Chapter 16 - The Subterranean Escape
The ventilation shaft was suffocatingly narrow, smelling of old dust and freezing metallic air. I crawled on my hands and knees, the titanium hard drive pressing heavily against my ribs with every movement. My palms were scraped raw, and my breath echoed loudly in the confined space, but the adrenaline surging through my veins pushed the exhaustion away.
I could hear the muffled shouts of the Swiss police echoing from the vault below. They would realize the grate was open within minutes. I had to move faster.
After what felt like hours of crawling blindly in the dark, the metal shaft ended abruptly at a heavy iron louvered vent. Through the slats, I could hear the distinct sound of rushing water and distant traffic. I kicked the vent with both feet, sending the rusted iron tumbling outward into the darkness.
I slid out of the shaft, dropping several feet and landing hard on a damp concrete walkway. I was standing in the massive, cavernous storm drain system beneath Geneva. The smell of cold water and damp earth filled my lungs.
I pulled out my phone. Miraculously, I had a single bar of cellular service. I dialed the only man who could help me navigate the international fallout I had just created.
"Hayes," I gasped as the prosecutor answered on the first ring.
"Maya? Where the hell are you? Your security detail reported your condo was breached!" Hayes shouted, panic evident in his usually calm voice.
"I'm in a sewer in Geneva," I replied, coughing dust from my lungs. "I have Julian Vance’s master ledger. The operational cipher for his entire global syndicate. And Julian is currently in the custody of the Swiss police for attempting to breach a bank vault."
Complete silence fell over the line. "You did what?" Hayes breathed, utter shock replacing the panic.
May you like
"I blew up his empire," I said, wiping dirt from my face. "But I triggered a silent alarm to do it. The Swiss authorities are hunting me right now. If they catch me, Julian’s lawyers will bury this hard drive in international court."
"Do not move," Hayes commanded, his tone instantly shifting into strict, authoritative focus. "I am contacting the US Embassy in Geneva immediately. We are sending an extraction team to your phone's GPS coordinates. Stay in the dark, Maya. Help is coming."
