Chapter 5 - Blood in the Sub-Basement
Down in the concrete bowels of the building, the red emergency lights flickered and died, plunging the corridor into pitch blackness broken only by the muzzle flashes of suppressed pistols.
Bang. Bang.
Two professional killers hit the concrete floor before they even realized where the shots were coming from.
Lorenzo moved like a ghost through his own nightmare. He didn't rush. Every step was calculated, economical, and lethal. Beside him, Frankie and Dante provided suppressive fire, chewing up the concrete pillars as enemy rounds chipped away at the stone.
Evelyn crouched behind a heavy industrial laundry bin, her hands clamped over her ears, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. This wasn't a movie. This wasn't Cicero television. The smell of cordite, copper, and warm blood was thick enough to choke on.
“Stay down, kid,” Dante growled, shoving a fresh magazine into his Glock with a sharp click. “If you pop your head up, you’re decorative.”
“I’m not staying anywhere!” Evelyn yelled back over the ringing in her ears. She grabbed a heavy steel wrench left behind by a building maintenance worker on top of the bin. “Your exit route up the freight elevator is wired with a motion-sensor claymore! I saw the contractor install it three days ago when they renovated the kitchen!”
Lorenzo paused, spinning around in the dim light. His dark eyes locked onto hers across the aisle of industrial washers. “A claymore? Are you certain?”
“Positive! The technician called it a ‘party favor’ for the wedding night!” Evelyn scrambled out from behind the bin, her eyes burning with fierce determination. “If you take that elevator, you’re confetti. But if you take the steam-tunnel maintenance hatch behind the boiler room, you come up right inside the old Chicago River pumping station two blocks down. Unwatched. Unsecured.”
Lorenzo stared at her for one long, eternal second. Then, a slow, terrifying smile touched the corner of his mouth.
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“You’re wasted as a waitress, Evelyn Carter,” he said softly.
He raised his weapon, fired three rapid shots down the dark corridor—dropping another mercenary as he rounded the corner—and grabbed Evelyn by the wrist. “Show me the tunnel.”
