Chapter 17 - THE BASEMENT FIREFIGHT
Frank fired first.
The bullet struck the hanging bulb.
Darkness swallowed the basement.
Emma dropped and rolled behind the metal table.
Lena scrambled the other way.
Two more shots sparked off concrete.
Emma returned fire toward the stairs.
Muzzle flash lit Frank’s outline for half a second.
He ducked back.
Lena’s voice came from the left.
“There’s a service tunnel behind the water heater!”
Emma crawled toward the sound.
Another shot.
Lena cried out.
Emma reached her.
Blood soaked Lena’s side.
“Go,” Lena whispered.
“Take the laptop.”
Emma grabbed the computer and dragged Lena toward the tunnel entrance.
Frank’s footsteps pounded down the stairs.
Emma shoved Lena through the narrow opening and followed.
The tunnel was damp and low.
They ran crouched.
Behind them Frank’s flashlight beam swept the dark.
Emma turned once and fired two more rounds.
The beam vanished.
They emerged into an alley three blocks away.
Emma called Miller from a burner phone she had carried for exactly this reason.
“I have the video. Lena is hit. Queens rail yards. Hurry.”
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Sirens rose in the distance within minutes.
Frank never appeared.
