Chapter 28
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The heavy footsteps of the security contractors echoed ominously through the cavernous wine cellar, the beams of their tactical flashlights cutting violently through the dim emergency lighting.
"Spread out!" a gruff voice barked from the darkness behind us. "Check the containment cell first. If the boy is gone, lock down all perimeter exits immediately."
I pushed Leo faster, my adrenaline surging, masking the burning pain in my muscles. We reached the far north wall of the cellar. Hidden behind a massive stack of empty wooden casks was the heavy iron grating of the old freight elevator.
I practically threw Leo into the small, cage-like elevator and reached for the heavy iron lever that controlled the hydraulic lift. I pulled it with all my strength. The ancient gears groaned loudly, a terrible, grinding sound that instantly gave away our position.
"Over there! North wall!" a guard shouted, a flashlight beam sweeping directly across the iron grating of our elevator.
"Get down, Leo!" I commanded, shoving him to the floor of the cage and dropping down beside him just as the elevator jerked violently and began its agonizingly slow ascent toward the garage level.
"Stop the lift!" the guard yelled, sprinting toward us.
The elevator crawled upward, the iron grating offering absolutely no protection. I saw the security contractor reach the bottom of the shaft, pulling a heavy, silenced pistol from his shoulder holster. He aimed it directly up at the ascending cage.
"Emma, brace yourself!" Luis yelled through my earpiece.
Suddenly, a massive, deafening explosion of sound erupted from the floor above us. The fire alarms throughout the entire Mercer estate activated simultaneously, screeching with an ear-piercing intensity. The sudden noise startled the guard below, causing him to instinctively lower his weapon and cover his ears.
"I hacked the fire suppression mainframe," Luis announced rapidly. "The ballroom is currently being flooded with the emergency sprinkler system. Absolute chaos up there. The garage doors are overriding to open for emergency vehicles. When the elevator stops, run straight for the alley."
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The elevator slammed to a halt at the loading dock level. The heavy metal doors of the garage were slowly rolling upward, revealing the freezing, rain-swept alleyway outside.
I grabbed Leo's hand and pulled him up. We sprinted out of the elevator, our feet slapping against the cold concrete of the garage, leaving the darkness of the basement completely behind us.
