Chapter 5 - The South Side Escape
The shockwave deafened them momentarily, filling the air with acrid smoke and plaster dust. Through the haze, Adrian grabbed Nora by the forearm, hauling her to her feet with unbreakable strength.
"Marcus!" Adrian barked into his lapel comms. "Bring the secondary vehicle around to the conservatory tunnel. Now!"
Coughing through the thick smoke, Nora followed Adrian down a narrow, hidden spiral staircase behind a bookshelf. As they descended into the subterranean tunnels beneath the mansion, the reality of her situation crashed over her. She was a working-class paramedic whose biggest worry twenty-four hours ago had been paying her rent; now, she was running for her life alongside the most feared underground kingpin in Chicago.
"Why me?" Nora panted as they sprinted through the damp concrete corridors, the distant sounds of gunfire echoing behind them. "Out of all the people in that grocery store, why drop the locket in my pocket?"
Adrian didn't slow down. "Because background checks don't matter when you watch someone work. I watched you keep a man alive with a ballpoint pen and a plastic straw three months ago when an ambulance broke down on 63rd Street. You don't panic under pressure, Nora. And right now, I need someone who won't freeze when the world starts burning."
They burst through a heavy steel bulkhead into an underground parking bay. Waiting for them with the engine idling was an armored transit van, driven by Marcus.
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"Get in!" Marcus roared.
As soon as their doors slammed shut, Marcus floored the accelerator, smashing through a set of automated security gates and launching them out into the rainy Chicago night.
