Chapter 10 - Into the Deep
We plunged down the concrete stairwell into the damp, labyrinthine tunnels below, the sound of our pursuers fading slightly behind the steady, hollow roar of rushing water.
The drainage tunnel was immense—a vaulted brick-and-concrete conduit built during the early twentieth century, carrying stormwater toward the Potomac. Dim emergency lights flickered at long intervals along the arched ceiling, casting long, eerie shadows across the slick walkways.
We paused behind a thick concrete pillar, listening to the muffled shouts echoing down the stairwell above us.
"They're deploying thermal drones," Ethan muttered, checking the battery on his comms unit. "They know we're in the conduit. We have less than ten minutes before they flood the lower sectors with gas."
"Then we keep moving," I said, catching my breath. I pulled the data logger module Ethan had salvaged from the van out of my pocket, turning it over in my hand. "You got what you needed from the dashboard?"
Ethan nodded, a grim smile touching his lips. "Every transaction, every encrypted IP address, and the master signature of the Director who authorized the Sector Four black-op."
"Whose signature is it, Ethan?" I asked, the weight of the moment pressing down on my chest.
Before Ethan could answer, the beam of a high-intensity tactical flashlight suddenly swept across the tunnel wall fifty yards ahead of us, blocking our path to the exit.
"Well, well, well," a smooth, chillingly familiar voice echoed down the concrete corridor.
May you like
From the shadows stepped a man in an immaculate gray trench coat, flanked by four heavily armed operatives. It wasn't one of the junior contractors. It was General Marcus Vance—the man who had pinned medals on my chest five years ago before signing the manifest that declared me dead.
"I told you, Ethan," General Vance said, resting his hand casually on his holster as he stepped into the flickering light. "Some ghosts are just too stubborn to stay in the ground."
