Roman shoved Kara through first. She scrambled into the vent, swearing under her breath. He rushed in after her.
“Go,” Viktor told me, motioning.
I slid into the duct, landing on my hands and knees on smooth metal. The height was just enough to crouch, but not high enough to stand. Andrei crawled in behind me, then Dmitri, then Lev, and Viktor pulled in last just as gunfire erupted from somewhere behind us.
“They found us,” Lev said.
“Of course they did,” I muttered.
“Then move,” Dmitri ordered.
We scuttled and crawled quickly through the dim tunnel. The scraping of boots and muttered breaths surrounded me, the Dragunovs and Markovs, Kara and I pressed too close in too small a space, moving like a single creature with seven heads and fourteen fists.
No turning back now.
The vent sloped downward at a steep angle. Roman slid forward, feet first.
“Hell, yeah,” he said. “This is the fun part.”
Kara muttered, “Speak for yourself—oh, shit?—”
She dropped.
I went next.
My hands skidded on the metal as I descended in a fast, uncontrolled slide. Heat brushed my palms from friction; my hair whipped behind me. The tunnel spat us out into a large maintenance junction.
We crashed into the ground below—Kara first, then me, then the rest, each rolling out of the way of those following. Viktor slid in last and landed with a heavy thud.
“That sucked,” Kara muttered.
“That was amazing,” Roman corrected.
Dmitri rose quickly, sweeping the room. “Where are we?”
“Service nexus,” I said, pointing to the metal catwalk ahead. “Leads to an alcove that opens out into the sublevel loading docks.”
“Sublevel?” Lev questioned. “We go deeper before we go out?”
“Yes,” I said. “That’s why they won’t expect it.”
Roman cracked his knuckles. “Her brain is incredible.”
Viktor glared. “Hands off. She belongs to the Dragunovs.”
“Both of you shut up,” Andrei said. “What’s next?”
“Door,” I said, jogging across the catwalk to a big metal door.
The loading dock access was heavy. It was thick, reinforced steel, but old. Not one of Revenant’s newer, smarter designs. I ran my fingers along it, feeling for a latch. I found it and pulled. It clicked and released with a satisfying clunk.
Roman grabbed the handle and opened the door. The door groaned inward.
Cool night desert air blew in.
Freedom.
My stomach twisted with a hot surge of relief.
