Chapter 12 - THE STEAM AND THE STEEL
Scalding steam hissed violently, filling the narrow tunnel with blinding white mist.
Gunshots echoed in the enclosed space, sounding like deafening thunderbolts.
Bulleted metal ricocheted wildly off the brick walls, sparking into the dark.
Jax dove behind a heavy iron junction box, feeling the intense heat on his skin.
He heard the frantic footsteps of the mercenaries coughing through the cloud of steam.
"He's behind the pipe! Flush him out!" one assassin yelled in panic.
Jax didn't give them the chance to re-aim.
He swept low through the mist, driving his iron bar straight into the lead guard's knee.
The guard let out a agonizing scream as his leg buckled violently backward.
Jax spun around, grabbed the guard's weapon arm, and slammed it against the brick wall.
The silenced pistol clattered onto the wet concrete floor.
The second assassin stepped through the steam, raising his pistol toward Jax's head.
Before he could pull the trigger, Richard reappeared through the fog, holding a heavy wrench.
Richard swung the wrench with full force, catching the assassin across the side of his helmet.
The man stumbled sideways, crashing heavily into the burst steam pipe.
He screamed as the scalding water burned through his tactical uniform.
"I told you to keep moving!" Jax shouted at Richard through the hissing steam.
"I don't leave family behind!" Richard shouted back, grabbing the fallen pistol from the floor.
The third assassin tried to retreat toward the tunnel entrance, but Jax tackled him to the ground.
With a swift, powerful blow, Jax rendered the final guard unconscious.
The tunnel fell silent again, save for the constant, loud hiss of the damaged steam pipe.
Jax wiped a cut above his eyebrow, gasping for breath.
"You're a terrible listener, Vance," Jax muttered, offering a bloodied hand to help Richard up.
"Let's go," Richard said, grabbing Jax's hand and pulling him up.
"Maya is waiting at the exit ladder."
They ran down the remainder of the tunnel, reaching the vertical steel ladder mounted on the wall.
Above them, a circular iron hatch led directly into the maintenance closet behind the courthouse stage.
Maya was standing at the bottom of the ladder, her face pale but determined.
"Is everyone okay?" she asked, looking at the blood on Jax's face.
"We're fine," Jax gasped. "It's time to end this show."
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Richard climbed up first, pushing the heavy iron hatch upward quietly.
Blinding sunlight and the roaring sound of a massive crowd washed down into the tunnel.
