Chapter 3 - Blood on the Ledger
Gabriel tackled Mara to the concrete floor an instant before the second bullet tore through the air.
The wooden crate beside them exploded into splinters.
“Sniper on the east roof!” Daniel yelled, returning fire into the darkness.
Mara curled into a tight ball, clutching the heavy iron lockbox desperately against her chest.
Gabriel pulled a weapon from his waistband and fired three rapid shots toward the broken windows.
“We need to move now,” Gabriel shouted over the deafening echoes of gunfire.
“Stay low and crawl toward the shipping containers.”
Mara scrambled across the dirty floor, scraping her knees as bullets pinged violently against the metal beams above them.
Daniel provided cover fire, his tactical training keeping the unseen assassins pinned down.
Gabriel grabbed Mara’s arm and dragged her behind a massive steel container.
“There is an old smuggler's tunnel beneath the floorboards in the manager's office,” Gabriel yelled.
“Can you run?”
“I don't have a choice!” Mara yelled back, terrified but running on pure adrenaline.
They sprinted across the open space just as a new volley of gunfire ripped through the warehouse doors.
Three men dressed in black tactical gear breached the entrance, sweeping the room with automatic weapons.
Gabriel shoved Mara into the small, enclosed manager's office and kicked the door shut.
He quickly ripped the rotting rug back, revealing a rusted iron trapdoor.
“Go down,” he ordered, pulling the trapdoor open.
Mara dropped into the dark, damp tunnel, clutching the iron box tightly in her arms.
Gabriel jumped down immediately after her, followed closely by Daniel.
Daniel pulled the trapdoor shut just as the office door was kicked open above them.
They ran through the pitch-black tunnel, splashing through ankle-deep seawater.
The passage eventually sloped upward, leading them out to a deserted alley two blocks away from the warehouse.
One of Gabriel’s backup SUVs was already idling by the curb.
They threw themselves into the back seat, and the driver sped away before the doors even closed.
Mara collapsed against the leather seats, gasping for air as her hands shook uncontrollably.
Daniel was bleeding from a deep graze on his left shoulder, but he ignored the pain completely.
“How did they find us so fast?” Gabriel demanded, his voice laced with absolute fury.
“Only three people knew we were going to that warehouse.”
Mara’s mind raced back to the banquet room.
“Cassandra,” Mara breathed out, realization hitting her like a physical blow.
“She knew who I was, and she knew exactly where the letter led.”
Gabriel tightened his jaw, pulling out his phone to order a manhunt for the academic.
Mara looked down at her purse, which had been slung over her shoulder the entire time.
She opened the clasp and pulled out the folded million-dollar check.
She ran her thumb over the thick paper, feeling something strange near the corner.
Stuck to the back of the check was a microscopic, adhesive tracking dot, blinking with a faint red light.
May you like
The assassins hadn't just followed Gabriel to the warehouse.
They had been tracking Mara since the moment Cassandra fled the restaurant.
