Chapter 7 - The AscentJulian hoisted Ghost up first—the massive dog scrambling up the lower rungs with surprising agility, finding purchase on the old metal grates as if he had done it a hundred times before.
"Nora, grab my belt," Julian ordered, turning his back to her and lowering his stance. "I'm going to lift you to the first landing. Ghost will pull from above."
"I can climb, Julian," she retorted softly, a faint hint of pride touching her voice. "I've been living in these shadows longer than you've been running them."
Before he could argue, she reached out, her fingertips brushing his shoulder, his arm, and finding the iron ladder with terrifying speed. She didn't hesitate. Her feet found the rungs with the precision of a mountain goat, her lack of sight compensated by a hyper-tuned spatial awareness that left Julian breathless. In seconds, she had reached the first landing, Ghost standing guard beside her, licking the rain from her cheek.
A shout echoed from the mouth of the alley.
"Over there! They're heading for the fire escape!"
Flashlights cut through the sleet, their bright beams sweeping across the brick walls, hunting for targets.
Julian scrambled up the ladder behind Nora, his injured shoulder screaming with every pull. The metal rungs were slick with ice and his own blood, but he forced his fingers to close around them like iron vices.
A bullet pinged off the iron railing just inches from his boot as he hauled himself onto the second landing.
"Keep going!" Julian urged, pushing Nora ahead of him toward the maintenance hatch high above the alley.
She reached the top platform, her hands flying across the rusted bolts of the heavy industrial hatch. With a sharp twist, she forced the rusted latch open, swinging the metal door inward just as a sustained burst of automatic fire chewed through the grating right where they had been standing a moment before.
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Julian shoved Ghost through the hatch, pushed Nora inside, and dove in behind them, slamming the heavy steel door shut and throwing the interior deadbolt just as heavy boots began clattering up the lower fire escape stairs.
They were inside the abandoned rail terminal—the very place where the underground syndicate had operated a decade ago.
