Chapter 11 - The Escape Through The Tunnels
The library was rapidly being destroyed as smoke filled the air, triggering the high-ceiling sprinkler systems.
Water began pouring down like heavy rain, soaking the velvet carpets and washing blood across the floor.
Arthur Vance lay unconscious near his desk, while Julian sobbed uncontrollably beneath the shattered piano.
“We need to move now!” Marcus ordered, firing two heavy rounds down the hallway to suppress the advancing shooters.
He reached under the edge of his oak desk, pulling a hidden brass lever mounted into the floorboards.
A section of the dark wood wall paneling slid open with a heavy mechanical click, revealing a narrow stone staircase leading down into the darkness.
“Old Chicago smuggling tunnel,” Marcus said, looking at Maya through the falling water and smoke.
“It leads directly to a private boathouse on the lake.”
Maya looked at Arthur and Julian, then back at the dark tunnel opening.
“We can’t leave the evidence,” Maya insisted, reaching onto the desk to grab the gold-crested Vance ledger.
She tucked the leather book tightly inside her waterproof jacket just as another burst of automatic fire shattered the desk above them.
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“Smart girl,” Marcus grunted, grabbing Knox by the arm. “Down the stairs, now!”
Maya, Marcus, and Knox plunged into the dark underground passageway, the heavy paneling snapping shut behind them just as the mercenaries breached the room.
