Chapter 7 - The Mechanical Advantage
The smoke in the garage grew incredibly thick, burning their eyes and lungs.
Elias knew they had only a few minutes before the toxic fumes completely suffocated them.
He rushed over to the hydraulic lift, searching desperately for a manual override valve.
Nakia crawled across the floor beneath the smoke, handing him a heavy steel wrench.
She pointed to a rusted release valve hidden beneath the main hydraulic fluid reservoir.
Elias gripped the wrench and pulled with every ounce of his massive strength.
The rusted metal screamed in protest, but the valve finally turned with a harsh crack.
The heavy steel platform slowly began to rise, revealing a dark, gaping hole in the concrete floor.
Alexei provided cover fire, shooting blindly at the silhouettes moving through the smoke outside.
"Go down first," Elias shouted to Nakia, pushing her gently toward the dark tunnel.
She climbed down the rusted ladder, dropping safely into the damp, echoing storm drain below.
Alexei was about to follow her when a sniper bullet pierced the thin steel shutter of the window.
The high-caliber round struck Alexei directly in the shoulder, spinning him violently to the ground.
Elias grabbed the wounded scout by his collar and dragged him toward the open hatch.
He practically threw Alexei down the hole, making sure Nakia caught him at the bottom.
Elias turned back to lay down suppressing fire, emptying his final magazine toward the doorway.
Marcus stepped through the smoke, wearing a heavy tactical vest and holding an assault rifle.
He saw Elias standing near the open hatch and smiled with cold, victorious malice.
Marcus raised his rifle and fired a short, controlled burst directly at his former boss.
Elias threw his body backward toward the hole, but a searing pain ripped through his side.
A bullet had grazed his ribs, tearing through muscle and sending a shockwave of agony through his torso.
He tumbled down the dark shaft, crashing heavily onto the cold, wet concrete of the storm drain.
Nakia screamed his name, rushing over to press her hands desperately against his bleeding side.
Elias looked up toward the bright square of the open hatch above them.
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Marcus's face appeared in the opening, looking down into the darkness.
He casually pulled the pin from a fragmentation grenade and dropped it straight down the shaft.
