Under Fire by Rachel Amphlett

Author:Rachel Amphlett
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3
Tags: Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense, Spies & Politics, Thriller & Suspense, Thriller, Thrillers, Military, Terrorism, Espionage
ISBN: 9780992268510
Published: 2013-12-31T06:00:00+00:00

***

Dan looked around at his surroundings as their captors closed the cellar door. A set of shelves caught his eye. He lunged for them as the room plunged into darkness and the sound of deadbolts being closed echoed around the subterranean chamber.

‘What are you doing?’ asked Antonia, her voice quivering.

‘Hang on.’ Dan reached along the shelves slowly. He was sure he’d seen something they could use, but he didn’t want to knock it on the floor – he’d never find it again.

His fingers traced over the rough surface, touching dust, old cardboard packets. He sneezed, and as his hand moved with the involuntary reflex that shivered through his body, his fingers brushed the surface of what he’d been searching for. He grinned as he pulled it towards him, his heart beating.

Please let this work.

He turned the object in his hands, getting his bearings. Holding it vertically, he pushed the switch jutting out from the side of it, and held his breath.

The torch hesitantly flickered to life.

Dan slapped the side of it with the palm of his hand and willed the beam to keep steady. He swung the light to his left and right, getting his bearings, then caught a glimpse of Antonia staring at him.

‘Let’s find a way out,’ he said.

Easing himself past discarded boxes strewn across the floor, he handed the torch to Antonia then placed his hands above his head and pushed at the cellar door.

It was fixed solid, with no movement under Dan’s efforts. He cursed.

‘It would’ve been too easy,’ said Antonia, as she handed him the torch and watched him swing the beam around the cellar.

‘I know, but if you don’t check the obvious, you could be wasting time looking for alternatives,’ he replied. He shone the torch into the gloom. Cobwebs hung from every one of the exposed beams. He shuddered as one brushed against his face. He swept his hand across his face, and felt an involuntary shiver down his spine.

‘Are you scared of spiders?’ whispered Antonia, the amusement in her voice evident.

‘Only the big ones,’ he hissed.

He pushed his way to the back of the cellar, climbing over empty crates and boxes. He swung the torchlight across the faint lettering on the outside of the various wooden cartons and frowned. A military-like stencil array of letters and numbers had been printed across the lids. He turned his head, trying to fathom the abbreviations and numbered sequences, then shook his head and moved across to a pile of empty cardboard boxes, Antonia following in his wake.

‘What is it?’ she asked, her gaze following the torchlight while she carefully followed Dan across the cellar floor.

‘Supplies,’ he murmured. ‘Which means we’re on the right track.’

‘Right track?’

Dan stopped and shone the torch across the cellar to the far wall. ‘When I was upstairs in Hassan’s study, I saw an old map on the wall. It had lines leading away from the villa – I thought they were old footpaths or something, but now I’m wondering if they were tunnels.

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