Chapter 22: Viper's Den

'Corporate.' The word hung in the air. My mind flashed back to the hospital, to the cold, corporate language in the files. To the man who projected weary empathy while cataloging human beings like assets. “Finch,” I said, the name tasting like acid. “Dr. Finch. He’s not just working for them. He’s playing his own game.”

The horrifying realization that we were caught between two predators, and that a third one might be pulling both their strings, was cut short by the sound of heavy boots on the floorboards above us. They were here. Now, I really wish that I had kept better track of all of the players in this deadly game. I know I am missing a key component. I look at Maddie. Does she know who ‘corporate’ is, because I am doubting that it is just Finch. His touch wasn’t that of a man in full control. He has a puppet master, perhaps several, and now he is playing his hand. Is it to benefit one of his masters or is it solely to benefit him, as I had assumed?

“This way!” Maddie commanded, all business now. She slapped a panel on the far wall, and a section slid open, revealing a narrow, dark tunnel. “It leads to the alley behind the saloon. Go!”

We plunged into the darkness, the sounds of splintering wood and shouting from the office above echoing behind us. The tunnel was tight, smelling of damp earth and concrete. We ran, our footsteps echoing in the confined space. Then, a deafening explosion rocked the tunnel from behind, sending a shockwave that threw us both off our feet. The ceiling groaned, and a section of the tunnel just behind me collapsed in a shower of dirt and splintered timbers, plunging the path back into darkness.

“Maddie!” I yelled, scrambling to my feet and turning back to the wall of debris. Dust choked the air.

I heard a muffled cough from the other side. “I’m okay!” her voice came back, faint and strained. “The main entrance is blocked. They knew about this, too.” A volley of gunfire erupted, the sound terrifyingly close to her. “Go, Jack! Get out of the alley! I’ll find another way!”

“The hell I am!” I yelled, starting to claw at the debris. "I never leave anyone behind. Come on!"

“Don’t be an idiot!” she screamed, her voice raw with desperation. “You can’t help me if you’re dead! Go! That’s an order!”

The word ‘order’ hit me like a slap. But she was right. I was no good to anyone trapped in a collapsed tunnel. With another burst of gunfire from her side, I made the choice. I turned and ran, leaving her behind. I burst out of the tunnel exit and into the relative quiet of the alley, my heart pounding, my lungs burning. I was alone, hunted, and exposed. The game board Maddie had spoken of had just been flipped over, and a whole new set of monsters had crawled out from underneath. But that’s just it, when you deal with the mafia, isn’t it? You might cut off a head or two, but five more emerge, each nastier than the ones before.

The alley was a dead end. I pressed myself against the cool brick of The Rusty Pick Saloon, listening. The shouts from the Chronicle office were distant now, replaced by the whine of tires on pavement. They were sweeping the area. I had to move, but where? Every shadow seemed to hold a threat. I was a ghost in my own nightmare, haunted by the living. My hand instinctively went to my chest, searching for the comfort of the printout, the evidence that had started this spiral. It was gone, confiscated by Brody. I knew it was gone, but I had to hope that it magically reappeared because I needed something solid to grasp as my world had just been knocked out from under me. The entire town had become a viper's nest, and I was caught in the center of it.