Chapter 3 - The Blackout
Julian was a master electrician. He knew exactly what it meant when a hospital’s backup generators failed to engage. It wasn't an accident. Someone had manually severed the main feed and disabled the transfer switches.
Victor’s men had breached the building.
“Can you walk?” Julian asked, stripping off his heavy work jacket and wrapping it around Clara’s shivering shoulders.
“I… I think so. The painkillers are helping,” she stammered, swinging her bandaged legs over the edge of the bed.
“We can’t use the elevators. They’ll be waiting at the stairwells,” Julian muttered, his mind working at lightning speed. He grabbed a heavy metal IV pole, unscrewed the heavy iron base, and gripped the steel rod like a baseball bat.
He cracked the hospital room door open. The hallway was a scene of panicked chaos. Nurses were using cell phone flashlights to check on patients, screaming for security. Through the red glow of the exit signs, Julian saw them.
Three men in dark tactical gear were moving down the hall, checking room numbers. They weren't looking for a fight; they were executing a hunt.
“Back of the room,” Julian ordered Clara softly.
He waited until the first man stepped into the doorway of Room 412. The enforcer raised a suppressed pistol, scanning the empty bed. He never saw Julian waiting behind the door.
Julian swung the steel rod with every ounce of muscle he had built hauling copper wire. The metal cracked against the enforcer’s skull, dropping him instantly. Julian didn't hesitate. He grabbed the man’s tactical flashlight and his sidearm, tossing the gun into the biohazard bin—he didn't know how to shoot, and a stray bullet could hit Clara or the baby.
“Let’s go,” Julian whispered, pulling Clara into the chaotic hallway.
Instead of heading for the stairs, Julian guided her toward the maintenance closet. He kicked the door open, revealing a heavy metal grate on the floor.
“What is this?” Clara asked, her breath hitching.
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“Utility shaft. It leads down to the hospital’s sub-basement electrical grid,” Julian explained, prying the grate open with his rod. “I wired the HVAC system in this wing five years ago. I know every rat hole in this building. Get on my back.”
Clara wrapped her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life as Julian climbed down the metal ladder into the pitch-black belly of the hospital, leaving the hunters above.
