Chapter 3 - The Dark Descent
The acrid smell of burning metal instantly filled the confined space of the elevator car.
Sparks rained down from the ceiling as the intense blue flame of the blowtorch sliced through the access panel.
"Get behind me," Dominic ordered Evangeline, pulling her into the darkest corner of the car.
Marco raised his weapon, aiming directly at the glowing red square forming above them.
The metal groaned and warped, finally giving way with a loud, metallic screech.
A heavy steel grate crashed to the floor, instantly followed by the barrel of a submachine gun.
Marco fired blindly upward into the shaft.
A man screamed, the submachine gun clattering to the floor as a body tumbled heavily onto the roof of the car.
"Up!" Dominic commanded, grabbing the edges of the newly created hole.
He hoisted himself effortlessly onto the roof of the elevator, checking the dark shaft above.
It was clear, but he could hear more heavy boots echoing from the floor above.
He reached down, grabbing Marco's outstretched hand to pull his massive enforcer up.
"Pass her up," Marco grunted, bracing his legs.
Dominic reached back down into the car, locking eyes with Evangeline.
Her hands were shaking, but there was a fierce, desperate determination in her good eye.
He grabbed her forearms, hauling her up with a raw strength that ignored her pained gasp.
They were now standing on top of the stalled elevator, suspended in the pitch-black vertical tunnel.
"The maintenance ladder," Dominic whispered, pointing to the rusted rungs bolted to the concrete wall.
They climbed downward in agonizing silence, the sounds of Caldwell's men shouting echoing from above.
Evangeline slipped once, her battered hands failing her, but Dominic caught her waist instantly.
They reached the basement level just as the elevator cables above them were severed entirely.
The heavy car plummeted past them in the darkness, smashing into the concrete floor below with a deafening, earth-shaking crash.
Dominic kicked open the heavy maintenance door, pulling Evangeline into the damp, dimly lit parking garage.
His armored SUV was parked fifty yards away, completely untouched.
"Move," he ordered.
They sprinted toward the vehicle, Marco covering their rear.
Dominic shoved Evangeline into the back seat, jumping behind the wheel and firing the engine.
The massive V8 roared to life, and they tore out of the garage, smashing through the lowered security gate.
They sped into the rainy night, leaving the burning clinic far behind them.
"Where do we go now?" Marco asked from the passenger seat, reloading his weapon.
"The safehouse in the Catskills," Dominic replied, his hands gripping the steering wheel tight.
Evangeline leaned forward from the back seat, her face pale.
"Dominic," she whispered, her voice trembling with sudden panic.
"When you grabbed my arms... I felt something on the roof of the elevator."
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She opened her bruised hand to reveal a small, blinking red transmitter.
"They planted a tracker on me before you even found me."
