Chapter 60 - The Subterranean Descent
"In here!" Alistair called out urgently, his voice cutting through the echoing rattle of gunfire from the ridge above.
He was standing knee-deep in freezing mountain water near the base of a towering granite cliff, pulling aside a heavy, rusted iron grate half-concealed by thick briars and decaying autumn foliage.
Dominic covered their rear as Casey and Julianna dove headfirst into the dark, rectangular opening, the titanium case clutched tightly in Julianna's arms. Alistair slid in next, leaving Dominic to fire a final suppression burst before ducking into the subterranean conduit and pulling the heavy iron gate shut behind them.
The tunnel was pitch black, smelling of damp stone, iron oxide, and stagnant underground water. Dominic flicked on his tactical flashlight, revealing a narrow concrete maintenance walkway running alongside a rushing subterranean stream that drained the mountain's upper springs.
"Where does this lead?" Dominic asked, keeping his weapon raised as they trudged deeper into the cavernous conduit.
"Straight into the belly of the Mount Mansfield facility," Alistair panted softly, adjusting his spectacles as he wiped rain from his forehead. "During the late fifties, the Corps of Engineers connected the regional water table maintenance tunnels directly to the early-warning radar complex. They never bothered to seal them when the base was officially abandoned."
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"Which means we're walking straight into the lion's den," Julianna noted, checking her tablet's battery level in the dim green glow of the screen.
"Better a controlled breach than a firing squad in the woods," Dominic replied evenly. "Stay behind me. If there are automated defenses, we need to disable them before they lock us in."
