Chapter 2 - The Prohibition Tunnels
The sound of shattering glass and splintering wood upstairs meant Sterling's men were tearing the brownstone apart.
Mia clutched Leo tightly to her chest, her heart hammering wildly against her bruised ribs.
Gabriel pressed his back against the steel safe room door, listening intently to the heavy footsteps descending the basement stairs.
"They brought breaching charges," Gabriel whispered, hearing the distinct metallic click of explosives being mounted to the wall.
Marco aimed his pistol at the center of the door, preparing for a suicidal last stand.
Mia's mind raced through the hundreds of property tax files she had meticulously audited for the Romano organization.
"There is an old Prohibition-era bootlegging tunnel beneath this foundation," Mia blurted out suddenly.
Both men turned to look at her in complete disbelief.
"My grandfather sealed those tunnels fifty years ago," Gabriel argued, keeping his weapon raised.
"He sealed the main access points, but he claimed a tax deduction for a specialized drainage pipe installation in nineteen eighty," Mia explained rapidly.
She pointed to a large, rusted iron grate bolted securely to the floor in the darkest corner of the safe room.
Gabriel did not hesitate for a single second.
He holstered his weapon, grabbed a heavy steel crowbar from the emergency supply kit, and drove it under the iron grate.
With a tremendous roar of physical exertion, Gabriel ripped the rusted bolts directly out of the concrete floor.
A dark, damp tunnel smelling of ancient earth and stagnant water was revealed just as a countdown beeped loudly from the door.
Marco shoved Mia and the baby into the dark hole first, instantly followed by Gabriel.
Marco dove into the tunnel just as a massive explosion ripped the titanium safe room door completely off its hinges.
A thick cloud of concrete dust and fire rolled over their heads as they scrambled blindly through the suffocating darkness.
They crawled for what felt like miles until they reached a forgotten maintenance ladder leading up to a city alleyway.
Gabriel pushed the heavy manhole cover aside, allowing the freezing Chicago rain to wash over their exhausted faces.
Marco pulled out his encrypted satellite phone to summon a secure extraction team, but the screen was flashing a bright, blood-red warning.
"Boss, we have a catastrophic problem," Marco said, staring at the digital display in absolute horror.
"The encrypted GPS tracker hidden in Leo's diaper bag wasn't placed there by us."
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Gabriel looked down at the sleeping baby in Mia's arms, realizing the horrifying truth.
Somebody inside Gabriel's own heavily guarded penthouse had sold them out to Damian Sterling.
