“Maya, hold on tight.”
“I am. What about you? I know this has to hurt your back.”
“I’m fine. How’s your shoulder?”
Not necessarily fine, but she’d manage. “It’s okay. Keep going.”
He moved up three more steps, grabbed the next rung, and it came off in his hand.
His feet slipped and Maya gasped. “Gideon!”
His right foot found the nearest rung and Maya could breathe again.
“I’ve got it,” he said. “Just be careful.”
Gideon continued his climb, and Maya stayed right behind him while Vance’s footsteps grew closer. They were about halfway to the top when the first shot rang out, the bullet striking the wall near Maya’s foot. Rust and concrete fragments showered down, the metallic tang of corroded steel mixing with the damp, musty air of the shaft. She jerked, nearly losing her grip.
“Vance! Stop! You don’t want to do this!”
“Come back down and I’ll stop shooting!”
Once a liar, always a liar. Maya didn’t believe that for one second. “You just told me you wanted me dead!”
“I don’t want the land, but Ellie won’t listen to reason.”
“So, I’m supposed to die?”
“Don’t look down,” Gideon said. “Keep going.” The shaft walls glistened with condensation, decades of moisture having eaten away at both concrete and metal. Each breath came out in visible puffs in the frigid air. Now that she could see, she almost didn’t want to.
The next rung he tested broke free with a metallic snap that echoed through the shaft. “Give me that,” Maya said. “Hurry.”
He passed it to her, and she turned, looked down to see Vance taking aim again. She bit her lip, held on with her left hand, shoulder protesting, and threw the piece of metal at the man she’d once considered a friend. He cursed and ducked. She climbed faster. They were almost there. Her breaths came in frigid pants, and she kept expecting to feel the bite of a bullet in some part of her body.
“This is all her,” Vance shouted. “Everything! ... Well, almost everything. Not the phones. That was me. All me. Cut off communications,straight from the manual, right? Improvise. Modify, and adjust. Outsmart the enemy.” He mumbled something about the snowmobile accident that she didn’t catch but figured he’d been behind the sabotage. “That was supposed to land you dead or in the clinic. Easy access. She kills you and is arrested and I’m free!” More mumbling about achieving his mission. Then an odd laugh.
“I’m not sure I understand that plan,” Maya said.
Gideon huffed and moved to the next rung. “Doesn’t make any sense to me. He’s sounding unhinged.”
The ladder groaned, the sound of metal scraping against concrete sending shivers down her spine. Another shot echoed through the shaft, closer this time. She glanced over her shoulder to see Vance climbing as well. At least his aim was off with trying to climb and shoot at the same time. She dug into the pocket of her coat and snagged the flashlight.
Curled her fingers around it and paused. Turned to see Vance aiming again.
She let the flashlight fly and it clipped his head. He screamed and fumbled with the weapon. She held her breath, praying the gun would fall to the floor, but he caught it.
“Almost there,” Gideon said. His hands reached the edge of the ventilation opening where winter sunlight filtered through, casting long shadows down the shaft. Snow had drifted into the opening, creating patches of ice on the upper rungs. He pulled himself up, stretched out a hand, and shoved at the wire covering. Maya breathed a sigh of relief when it gave way with a loud protest. He looked down and his eyes flared a fraction before meeting her gaze. “As soon as I’m out, reach up and I’ll pull you up. Hurry.”
She nodded and watched him disappear through the opening. Vance had stopped shooting, and she looked back one more time. He was climbing fast and gaining on them. His proximity explained Gideon’s look. She had to get out before Vance reached her or she was dead. She scrambled upward.
The ladder lurched with a screech of tearing metal, pullingaway from the wall. Maya screamed as she fell backward, the shaft spinning around below her.
Vance’s cry reached her as well.
“Maya!” Gideon lunged, catching her wrist in a tight grip.
Pain raced up her arm, panic flowed, and she slammed back against the ladder. She waited for the drop, the terrifying freefall that would lead to her death at the bottom of the shaft, but the other side held as well as the bolts just below her.Thank you,God.
“I got you,” he said.
