Chapter 5 - The Fire Escape
"They tracked David's car from the beginning, and they know I usually bring traitors here for interrogation," Vincent realized grimly.
The heavy steel door above us shuddered violently as the mercenaries attached breaching explosives to the hinges.
Vincent grabbed a heavily modified assault rifle from the weapons rack and tossed a loaded pistol to my mother.
"Do you know how to use that?" he asked her.
She checked the safety with surprisingly steady hands and nodded.
"Good, because we are leaving through the old prohibition tunnels," Vincent commanded.
He kicked back a large rug, revealing a rusted iron grate set deep into the floor.
He pulled it open and ushered us down into the damp, smelling darkness of the Chicago sewer system.
Just as we climbed down the ladder, a massive explosion rocked the foundation above us.
Dust and concrete rained down as the Russians successfully breached the main garage.
Vincent pulled a small remote from his pocket and pressed the red button without hesitation.
A secondary explosion tore through the bunker, destroying all of his sensitive files and collapsing the entrance to our tunnel.
We walked in total darkness for what felt like hours, guided only by the small flashlight on Vincent's phone.
We finally emerged through a drainage pipe into the freezing air of a deserted train yard.
Vincent leaned against a rusted boxcar, his breathing heavy and strained.
"Without the financial ledger from David's office, I cannot prove Marcus's betrayal to the National Commission," Vincent said in frustration.
"The Commission will think I went rogue and officially order a hit on me."
My mother hesitated for a moment before unzipping my small, red backpack.
She reached past my coloring books and pulled out a heavy, leather-bound book.
"I stole it from David's desk this morning when he wasn't looking, just to have proof of my unpaid wages," she confessed quietly.
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Vincent stared at the ledger in absolute shock.
He reached out to take the precious book, but a cold, metal barrel was suddenly pressed directly against the back of his head.
