Chapter 5 - The Oxygen Trap
The digital clock on the vault wall began ticking down from ten minutes.
My mother’s cruel laughter echoed through the confined space, making my skin crawl.
"We tracked the burner phone the lawyer gave you," she explained casually.
"The vault will automatically extract all the oxygen in exactly nine minutes."
I pounded my fists against the thick titanium door, screaming for help.
I knew no one could hear me in the subterranean depths of the bank.
I rushed back to the safety deposit box and frantically searched the remaining contents.
Beneath the stack of emergency cash, I found a heavy tungsten tactical pen that Ethan must have left for self-defense.
I looked up at the reinforced air ventilation grate near the ceiling.
I dragged the heavy metal viewing table across the floor and climbed on top of it.
I used the tungsten pen to aggressively unscrew the bolts holding the heavy grate in place.
My lungs were already beginning to burn as the oxygen levels visibly dropped in the room.
With exactly two minutes left on the clock, the metal grate finally gave way and crashed to the floor.
I pulled myself up into the narrow, dusty ventilation shaft just as the vault’s extraction fans roared to life.
I crawled blindly through the dark, tight space, ignoring the sharp metal edges tearing at my clothes.
I followed the faint glow of moonlight leaking through a distant exhaust vent.
I kicked the exhaust louver out with both feet and tumbled roughly into a damp alleyway.
I gasped for the fresh, wet air, feeling tears of pure survival mix with the dirt on my face.
I had escaped the trap, but I was entirely alone with no money and a cartel hunting me.
The burner phone in my pocket vibrated violently.
I answered it, expecting to hear Arthur or my mother again.
May you like
Instead, a deep, raspy voice spoke from the other end of the line.
"I am the man your father hired to cut your brakes, Maya, and I want to make a deal."
