The echoes in the static.

Chapter 7: The Trap Door

Panic surged through Elias as the words burned on the computer monitor.

The USB drive hadn't just stored data—it contained an automated cellular handshake protocol. The moment it drew power from the computer, it pinged their private network using satellite telemetry, broadcasting the depot's location.

Outside, the crunching of tires on gravel broke the stillness of the night, followed by the heavy thud of car doors slamming shut.

They were already here.

Elias yanked the USB drive out of the tower, killing the monitor feed. He scrambled to his feet, grabbed his flashlight, and cut the power switch on the gas generator. The office plunged into pitch darkness just as the headlights of two heavy SUVs illuminated the frost-covered windows of the front garage.

Flashlight beams swept across the main shop floor outside the office door.

"Check the perimeter!" a voice barked. "He's inside!"

Elias backed away from the desk, his heart pounding like a sledgehammer against his ribs. The front exit was blocked, and the garage door was sealed shut from the outside.

He shone his dim flashlight toward the floor of the small office. Beneath a pile of grease-stained rags and old tires, he caught sight of an iron ring handle set into the concrete floor—the entrance to the shop's old oil drainage pit.

A loud crash echoed through the building as the syndicate operatives kicked open the back entrance.

Elias didn't hesitate. He kicked the rags aside, grabbed the iron handle with both hands, and yanked the heavy metal trapdoor open. A cool, dank draft of underground air rushed up into his face.

He slid his legs down into the narrow, ladder-lined chute just as the office door was kicked open. A red laser sight cut through the darkness overhead, illuminating the ceiling right above him.

Elias pulled the trapdoor shut from below, the heavy iron slamming into place with a dull thud.

He dropped down the ladder into a damp, brick-lined drainage tunnel running deep beneath 4th Street. Switching his flashlight back on, Elias saw a narrow path following an underground canal, leading toward the town's old canal district.

He clutched the USB drive tight in his pocket and started moving fast through the dark. He was trapped underground, but for the first time, he was one step ahead of them.