Chapter 7 - The Fake Badges
The glowing screen of the burner phone illuminated the darkness of the tunnel.
Nora stared at Leo’s message, feeling a cold knot of dread tighten in her stomach.
Her own brother was actively hunting her.
Roman snatched the phone directly from her hand.
He read the message, his jaw clenching tight.
He immediately dropped the cheap plastic phone onto the concrete floor and crushed it beneath his heel.
"Hey!" Nora protested in a hushed whisper.
"That was my only lifeline."
"That was a tracking beacon," Roman corrected her coldly.
"How do you think Victor's men knew exactly which construction site we ran into?"
"Leo pinged your phone the second we crashed the SUV."
Nora felt incredibly stupid.
She had survived three years off the grid, only to be undone by a cheap piece of technology.
They moved deeper into the damp, echoing maintenance tunnels.
The smell of mold and stagnant water was utterly overwhelming.
Roman’s limp was growing significantly worse.
He was leaving a faint, dark trail of blood on the concrete path.
Tommy walked point, his hand cannon drawn and ready.
"We are heading to the old Prohibition tunnels," Roman panted, leaning heavily against the brick wall.
"I have an emergency bunker down there."
"It is fully stocked with medical supplies and weapons."
They navigated the labyrinth of darkness for what felt like hours.
Nora kept glancing over her shoulder, terrified she would see the glow of tactical flashlights behind them.
Suddenly, Tommy held up his fist, signaling them to stop.
He peeked around the corner of a junction up ahead.
"We have a problem," Tommy whispered, stepping back into the shadows.
"There is a checkpoint ahead."
"Four guys."
"They are dressed as NYPD transit cops."
Roman closed his eyes, exhaling a ragged breath.
"Leo is using his father’s old connections to mobilize corrupt officers."
"We cannot shoot our way through cops, fake or not."
"It will bring the entire city down on our heads."
Nora looked at Roman’s pale face.
He was losing far too much blood.
"I can distract them," Nora offered quietly.
Roman’s eyes snapped open, glaring at her with immediate rejection.
"Absolutely not."
"I am wearing a bloody waitress uniform," she argued.
"I will run out there screaming that I was mugged."
"While they are focused on me, you and Tommy slip past through the ventilation bypass."
Before Roman could physically stop her, Nora stepped out from the shadows into the dimly lit junction.
She forced tears to stream down her face.
"Help!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, stumbling toward the fake officers.
"Please help me, they took my purse!"
The four men instantly drew their weapons, aiming at her.
"Hold it right there, lady," one of them barked, his flashlight blinding her.
She fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.
The officers exchanged confused glances and slowly lowered their guns.
They stepped closer to examine her.
From the corner of her eye, Nora saw Roman and Tommy silently slip across the dark corridor behind the men.
It had worked perfectly.
Then, the lead officer grabbed her roughly by the hair and yanked her face upward.
He pulled a photograph from his pocket and compared it to her face.
May you like
"Forget the mugging story, Sadie," the officer sneered.
"Your brother says hello."
