Chapter 4 - THE MIDNIGHT PURSUIT
The second blow against the steel door cracked the concrete frame.
Dust rained down from the ceiling.
"Luca! Cover the door!" Matteo shouted.
"They've got explosives, Boss! Standard C-4 breaching charge!"
My heart hammered against my ribs like a caged bird.
I grabbed my mother's leather briefcase.
"Put it down, Tessa!" Matteo yelled.
"It's my mother's!"
"If we die here, it won't matter!"
A deafening explosion rocked the basement.
The steel door blew inward, shredding its hinges and filling the room with thick, acrid smoke.
Gunfire erupted instantly.
Puffing plumes of white drywall dust mixed with the flash of muzzle fire.
Luca fired back three times into the corridor.
"Move! Now!" Matteo grabbed my jacket and dragged me toward a narrow ventilation tunnel behind the server racks.
"I can't fit through there!" I cried.
"You have to!"
Bullets sparked off the metal server casings.
A hot slug whined past my ear, embedding itself in the brick wall.
Luca cursed, taking a round to his left shoulder.
He stumbled but kept firing.
"Go, Boss! I'll hold them!"
"Don't be a fool, Luca!"
"Go!"
Matteo shoved me headfirst into the dark metal tunnel.
It was narrow, claustrophobic, and smelled of rust.
I scrambled forward on my hands and knees, my taped shoes scraping against the rough metal.
Behind me, muffled gunshots echoed like thunder in a cave.
Then came a blinding flash of red light.
The server room blew.
The shockwave threw me forward against the tunnel wall.
My shoulder screamed with pain.
I kept crawling.
Tears blurred my vision.
My mother's briefcase was clutched tightly in my right hand.
After what felt like miles, I saw a grate of moonlight ahead.
I kicked it with my shoe.
It gave way with a screech.
I tumbled out into the wet, cold Philadelphia alleyway.
Rain poured down, soaking my clothes instantly.
I scrambled to my feet.
A black sedan idled with its headlights off at the end of the alley.
The rear door opened.
A gloved hand reached out.
"Get in, Miss Romano," a calm voice said.
I froze.
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It wasn't Matteo.
THE END OF CHAPTER 4
