Chapter 4 - The Corrupt Badge
Mary slowly lowered the suppressed pistol, placing it carefully on the floor of the elevator.
She raised her hands in the air, stepping slightly in front of Vincent to shield his injured chest.
The lead police officer stepped forward, his badge gleaming under the emergency lights.
It was Detective Miller, a man Vincent had personally paid off for years.
"Miller," Vincent choked out, clutching his bleeding chest.
"Rico does not have the money to buy you."
Detective Miller smiled, a cold, humorless expression.
"Rico didn't buy me, Mr. Martini."
"He simply reminded me that the police department works better without a king on the streets."
Miller gestured to his men, and two officers moved in to grab Vincent.
Mary suddenly kicked the suppressed pistol across the floor, sending it sliding toward the officers.
The sudden movement caused one of the nervous rookies to flinch.
In that split second of distraction, Mary slammed her hand onto the emergency override panel.
The heavy steel elevator doors violently clamped shut, crushing the arm of an advancing officer.
The man screamed in agony, dropping his weapon.
Mary hit the button for the basement again, and the elevator shot downward.
Gunfire erupted from the lobby, but the thick doors easily absorbed the bullets.
"They will be waiting for us in the basement now," Vincent warned, coughing up a terrifying amount of blood.
"No, they won't," Mary replied calmly.
She pulled a small ring of master keys from her scrub pocket.
"I used to work in this hospital before I went underground."
"I know where the blind spots are."
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened to the freezing, sterile morgue.
Mary practically dragged Vincent out of the car.
She led him past rows of stainless steel coolers, navigating the maze of death with eerie familiarity.
They reached a heavy iron door marked for maintenance only.
Mary unlocked it, pushing it open to reveal a dark, damp concrete tunnel.
"This leads out to the abandoned subway lines," she explained.
They walked for what felt like hours through the dripping darkness.
Vincent's strength was fading fast, his body shivering uncontrollably from blood loss and shock.
They finally emerged through a rusted grate into the back alley of Mary's underground clinic.
She quickly unlocked the reinforced steel door and pulled him inside.
The clinic was small, clean, and entirely hidden from the world above.
She helped Vincent onto an examination table and immediately began checking his sutures.
"You saved my life twice tonight," Vincent whispered, his eyes heavy.
"I didn't do it for you," Mary replied harshly.
She turned around to grab a fresh bag of saline from the medical cabinet.
Sitting in the shadows of the corner chair was a man in a sharp federal suit.
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He held up an FBI badge, a smug smile plastered across his face.
"No, you did it for me, Dr. Andrews," Agent Carter said smoothly.
