Chapter 18 - Unlikely Allies
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We moved silently down the dimly lit executive corridor, bypassing two electronic security checkpoints using a cloning device Vincent had provided. The tension was palpable. Every shadow felt like a potential ambush.
As we approached Sterling’s office, my encrypted phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out. It was a secure text message from an unknown number.
Sterling isn't alone in the office. Two cartel hitters are waiting inside. They know you're here.
I stopped dead in my tracks, holding my hand up to halt Lily.
"Who sent that?" Lily whispered, looking at the glowing screen.
"I don't know," I replied. "But they just saved our lives."
I texted back: Who is this?
The response came seconds later: Ethan Cole. I’m calling from a smuggled phone in protective custody. I owe your daughter my life. I’m trying to pay the debt.
I stared at the screen in disbelief. Ethan Cole—the privileged, arrogant student who had assaulted Lily, who had been manipulated by Jonathan Hale, and who was now serving a reduced sentence for turning state's evidence.
"It's Ethan," I told Lily softly.
Her eyes widened. "Why is he helping us?"
"Because guilt is a heavy burden," I said.
My phone buzzed again with another message from Ethan: Thorne’s men are monitoring the security cameras. You have about ninety seconds before they box you into that hallway. Check the air vent above the water cooler.
I looked up. There was a large, industrial air vent just a few feet away.
"Vincent," I whispered into the comms. "We are compromised in the executive wing. I need a blackout on this floor. Now."
"Initiating localized EMP on the lighting grid," Vincent replied instantly.
The corridor plunged into absolute darkness. The emergency lights failed to activate, disabled by Vincent's hack.
"Boost me up," I told Lily.
I pulled the grate off the vent and climbed inside the ductwork, reaching down to pull Lily up beside me just as the heavy doors at the end of the hallway burst open. Flashlight beams cut through the darkness below us, illuminating the exact spot we had been standing seconds before.
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"Spread out! Find them!" a harsh voice barked.
Lily held her breath, gripping my arm tightly in the cramped, dusty space. We were safe for the moment, thanks to the most unlikely ally we could have imagined.
