There were only a half a dozen or so men waiting now, Lena saw as Dax led her a little further along the corridor. The men in the cell on the opposite side of the corridor hadn’t managed to get out. Either they’d broken the control fighting over it, or they hadn’t figured out the release code yet. One group waiting near the lift had already piled on and disappeared. The men who’d charged off in the opposite direction had also vanished from sight.
“Quiet!” Dax bellowed, his voice so commanding that all of the men within the sound of his voice instantly fell silent.
Faintly, far in the distance, Lena heard a popping sound.
“What’s that?” she whispered.
“Gunfire! Those idiots must have headed for the ground floor. Either they’ll lock down the lifts or the car will be full of guards when it comes back and they’ll be crawling all over us,” he muttered, glancing around at the ceiling as if he could see through the panels above them.
A wave of nausea went through Lena. She should’ve known it was stupid to think they could get out!
After a moment, Dax turned away from the lift and trotted down the corridor a short piece, staring up at the ventilation shaft. Without a word, he climbed the bars and began yanking and tugging at the cover. Dust and debris began to rain down in the corridor. Finally, he managed to break the cover free on one end. He turned then and held out a hand for Lena. “In here.”
Ignoring the hand he offered, Lena handed him the taser she still held, scrambled up the bars, and leaned out to grip the edge of the shaft. He ‘helped’ her as she began hoisting herself into the shaft by planting one hand in the middle of her ass and giving her a shove. As scared as she was, that hand did more than give her a boost by lifting some of the weight off her arms. It sent a jolt of adrenaline through her that gave her the strength to pull herself up.
She heard the scramble of feet as the prisoners waiting near the lift charged back to jockey for position to go next. The sizzle of the taser sent the smell of burning hair into the shaft behind her. A moment later, Dax appeared in the opening and clambered in behind her. “Move!” he commanded. “They’ll be on us any minute.”
The prisoners? The guards? Both? “Which way?”
“Up!”
She didn’t argue, but going up sounded as insane as going down to meet the guards waiting for them below. Without another word, she crawled down the shaft as fast as she could, pausing only when she reached the first intersection opening above her head. She stood up, then, wondering how the hell she was supposed to climb the thing.
“Use the seams to get a finger grip and brace yourself across the opening,” Dax said, almost as if he’d read her mind.
The seams? Good god!
Do or die, she reminded herself, digging her fingers into the seam just above her head and lifting one foot to brace it against the side of the vent shaft. She was sweating so profusely with effort by the time she reached the next intersection her hands and feet kept slipping. Shaking like a leaf, she parked her rump on the ledge of another intersecting shaft and struggled to catch her breath. “How far are we from the top?” she gasped out in a breathless whisper.
Dax didn’t even look up. “Three levels.”
“More?” Lena asked in dismay.
“You want to go back?”
Gritting her teeth, Lena wiped her hands on what was left of her tunic and felt around for another seam. Her heart leapt into her throat as her foot slipped along the slick inside of the shaft the moment she tried her weight against it. Dax caught her foot before she slammed it into his face, forcing her leg upward until she could plant it firmly against the shaft wall again.
Fear rode her all the way up, as she slipped over and over, clawing at the seams that were little more than bumps until her fingers began to bleed, adding to her difficulties. When she’d made it to the next intersection, she tore a strip off the bottom of the tunic and wrapped it around her fingertips, tying it. The little spots of blood seeping through the thin fabric seemed to give her a little more traction. When she paused at the next intersection, she tore off two more and wrapped the strips around her toes.
She wasn’t going to make it, she thought glumly, even while she continued to go through the motions. She was going to make a misstep somewhere and slam into Dax and take them both down.
It became a litany pounding in her skull as she struggled on and on, ignoring the shaking in her muscles at the fear and strain. She was ready to admit defeat by the time she’d finally reached another intersection. “I don’t think I can do much more of this.” In fact none.
“We’re there.”
Lena blinked, her head popping up automatically as she glanced toward the top of the shaft. She couldn’t see anything but more shaft and then a blockage of some kind. “We are?” she asked doubtfully.
“Wait here.”
Lena moved further back into the horizontal shaft as Dax climbed past her. She watched him until he reached the end. Bracing himself carefully, he began kicking at the piece blocking the top of the shaft. She’d just begun to think he couldn’t get the leverage he needed to knock the thing loose when it fell to one side and a gust of air whipped past her, freezing the sweat on her skin. Before she could blink, Dax was over the side and out of her sight.
“Dax?” she called in a quaky, frightened voice.
He leaned over the opening, holding a hand down. “Come on, baby girl.”
Lena’s chin wobbled. Abruptly, all she could think of was that she wanted Morris. He’d always made everything alright. She needed Morris and he was gone. He was never going to be there for her again.
“Just a little further. Come on.”
