Page 55 of Urban Justice
Chapter 23
Luke triedhard to ignore the humidity hugging him like a wet blanket. His body shivered, but his discomfort wasn’t high on his priority list. Since he’d left Sloane and the lair, despair had almost sidetracked his research. With his brain constantly going back over what happened with Sloane and debating if he’d done the right thing or not by leaving, Luke almost missed the obvious. He’d indulged in Sloan’s warm body, but he had no illusions that he’d changed her mind. At least he’d said goodbye his way, pouring his soul into their joining, opening his heart one more time before shutting it for good.
Work became his sanity, his mission to keep himself from sliding into unwanted thoughts. Through all the maps, all his notes, all the possibilities in his head, a few scribbles fell in front of him, and brought him back to an event that seemed so far away now: the failed urbex with Eddie where he’d met the Vigilante for the first time. Everything had happened so fast since then Luke had almost forgotten the reason he’d gone there in the first place.
He knew for sure there was an anomaly in that spot, an intersection nobody had found before, just like the tunnel from the hotel the bad guys had blown up: one end was hidden from view, the other obvious where a car could do a drop via a manhole. That was the only reason the traffickers would’ve used that specific location. If she’d had more time, Sloane would’ve discovered the path, which was why he needed to narrow down the list and give it to the cops so they could plug all the holes.
Luke knew he had to check it out for himself before alerting the team, or at least do some basic recon with what he knew. Confirmation was crucial. What he hadn’t planned for was almost coming face to face with them. When he’d reached the intersection with one way leading to the open space where he’d seen the Vigilante and the three men, Luke’s intention was to go the other way, to confirm if his theory was right. His plan went south when noise reverberated through the tunnels, leaving him with two choices: push ahead of the traffickers or retreat to the same command center where he’d shot the bad guys.
Instinct led him to the command center, ducking out of sight just as light beams scanned the area.
One look at his phone confirmed the concrete surrounding him blocked his ability to call Lance, or convey his position. He had to be patient and wait.
From where he hid, Luke couldn’t determine how many men were in the group, but from the noise and the voices, it was at least five, but there could be more depending on their stealth.
The senses he’d learned to rely on as an active Marine returned. His body moved silently; his heart steadied, sharpening his focus.
Once darkness returned and the noise faded, Luke knew he had an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. If he followed the men, they’d lead him to the passage he hadn’t found in his initial urbex.
The weight of his only weapon tucked in his waistband made him even more conscious of his situation. He could only shadow them and not engage. If they saw him, he’d be outgunned for sure.
Following the faint light ahead of him, Luke remained as silent as possible while keeping them in his sight. Twice the crew turned to the right, and twice Luke sped up to make sure he didn’t lose them. The only blessing being they made more and more noise as they moved deeper into the tunnel, covering his own inevitable blunders in the dark.
Luke held his breath when they reached a dead end, and the point where he believed the access to the tunnel, and maybe even another network, was located. The scholar in him wanted to know, the Marine focused on surviving and getting out of there alive to tell.
From his hiding spot, Luke couldn’t move closer without revealing his presence, and as he waited a deafening scraping noise filled the space. It only lasted a couple of seconds but made his ears buzz in the absolute silence that followed.
Luke waited a few heartbeats longer before daring to move. Not hearing voices or footsteps, he made his way forward and turned on his flashlight to find a dead end.
“Damn it! Where have they gone?” He stood exactly where he thought the entrance was. It was if the traffickers had vanished into thin air.
Like the first time, he examined the area, including the walls and the ceiling, but apart from the urban art on the walls, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Frustration was about to overcome him when the toe of his boot caught on the uneven ground.
A thick metal plate, the same color as the concrete floor, hadn’t been replaced correctly. No wonder he hadn’t seen it the first time!
No longer thinking of heading back, Luke opened the plate, praying the men he was following were far enough away not to hear the ruckus he was about to make.
As he expected, another tunnel appeared running perpendicular to the main one. Luke entered the dark tunnel, his flashlight lowered, his ears sharp for any sound indicating which way to go.
It took about five minutes to catch up with them. According to his estimations, they walked for at least thirty minutes, and over a mile, in more or less a straight line. The more they advanced, the more decrepit the tunnel looked. Large cracks ran along the walls and ceiling, water dripped more and more, which meant the structure was compromised. It was only a matter of time before it collapsed over their heads.
The glow intensified, and so did the overall level of noise in front of him.
Crouching behind a partly collapsed wall, ankle-deep in stagnant water, Luke monitored them as they stood there chatting and laughing. Although he couldn’t hear what the crew were saying, he could see they were relaxed and confident, with not a worry in the world. And Luke saw why.
The team was composed of eight men. It wasn’t possible to know where they were underground in relation to the top part of the city, but someone was dropping several large boxes from above, much more than on the previous run. Each crew member unfolded a dolly before loading them with the boxes. Luke’s breath seized when he calculated the number of drugs that would flood the city if he let them pass. There was no way he could allow that to happen.
“Don’t make a sound.”
Luke almost did until his brain registered Sloane’s whisper behind him. In shock, he didn’t know if he wanted to kiss her, or berate her. It made it difficult to keep his voice low and even. “What are you doing here?”
“Saving your ass, professor. Come on.”
His sudden elation at seeing her died. He couldn’t see her face through her mask, but her voice, free of the modulator, was all business. She’d come for his knowledge of the underground, and not for him. His attempt to reach her heart had clearly failed. In any other circumstance, he would’ve reveled in the pain, but instead, he retreated, reverting to the Marine he needed to be to complete his mission. “Not without making sure this cargo is taken care of.”
Sloane shook her head. “We’ll get them another time. May I remind you of an earlier argument you gave me.”
There was no way he was going there, and emotion wasn’t clouding his decisions. “Look! It’s the biggest load ever. More than anything you told me they’d been moving. It’s probably a gamble on their part. It’s an opportunity we can’t pass up.”