Whiskey-Eyed Woman (Soldiering On Book 5) by Aislinn Kearns

Author:Aislinn Kearns [Kearns, Aislinn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-08-17T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Duncan stared down at the open manhole, wincing at the foul smell wafting up from below.

“Are you sure there isn’t another way in?” Duncan asked into his earpiece.

“Nope,” replied Paul, sounding suspiciously cheerful. Duncan narrowed his eyes. Paul was not a cheerful person.

“Fine. I’m going in. I might be out of signal range once I’m underground, so keep an eye on things.”

Blake, Zack, Sam, and Paul all murmured their affirmative. Taking a deep breath, Duncan squatted and swung his legs over the lip of the manhole. He placed his feet on the ladder and began his descent, pausing only to re-cover the manhole above him.

The sounds shifted and changed as Duncan neared the bottom. He waited until his feet splashed into water—at least, he hoped it was just water—on the ground below, then eased away from the ladder. The smell was so potent in the enclosed space that he had to breathe through his mouth, ignoring the way it seemed to coat his tongue.

He pulled a LED light out of his back pocket and switched it on, sweeping the beam around the tunnel. It was about seven feet high, tall enough for Duncan to stand upright without stooping. The walls were bare of graffiti and grime, and there were about four inches of liquid coating his boots.

“Can you guys hear me?” he asked into his earpiece.

Only the crackle of static replied.

Duncan sighed, hefted the pack on his back, and started down the tunnel. He alternated between a brisk walk and an easy jog, torn between haste and the need to go easy on his bad leg. Unfortunately, the manhole they’d chosen had been a few miles out from the warehouse. Any closer and he risked being seen by Tulane or one of his men.

They’d struck it lucky when Paul had seen the old manhole on the map, no longer in use due to the shifting boundaries of the warehouse. Paul thought he could see the exit on the satellite footage, but it was hard to tell if the brown smudge was what they suspected. If he could have, Duncan would’ve preferred to check himself that the manhole on the other side wasn’t buried under any paving or road, but he had to hope he’d get lucky.

Blake had opted to go over the western wall, and the two would meet wherever Zack told them Mandy was likely to be held.

Duncan sloshed further into the darkness, almost immune to the smell by now. Almost.

He’d had to memorise the directions Paul had given him to make his way through the tunnels, not wanting to waste time drawing up maps. He repeated the instructions to himself. Right, Straight, Left, Right.

Time ticked on, and Duncan sloshed through the water as quickly as he could. Had Blake made it into the compound, or was he waiting for Duncan?

The ground grew uneven, and Duncan tripped, coming down hard on his bad knee. He grunted in pain, holding still to wait for it to pass even as the fetid water sank into his trousers.

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