CHAPTER 141: CHAPTER 141: FIRE IN THE TERMINAL

The first muzzle flash lit the chamber like a lightning strike.

Sound followed a heartbeat later—sharp, concussive, bouncing off the curved ceiling until it became a rolling thunder that made every breath taste of cordite.

Keller dropped low behind the broken ticket kiosk as shards of plastiglass erupted where his head had been a moment before. The kiosk’s metal frame groaned under the impact of incoming fire, but it was thick enough to hold. For now.

Lin, crouched by the abandoned maglev car, returned fire in short, disciplined bursts—two shots, pause, two more. No wasted ammunition, no panic in his movements. He shifted after every volley, never firing from the same spot twice. Keller noticed it, filed it away. Old instincts like that didn’t fade.

The attackers moved in pairs, leapfrogging between cover. They weren’t random street guns—they had coordination, hand signals, overlapping arcs of fire. The drone in the tunnel had been their scout. Whoever was running this squad had planned the hunt well.

A round ricocheted off the kiosk frame near Keller’s knee. He shifted right, leaning just far enough to spot a figure moving behind a toppled bench. He exhaled, squeezed off three shots. The figure went down hard, weapon clattering to the tiled floor.

One less. Many more to go.

Lin’s voice carried across the chamber, calm despite the chaos. "Two flanking right!"

Keller swung his aim toward the indicated archway. Sure enough, two shapes darted into view, one with a compact submachine gun, the other carrying what looked like a shotgun modded for close quarters. He fired at the lead man—caught him high in the shoulder. The shotgunner ducked, but Lin’s follow-up shot hit center mass, dropping him instantly.

They were buying themselves seconds at a time, nothing more.

A metallic whine cut through the gunfire—the sound of servos winding up. Keller glanced toward the main entrance and saw the spiderlike drone reappearing, its sensor array sweeping the chamber. This time, it wasn’t scouting. Its underside pivoted open, revealing a compact rotary weapon.

"Down!" Keller shouted.

The drone opened fire. The sound was a shrill, ripping buzz as streams of caseless rounds tore through the kiosks, shattering decades-old plaster and spraying splinters of composite material.

Keller hit the floor, sliding behind a concrete support pillar as shards of the kiosk exploded behind him. Across the chamber, Lin ducked into the maglev car, firing two blind shots through a window before disappearing into the shadows inside.

The attackers pressed forward under the drone’s covering fire, their boots pounding across the cracked tiles. The sound was growing closer, sharper—too close.

Keller switched tactics. He unclipped a smoke canister from his belt, yanked the pin, and rolled it across the floor toward the advancing line. White-gray smoke erupted instantly, curling upward and swallowing half the chamber in a dense fog.

The drone’s fire wavered, its targeting thrown off by the sudden obscuration. Keller used the moment to move—darting low toward the maglev car. Bullets sparked off the tiled floor behind him, but he kept moving, diving through the open door and landing in the aisle beside Lin.

The car’s interior smelled of rust and stale graffiti paint. Rows of gutted seats gave them lanes of fire in both directions. Lin had taken position near the far door, eyes locked on the shifting shapes in the smoke.

"They’ll push through the fog in under a minute," Lin said.

Keller nodded, scanning the car. "Emergency release?"

"Rear coupling," Lin replied, already moving toward the back of the car. "But it’ll make noise."

"Everything we do down here makes noise," Keller said, following.

The rear of the car had a rusted coupling assembly, a relic from when the maglev had been operational. Lin pulled a small multi-tool from his belt and went to work, his movements precise despite the gunfire and shouting outside. Keller covered him, firing short bursts at any movement in the smoke.

The attackers were getting smart—firing at likely cover positions instead of waiting for visuals. A round tore through the maglev’s window, passing so close to Keller’s face that he felt the hot wind of it against his cheek. He ducked, returning fire at the muzzle flash.

"Almost there," Lin muttered.

A sharp metallic crack echoed as the coupling released. The maglev car lurched slightly, the faintest breath of moving air coming from behind it.

"What’s back there?" Keller asked.

"Service ramp. Drops to the flood tunnels."

Keller grinned despite himself. "Perfect place to get lost."

"Or trapped," Lin said flatly.

They moved fast. Keller laid down suppressing fire while Lin dropped to the ramp, scanning for movement below. The air down there smelled of wet stone and stagnant water. Faint trickles echoed from somewhere deeper.

Lin went first, sliding down the incline and landing in ankle-deep water. Keller followed, boots splashing into the cold runoff. Above them, shouts rose as the attackers realized their quarry was moving.

A burst of fire raked the top of the ramp. Concrete chips rained down around Keller as he moved deeper into the tunnel with Lin. The sound of the fight above became muffled, replaced by the distant rumble of unseen water flows.

The tunnel here was different—narrower, with slick stone walls and a low ceiling. It curved sharply after thirty meters, killing the line of sight from the terminal.

They slowed their pace just enough to listen. Behind them, the footsteps and gunfire had faded. The hunters weren’t following.

"Why stop?" Keller asked quietly.

"They don’t know this layout," Lin said. "Which means they’ll call in someone who does."

They pressed on, the tunnel sloping downward. The sound of running water grew louder until they emerged into a cavernous underground cistern. The space was vast, circular, with a deep pool at its center fed by multiple inflow channels. Rusted catwalks ringed the perimeter, some collapsed into the water below.

The air was damp and cool, carrying the faint scent of mold.

Lin scanned the catwalks, his weapon steady. "Multiple exits. All bad. Which one gets us to the surface fastest?"

Keller pointed to a narrow stairway partially hidden behind a collapsed section of railing. "That one. But we’ll be exposed the whole climb."

Lin’s mouth tightened. "Then we move fast."

They made for the stairs, boots clanging against the rusted metal. Halfway up, Keller froze. A sound—low, deliberate—came from above. Not footsteps. Not machinery.

A voice.

"Thought you’d take this way," it said.

Both men looked up. A figure stood at the top of the stairs, silhouetted by the faint light filtering in from some unseen grate. The stance was relaxed, but the rifle in the figure’s hands was not.

Lin’s jaw tightened. "Mara."

The name was enough to tell Keller what he needed—this wasn’t just another hunter. This was someone who knew Lin, and probably knew his moves as well as he did.

Mara’s voice was smooth, carrying easily in the damp air. "Orders were to bring you in alive, Lin. Can’t promise the same for your friend."

Keller’s grip tightened on his weapon. "Generous of you to warn us."

Mara smiled faintly. "Not a warning. Just manners."

The rifle came up.

Keller and Lin moved in the same heartbeat—one diving right, the other left. The first shot cracked against the metal stair, sending sparks into the air. Keller hit the catwalk hard, rolled, came up firing. Lin moved along the opposite railing, his return fire forcing Mara back from the edge.

The fight was fast, close, and brutal. Shots pinged off the catwalk supports, echoing in the vast chamber. Mara was skilled—always moving, never staying in the same firing lane long enough to be predictable.

But she was alone.

Keller caught her silhouette between two support beams and fired. She jerked back, weapon dropping as she retreated toward the exit. The sound of her footsteps faded quickly above.

They didn’t chase. Every second spent here increased the odds that the hunters above were regrouping.

Lin looked at Keller. "We need to move."

Keller nodded. "Lead the way."

They climbed the rest of the stairs in tense silence, emerging into a narrow brick maintenance corridor lit by a single flickering bulb. Somewhere ahead, faint and distant, was the hum of the surface.

Neither of them said it aloud, but both knew—this wasn’t escape.

This was just the next stage of the hunt.