Chapter 5 - THE FIRE ELEVATORThe heavy metal base of the lamp struck Mike across the shoulder, sending the larger man staggering sideways into a glass display case. The glass shattered with an explosive crash, scattering crystal fragments across the hardwood floor.
"Marcus! Get Vanessa and the kids to the service shaft!" Logan shouted, grabbing Mike by his jacket collar and slamming him back against the wall.
Mike roared with fury, driving a sharp elbow into Logan’s ribs. Logan gasped for air as the breath was forced from his lungs, but he held on, wrestling the larger man toward the floor.
"Go!" Logan yelled to Vanessa.
Vanessa didn't hesitate. She ran into the kitchen where Dorothy was already gathering the five terrified children.
"This way!" Dorothy shouted, opening a small wood-paneled door hidden behind the pantry. "It’s the old freight hoist from when the building was renovated! It doesn't run on the corporate security grid!"
Nolan grabbed Ryan and Harper by their hands, while Vanessa scooped up Harlow and Noah. They scrambled into the cramped, metallic space of the service elevator.
"Logan!" Vanessa cried out, looking back into the office.
Logan was on the floor, pinning Mike's arm behind his back while Vance’s guard tried to pull him off. Logan looked up, his eye already bruising, a streak of blood on his cheek.
"Take the notebook!" Logan shouted, throwing Sarah’s leather journal across the floor. It slid into the elevator car right as the heavy iron gate slammed shut. "Get to the street! Go to the 3rd Precinct! Ask for Captain Miller!"
"Logan, no!" Vanessa screamed.
Marcus hit the manual emergency descent lever inside the wall. The freight elevator shuddered, metal grinding against metal, and began to drop rapidly into the darkness of the shaft.
Above them, the sounds of the struggle faded, replaced by the mechanical groan of cables and the rush of cold air.
Inside the small, shaking metal box, the five children huddled against Vanessa.
"Aunt Ness," Nolan whispered, his small hands holding her coat tightly. "Are we going back to the shelter?"
Vanessa looked down at the brass house charm hanging from her neck. She picked up Sarah's notebook from the floor and squeezed it against her chest.
"No," Vanessa said, her voice dropping all fear, replaced by a fierce, immovable determination. "We aren't hiding anymore."
The freight elevator jolted to a violent stop between the 2nd floor and the basement.
The power cut out.
The small indicator light turned dark.
Above them in the shaft, the heavy sound of boot steps echoed down the iron ladder.
Mike had taken the emergency maintenance stairs.
"He's above us," Marcus whispered, his face pale in the dim red emergency light of the elevator cab. "He’s coming down the cable."
Vanessa looked around the small metal compartment. There was no escape door on the floor. The only way out was a small ceiling hatch held together by four rusted steel bolts.
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Above them, a heavy thud rattled the roof of the elevator cab.
The metal roof bent inward under the weight of a man.
