Chapter 8 - The Tunnel Escape
The small metal grenade bounced off the sides of the shaft, echoing like a death knell in the dark.
Elias completely ignored his bleeding wound and grabbed Nakia by the waist.
He shoved her and Alexei violently around the curved corner of the concrete storm drain.
He threw his own body on top of them just as the grenade detonated in the tunnel behind them.
The deafening explosion shook the earth, raining dust and chunks of concrete down on their heads.
The blast completely collapsed the entrance to the shaft, burying the ladder under tons of rubble.
They were trapped in the dark sewer, but they were finally safe from Marcus's immediate line of fire.
Elias groaned in pain, clutching his bleeding side as he struggled to sit up in the dirty water.
Nakia tore the sleeve of her oversized sweater and tied it tightly around his torso to stem the bleeding.
Her hands were shaking, but her eyes were filled with a fierce, determined strength.
Elias looked at her, realizing that his feelings for this woman went far beyond simple possession or jealousy.
He was hopelessly, deeply in love with the maid who refused to take his nonsense.
Alexei leaned heavily against the tunnel wall, clutching his shattered shoulder in agony.
He told them the storm drain eventually emptied out near the industrial harbor docks.
They began a slow, agonizing march through the pitch-black, waist-deep water.
Elias leaned heavily on Nakia's shoulder, his strength slowly failing as he lost more blood.
She whispered encouraging words to him, refusing to let him close his eyes or give up.
After an hour of grueling walking, they finally saw the faint glow of moonlight ahead.
They emerged from a massive drainage pipe into the cold, salty air of the Chicago harbor.
Elias collapsed onto the wooden pier, his vision beginning to blur at the edges.
Nakia knelt beside him, begging him to stay awake as she searched his pockets for a phone.
She found a waterproof backup burner phone and asked him who to call for medical help.
Elias gave her a specific number for an underground syndicate doctor who owed him a life debt.
She dialed the number frantically, screaming their exact location to the man on the other end.
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A pair of bright headlights suddenly swept across the wooden pier, blinding them entirely.
Marcus had anticipated their escape route and was standing on the dock with his gun drawn.
