Page 26 of Urban Justice

The stubborn man from the tunnels hadn’t softened a bit, and she didn’t have time to negotiate. “Luke is probably in danger, and you know it. I’m here to help.”

When he squinted at her and she clenched her teeth. “Don’t make me shoot you, old man. Where’s Luke?”

It took a few extra seconds and a puff of air, but he finally pointed to a large garage door. “He went in there when the cars came out.”

The cars? “He’s still in there?”

Before Quincy could answer, Sloane was dashing onto the street, getting Devin on the comms.

“Way ahead of you. Heard everything. Too obvious to open the big door. Head left, there’ll be a service entrance to the garage. I’m unlocking it for you now.”

Right on cue, there was the side entrance and Sloane went in.

“That’s the reason I lost the signal. He entered the underground garage. And that will happen with you too. Be careful, Sloane.”

* * *

The underground parkingstructure went way deeper than she expected. After level two, she lost the signal with Devin.

Beyond that, cars were scarce, and there was one with a thick coat of dust that made it impossible to decipher the original color.

It was at the end of the parking lot, completely in the dark, that Sloane noticed fresh tire marks and several footsteps, but no visual on entrances or tunnels. Traces of movement were everywhere, in a widespread circle without a particular direction. She was tempted to call Luke’s name, but the risk was twofold: there was a possibility she wasn’t alone, and using Luke’s name would confirm that the Vigilante knew him, and that wasn’t a connection she wanted to confirm.

Beyond the circle, the footsteps of a single individual could be seen closer to the outer walls. Luke must have reached the same conclusion as she had and hadn’t seen an obvious entrance in there.

A more pressing matter was there weren’t many places to hide if someone attacked. Out of habit, she skimmed the guns by her side and was debating whether to leave when she saw a particular spot in the trampled circle where there were numerous rocks and gravel. It was only when she stood beside the anomaly and looked up, that she saw the wide opening, partially hidden by a steel beam. The professor must’ve had the idea to do some explorations on his own.

With only the intention to take a quick peek, Sloane took a few steps back and ran, giving herself enough velocity so she could grab the beam and swing herself into the opening. It was higher than she expected, she could almost stand straight and if she extended her arms, her fingertips could touch both sides of the concrete walls.

Why was that even there? And where did it lead? To the upper parking levels? She hadn’t considered the dimensions of each space, but that was a possibility. The tunnel was clear and with her goggles, she could see the path carried on in a straight line into the distance.

A faint purring sound made her look back down, just in time to catch a glimpse of two vehicles approaching. She should have known that Murphy’s Law would be all over her on this one. There was only one way to go, and it was forward, and preferably as fast as possible.

It was difficult to run without noise, but she had to find a balance between stealth and speed, especially since whoever had arrived would see her as soon as they popped their head through the hole. The tunnel veered left before going up again. Where was she? She climbed again, this time using rungs set into the concrete wall and guessed she was around level two. As soon as she reached that level, it was clear she was in an older tunnel. The concrete had seen better days, and it was damp, rivulets of water trickling over the walls and into puddles.

They were behind her, but still on her heels, and running had only given her a few extra seconds. She now had a choice of two directions and no sign as to which one Luke had taken. Another possibility was that Luke had left without telling Quincy and what had begun as a fool’s errand was putting her in a tight spot. As sound increased behind her, it was a faint flash of light on her right that triggered her to move in that direction. Maybe she was jumping into a trap, but moving was better than staying there like a sitting duck, waiting for an unknown number of potential assailants.

After a short run, the tunnel turned left again and as she slowed down at a potential opening on the right, the barrel of a gun aimed at her mask. Just as she recognized Luke, he flashed his flashlight at her, and the night vision couldn’t compensate, blinding her. Only when she switched her goggles off, could she see again.

“You!” It was clear he wasn’t expecting the Vigilante. He had indeed switched coats with Quincy and stank in the worst possible way, even with her mask on. She had to admit, with his cap and dark beard, he could pass for a vagrant.

“There’s a crew, possibly the traffickers we’re searching for behind me, Professor Radcliffe. We need to find cover now.”

Luke only nodded and retreated back to where he’d been hidden. With the flashlight, she saw that the tunnel was empty, but not as clean as the main one, confirming that it wasn’t the traffickers’ main route. There were pebbles and small pieces of fallen concrete all around. Luke continued a few feet to an indentation on the left, an old aeration vent leading up. Sloane followed behind and crouched down just as Luke switched off his light. Back in the dark, Sloane activated her night vision goggles again, awaiting the people coming after her.

Light increased in the main tunnel, and she could hear male voices. Seconds later, to be safe, Sloane moved out of sight until they passed. As she expected, they flashed their beam into the tunnel where they were both hiding, but it was just out of habit. They didn’t expect anyone there. Luke was so close, his presence almost distracted her, as images of his naked flesh came to mind.

The echo confirmed that there was more distance between them, so she stood.

“Ten minutes before they exit. That’s the time it took the first car.” Luke’s voice was low.

Sloane nodded. “Stay here. I’m going to do some recon.”

And for the first time, Luke grabbed her forearm. “Not alone. I’m coming with you.”

There was no way in hell she’d let him follow her. “No. You’re safer here. If I don’t come back before they return, wait and leave when they’re gone.”

Her order didn’t loosen Luke’s grip on her. “I know how the tunnels work, you don’t. It’s non-negotiable. If you leave me behind, I’m done helping you and your team.”