE ESCAPE TUNNEL
Before the heavy armored sedan could come to a complete, skidding stop against the concrete median, two masked men leaped out from behind the stalled utility truck, raising heavy automatic weapons toward the windshield.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A volley of high-caliber rounds slammed violently against the reinforced bulletproof glass of the Mercedes, starring the dark laminate into web-like patterns of white fractures without piercing through.
“Get down on the floor, miss!” the driver yelled, throwing the transmission into reverse with desperate speed as sparks showered across the hood from a secondary burst of gunfire.
“I can’t let them take the case!” Sophie shouted over the deafening roar of ricocheting bullets inside the enclosed concrete tunnel.
Adrenaline surged through her veins, overriding every vestige of fear.
She unclipped the steel chain securing the leather briefcase from her wrist with trembling fingers, but instead of cowering beneath the seat, she jammed her hand into her jacket pocket, pulled out the heavy brass emergency key ring Luca had given her just twenty minutes ago, and searched frantically for the tag labeled ‘Lower Wacker Maintenance Access’.
“Miller, cover the rear!” the driver screamed as a heavy round punched clean through the side door panel, showering the cabin with shards of metal and fiberglass.
“We’re boxed in! The utility truck has us pinned against the wall!”
“Shoot back!” Miller ordered, rolling down his window three inches and returning fire with precise, controlled shots that forced the masked attackers to dive behind the concrete barrier of the pillar.
“Sophie, move! Now!”
Miller kicked open the rear passenger door on the opposite side of the incoming fire, shielding her body with his own broad shoulders as bullets whined off the exterior metal frame of the car.
“Through that door!” Miller pointed toward a rusted, heavy iron maintenance hatch set directly into the damp tile wall of the tunnel, marked with a faded yellow warning symbol.
Sophie didn't hesitate.
She gripped the leather briefcase tightly to her chest, lunged out of the car, and sprinted across the wet concrete through a hail of flying debris.
Her fingers flew to the key ring, sliding the heavy brass skeleton key into the rusted padlock of the maintenance hatch.
Click.
The lock sprang open.
May you like
She hauled the heavy iron door outward just as a bullet struck the brickwork an inch from her ear, sending stone chips spraying into her hair.
“Go, go, go!” Miller yelled, firing his final magazine down the corridor to cover her entry before diving backward into the dark tunnel behind her and slamming the heavy iron door shut, throwing the interior deadbolts into place just as a barrage of heavy fists hammered furiously against the exterior steel.
