Chapter 3 - THE BELLY OF THE BEAST
Seventy floors down. It felt like an eternity. By the time they reached the mechanical sub-levels—the sprawling, cavernous underbelly of the Waldorf—Vance was breathing heavily, sweat beading on his forehead.
Maya pulled him behind a massive, humming industrial boiler just as the stairwell door they had exited burst open. Flashlight beams, harsh and white, sliced through the steamy darkness.
"Sweep the sector! They couldn't have bypassed the lobby," a heavily accented voice commanded. "The boss wants Vance's head on a platter before the sun comes up. And kill the maid. No loose ends."
Maya pressed her hands over her mouth to muffle her breathing. The reality of the situation crashed over her like freezing water. Kill the maid. She thought of her little sister, Sofia, lying in a hospital bed in Queens, waiting for the surgery that Maya's overtime pay was supposed to fund. If she died tonight, Sofia would be left with nothing. Maya's fear metastasized into a cold, hard anger.
Vance checked his magazine. "I have seven rounds left," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the roaring boilers. "I have an encrypted drive in my breast pocket. It contains the financial ledgers that tie the cartel directly to three US Senators and the head of the Marshals Service. That’s why Briggs sold me out. If I don't make it, you take the drive. Run."
"We are both making it," Maya whispered back fiercely. She looked around the boiler room. Her eyes landed on a rack of heavy-duty industrial cleaning supplies. Muriatic acid. Bleach. Ammonia. "Judge, can you shoot the main breaker box if I tell you when?"
May you like
Vance followed her gaze. "I can hit it. What's the play?"
"A distraction," Maya said, grabbing two large, unmarked gallon jugs. "And a very toxic cloud. Hold your breath when it happens."
