Chapter 11 - INTO THE TUNNELS
Dawn broke over the city in a cold, grey drizzle of fog and rain.
The city library sat quiet and dark, its grand stone pillars looming over the street.
Jax parked the truck in an alleyway hidden behind the library's loading dock.
He used a heavy pair of bolt cutters to snap the padlock on the basement access door.
The heavy steel door swung open with a rusty screech.
Richard held a high-powered flashlight, illuminating the dark, concrete stairs descending into the earth.
"Stay close behind me, Maya," Richard whispered, guiding her down the steps carefully.
The underground tunnel was cold, damp, and smelled strongly of rust and old rainwater.
Thick pipes ran along the curved ceiling, dripping droplets onto the wet floor.
Jax walked at the rear, keeping his hand near his revolver, monitoring the tunnel entry.
"We have twenty minutes before the press conference starts," Julian's voice cracked through the radio earpiece.
"Mom just arrived in her limousine. She's sitting in the green room behind the main stage."
"Are the security guards positioned near the plaza exit?" Richard asked into his lapel mic.
"Yes, her head of security, Vance's private guards, are watching every public walkway," Julian confirmed.
"They have no idea about the library utility tunnel."
Suddenly, a loud metallic clang echoed through the dark tunnel behind them.
Jax stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around with his flashlight raised.
"Someone followed us in," Jax muttered, his voice barely audible.
"Keep moving forward, Richard! Take Maya to the ladder!" Jax ordered.
"Jax, no, we stay together!" Richard demanded.
"There's no time to argue!" Jax barked, shoving Richard forward.
"Get her to that stage!"
Jax turned back toward the dark stretch of the tunnel, drawing his heavy iron bar.
Out of the shadows stepped three men wearing wet black coats, holding silenced pistols.
They were Victoria's elite private enforcement team.
"You should have stayed in the woods, racer," the lead assassin sneered, raising his weapon.
Jax grinned menacingly, wiping rainwater from his forehead.
"I've been waiting twenty years for this fight," Jax growled.
May you like
He lunged forward into the dark, smashing his iron bar against the low pipe above them.
A massive wall of scalding hot steam burst violently from the ruptured pipe, blinding the attackers completely.
