Chapter 4 - The Enemy's Nest
The descent into the old underground rail tunnels was like stepping into the belly of a forgotten beast. The air was thick with the stench of stagnant river water, rust, and sulfur. Every drop of water echoing off the curved brick ceiling sounded like a ticking clock counting down to disaster.
Rosie navigated the pitch-black tunnels with an eerie, practiced ease, holding onto the frayed collar of her dog while Viktor’s men moved behind them in single file, night-vision goggles casting an emerald glow over their hardened faces.
"Stop," Rosie whispered, pressing her back against the slimy brick wall.
Viktor raised a gloved hand, freezing the entire tactical unit instantly. He crept up beside her, leaning down. "What is it?"
"Listen," she murmured.
Through the constant, dreary drip of water, a faint, rhythmic sound drifted down the corridor—the heavy bass of a generator and the low, muffled laughter of men playing cards.
"Sector Four," one of Viktor’s scouts whispered into his comm-link. "Old maintenance junction. Marcus uses it as a secondary command post."
Viktor peered around the rusted corner of an iron junction box. Fifty yards down the tunnel, a heavy steel fire door was bolted shut, guarded by two of Marcus Vance’s armed enforcers. They were smoking, joking about some football match, completely unaware that death was walking up behind them on four muddy paws.
And somewhere beyond that door, behind three-inch reinforced steel, lay Leo Jr.
Viktor felt the blood roaring in his ears. The cold calculation of the mafia boss warred with the primal fury of an endangered father. He reached for his silenced pistol, his finger curling around the trigger.
Suddenly, Shadow let out a low, barely audible growl and pressed his nose against Rosie’s hand.
Rosie grabbed Viktor’s sleeve. "Don't shoot them," she whispered urgently.
Viktor frowned. "If I don't drop them, they raise the alarm."
"They won't," Rosie said, her eyes flashing with sudden inspiration. "Look at the electrical panel on the left wall. That’s the backup relay for the entire sector. If Shadow and I crawl through the secondary drainage pipe—the one too small for a man—we can short-circuit the junction box from the inside. The lights go out, the doors unlock automatically on the fail-safe protocol, and you take them down in total darkness without a single gunshot."
Viktor stared at her, appalled by the sheer audacity of the plan. "You want to crawl into a drainage pipe in enemy territory?"
"I want your son back," Rosie said simply. "And you want to keep your hands clean until you get to Marcus. Trust me."
For three agonizing seconds, Viktor Draven—a man who trusted no one, who survived an empire built on betrayal—looked into the eyes of a street-smart orphan and made the biggest gamble of his life.
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"Go," Viktor said, his voice barely a breath. "If you’re not out in three minutes, I blow the door."
Without another word, Rosie dropped to her hands and knees, sliding into the dark, claustrophobic iron pipe with Shadow right behind her like a silent, loyal shadow.
