The kitchen clock ticked with a heavy, metallic resonance, each second dragging like a lead weight.

Nia clutched little Leo tightly against her chest, wrapped securely inside a waterproof baby carrier beneath her heavy military-surplus parka. The infant was warm, breathing softly, entirely oblivious to the fact that his mother was currently wading through a subterranean sewer beneath the city grid.

Behind her, Jyn moved with unnatural balance, his expensive leather shoes somehow managing to find traction on the slime-coated bricks. Right behind him trotted Thor, the massive dog acting as a living shield, his broad shoulders brushing against the damp walls, ears flicking back and forth to map the acoustic echoes of the tunnel.

"This is completely insane," Nia hissed over the steady sound of dripping water. "If we die down here, the news headline is going to be mortifying."

"Focus on the footing," Jyn muttered, holding a small tactical flashlight low to the ground. "Fifty yards ahead is the junction. That’s where Marcus is supposed to be waiting with the decoy vehicle."

"You trust Marcus?" Nia asked, stepping carefully over a rusted length of rebar. "Marcus spends forty minutes debating which oat milk to buy. He thinks 'espionage' is looking at his ex-girlfriend's Instagram story from a burner account."

"Desperate men are reliable men," Jyn said. "And Marcus is very, very desperate to keep his Honda Civic from being blown up by an Asian syndicate."

As if summoned by the mention of his name, a flashlight beam flickered three times down the left corridor of the junction.

Click. Click. Click.

Jyn signaled back with two short bursts.

They rounded the corner into the wider maintenance chamber, where a rusted metal ladder led straight up to a municipal street grate. Standing beneath it, shivering in a bright yellow windbreaker and holding a very inappropriate neon-green umbrella, was Marcus.

"Nia! Thank God!" Marcus hissed, shoving his glasses up his nose. He looked like an accountant who had accidentally wandered into a war zone. "The black SUVs just moved! Two of them drove down toward the highway, but three are still parked right outside your front lawn. They brought heavy gym bags, Nia. I don't think they're dropping off Tupperware."

"Marcus, status on the Civic?" Jyn demanded, his voice dropping an octave into pure command tone.

"Parked three blocks down by the 24-hour laundromat," Marcus stammered, staring wide-eyed at Jyn. "And... and I brought the tactical supplies you requested." He unzipped a backpack.

Nia peered inside. "Marcus... are these frozen burritos and a box of Capri Suns?"

"And three flashbangs I bought off a guy on the dark web last year!" Marcus said defensively. "I didn't know we were going to run a prison break!"

Jyn pulled out one of the flashbangs, weighed it in his palm, and gave Marcus a grim nod. "Adequate. Get in the car. We’re heading for the private airstrip at sector four."