Chapter 34 - The Escape
pushed the heavy titanium door open and slipped back out into the subterranean corridor. The darkness was absolute, but a low, vibrating hum was beginning to build in the walls. The auxiliary generators were warming up.
"Forty seconds, Anna," Chloe's voice cracked over the earpiece. "The guards are heading back toward the vault. They realized the perimeter doors are jammed and they are coming to secure the primary asset."
I moved swiftly, pressing myself into the deep alcove created by the massive HVAC pipes lining the corridor. Two beams of flashlight cut through the dark, bouncing wildly off the concrete walls as the guards sprinted back toward my location.
"I can't make it to the elevator," I whispered, watching the beams sweep across the floor just feet away from me. "They are blocking the path."
"You have to," Chloe urged. "If you are in that hallway when the lights come on, they will see you."
I closed my eyes, my mind racing. I needed a distraction. I reached into my toolkit and pulled out a small, metallic multi-tool. I gauged the distance, took a breath, and hurled the heavy tool as hard as I could toward the far end of the corridor, past the elevator bank.
CLANG!
The metal echoed violently against the concrete.
"What was that? Over there!" one of the guards yelled, instantly pivoting and aiming his flashlight toward the source of the noise.
They ran past my alcove, their heavy boots pounding against the floor.
The moment they passed, I broke from my cover and sprinted silently toward the open doors of the freight elevator. I threw myself inside and hit the button for the ground floor.
"I'm in the elevator," I gasped, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Ten seconds to grid restoration," Chloe counted down. "I am overriding the elevator's internal lock. It's going to move fast."
The elevator shot upwards with a sickening lurch. Just as we passed the lobby level, the fluorescent lights overhead flickered violently and roared back to life in a blinding flash. The power was restored.
The elevator doors chimed and slid open at the back alley loading dock. I stepped out into the cool night air, pulling the collar of my Vanguard jacket up.
The security guard who had checked my badge earlier was gone, likely pulled inside to deal with the chaos of the blackout. I walked briskly down the alley, melting into the shadows of the city streets.
Two blocks later, the side door of a black surveillance van slid open. I climbed inside, breathless, and pulled the heavy black ledger from my jacket.
Chloe was sitting at a bank of glowing monitors, a massive grin breaking across her face.
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"You got it," she breathed in awe.
"I told you," I smiled, tossing the ledger onto the table. "An auditor always collects."
