Chapter 6
They climbed down a rusted iron ladder into the pitch-black belly of the storm drain.
The air down here was thick, smelling of copper, mold, and forgotten history.
Silas used a high-powered tactical flashlight to illuminate the cracked brick walls of the tunnel.
Water rushed around their ankles, freezing cold and murky.
Victor carried the wounded man over his massive shoulder, groaning under the immense weight.
Nora carried Lily on her back, her legs shaking from the adrenaline dump and bone-deep exhaustion.
Above them, muffled explosions and the sound of tearing metal signaled the total destruction of the Midnight Grille.
"They are tearing the place apart," Victor muttered, his voice echoing eerily in the tunnel.
"They will find the grate eventually."
"Let them," Silas replied coldly.
"Down here, the numbers don't matter. It’s a choke point."
They waded through the water for ten minutes before finding a raised concrete maintenance platform.
Silas ordered them to stop and rest, knowing they couldn't outrun a highly trained hit squad while carrying wounded.
Victor set the bleeding man down gently, tearing strips of his own expensive shirt to pack the bullet wound.
Lily hopped down from Nora’s back, her little boots squelching in the mud.
She walked over to Victor, pulling the green oversized cardigan from her own shoulders.
She held it out to the giant, heavily scarred enforcer.
"He looks cold," Lily said softly, pointing to the wounded man.
Victor stared at the tiny garment, his hard, brutal eyes softening in genuine shock.
He gently took the cardigan with his massive, bloodstained hands and draped it over his friend.
"Thank you, kid," Victor whispered, his voice cracking with an emotion he hadn't felt in decades.
Silas watched the interaction from the shadows, a strange, tight feeling blooming in his hollow chest.
May you like
He realized then that this woman and her child were not collateral damage.
They were a second chance.
