The click of the service grate echoed too loudly in the confined space. Julian froze, his hand snapping to Elena’s arm, his fingers tightening in a silent command to stay motionless. Above them, the overhead lights flickered—a telltale sign of a proximity sensor being triggered.
"They're not just searching," Julian murmured, his voice barely a breath. "They're hunting."
The sound of heavy, armored boots intensified, followed by the metallic shing of a breaching charge being primed on the floor above. Julian didn't wait for the explosion. He grabbed Elena, pulling her toward the far end of the tunnel, away from the light of the main shaft.
"If they blow that grate," he said, his eyes scanning the rusted piping along the ceiling, "they'll flood this section with gas. We need the bypas
