"Affirmative."
"They're renovating the basement," Finn jumped in. "Construction permit shows they're connecting to the old Prohibition-era tunnel system. The whole block is networked underneath—speakeasies used them in the twenties."
"The tunnels connect to the Charleston Museum three blocks north," Zara added. "Museum's closed today for a private event, but their loading dock is unmanned. Kenji's already looping their security cameras."
"Basement door is behind the rare books section," Kenji directed. "Turn right at the Joyce first editions. Lock is electronic. Sending you the override code now."
Sarah watched their coordination with awe. While she'd been panicking, the cyber team had found a century-old escape route in seconds.
"Moving," Maya confirmed. "I see the bookstore."
"Federal units are forty seconds behind you," Finn warned. "But they don't know about the tunnels. City records were never digitized."
"How did you even find those?" Sarah asked.
"Historical society database," Zara replied. "Finn's got a small history obsession."
"It's so cool," Finn protested. "Did you know Charleston had the most sophisticated bootlegging network?—"
"Later, history boy," Izzy interrupted. "Maya, status?"
"In the bookstore. Found the Joyce section—wow, first edition Ulysses."
"Focus," Ronan commanded, but Sarah heard the relief in his voice.
"Basement door located. Code worked. I'm in."
Sarah watched the federal units on traffic cams, saw them rush into the bookstore thirty seconds after Maya disappeared underground.
"Tunnel's actually in decent shape," Maya reported. "Someone's been maintaining these."
"Ghost tour company uses portions of them," Kenji explained. "But not this section. You should have clear passage to the museum."
Through the news feed, Sarah saw Pemberton finishing his interview, looking directly at the camera. Directly at her.
"He knows I'm watching," she said quietly. "This is all for me. He's showing me he won."
"No," Griff said firmly. "He's showing us his weakness. He's so focused on hurting you, he's making mistakes. And we're going to use that against him."
Sarah wanted to believe him. But looking at her screens—Axel in custody, her own face now appearing on news sites as "Person of Interest," the team being hunted—she couldn't see how they won this.
"Have faith," Griff said, as if reading her thoughts.
She looked at him, surprised. "You're telling me to have faith?"
"Someone has to. And right now, yours might be all we've got."
"Maya's clear," Zara announced. "Exiting at the museum now."
One small victory. Sarah held onto it, Tank's tags warm against her skin, and tried to believe it would be enough.
30
With every passing second,the food truck’s already cramped interior shrank.
While Sarah typed, Griff watched the afternoon sun beat down on Charleston through the reinforced windows. The truck swayed and rolled as Doc navigated side streets, keeping them mobile while federal vehicles prowled the main thoroughfares.
He hated this part. The waiting. Most operatives did, though Tank had always demonstrated an unreal ability to catnap anytime. Anywhere.
