Chapter 11
ALEX
With his heart hammering hard, Alex held his breath, his fingers aching from holding the grate in place. His eyes teared, his fingers cramping as the guard and Vanessa looked through every stall.
He worried they’d find him and Kyle hiding in the air vent, but Vanessa pushed into the stall before she shook her head. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know. They came in here and never left,” the guard said with a shake of his head as he turned off the water. “See? They left the water running.”
“And you had your eye on the door every single moment?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes, well…I did talk to Bryan. He was asking about the lockdown.” The guard shrugged. “It was only a minute or two.”
Vanessa heaved a sigh. “They must have slipped out then. But they couldn’t get into the elevators.”
“The stairs are right next to this door. They must have gone down through there.”
“Call to the guard booth in the lobby, let them know. We need to locate them right away. I am not going to get in trouble for this.” Vanessa shook her head, running a hand through her hair before she stormed from the bathroom.
The guard bobbed his head, grabbing his radio as he left. “Lobby guard station, this is Johnson. We have two missing guests. Repeat, we have two missing guests.”
The door to the men’s room thudded closed as he left. Alex breathed a sigh of relief as he eased the grate to the floor and set it down, crawling out of the vent.
He pulled his phone from his pocket, toggling on the speakerphone. “Okay, we’re clear. Heading back into the vent now.”
“Welcome back,” Sebastian said. “I’m sending you down to the basement floor.”
Alex froze, halfway into the vent, his eyes going wide. “Uhh, I mean, how is that going to happen?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got your schematic up,” Sebastian answered, “and I’m good at reading blueprints.”
“But we have to go down four levels,” Kyle called over his shoulder.
“Yep,” Sebastian answered. “We can only hope you’ll have to drop a floor at a time and not all four, but that’s what it looks like on the plans.”
“Oh good, just a floor at a time,” Alex said.
“Move forward until you come to a T junction. Then you’re going to take a left,” Sebastian said.
Alex heaved a sigh as he and Kyle army crawled through the vent system. “Uh, these vents are going to hold us, right?”
“I mean, they should. And the klaxons should cover our movements,” Kyle answered. “At least, I hope so.”
The metal vent creaked under Alex’s weight, every inch forward sending a sharp, uncomfortable pressure through his elbows and knees.
His phone’s dim light barely cut through the darkness, casting long, eerie shadows ahead.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, dripping into his eyes as he pressed forward, each movement feeling heavier and more labored.
Alex used his elbows to pull himself forward, using his cell phone’s flashlight to light the way. Sebastian remained on the line as they headed for the junction.
“Is there anywhere where we can escape from this and just take the stairs? Like this is pretty awful.”
“No, sorry,” Sebastian said. “I need you to go straight down to the server room.”
Alex’s heart skipped a beat. “Server room? Like where we can get the Project Eclipse full program?”
“One and the same,” Sebastian said.
Alex’s mind whirled as he realized they could finally get what they needed. “Okay, lead the way, bro.”
“Left,” Kyle said. “Right?”
“No, left,” Alex answered.
“That’s what I said. I said left, right?”
“Left, right. It’s left.” Alex crinkled his features. “Left, dude.”
“I know left,” Kyle answered. “I said left.”
“You said left, right. And your tone was questioning.” Alex shook his head. “And I’m telling you left.”
“I didn’t say left, right. I meant left, correct?”
“Oh, yes, correct. Left is correct.” Alex nodded as Kyle shimmied his way to the left.
Sebastian heaved a sigh on the other end of the line. “Will you two get it together? I feel like I’m watching a horrible movie.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Shadow,” Alex grumbled, “this is my first time crawling through air vents to rob a major corporation.”
“It’s not so much that as the horrible discussion between you and Doc. I mean, get your acts together. Working with Ava is so much nicer.”
Alex narrowed his eyes at the phone as he rounded the corner and continued forward. “Whatever.”
“You should be coming up to the first drop to the third-floor ventilation. It looks like it’s at an angle.”
“So basically, it’s the adult version of a slide, right?” Kyle murmured.
He continued forward to a black hole in the vent system before he froze. “Uhhh…”
“Please tell me that’s a ‘wow, this is going to be super fun’ groan that you just made.”
“Nope. It’s not an angle. This is a straight drop.”
Alex’s palms were slick with sweat, his heart pounding in his ears.
His stomach twisted at the sight of the drop below.
“Straight down? Are you serious?” His voice wavered, a mix of panic and disbelief.
Every instinct screamed at him to turn back, but he couldn’t.
Ava needed him. They were so close, but this vent felt like it was closing in around him.
“Yep,” Kyle answered. “Exactly like that.”
“Sorry,” Sebastian said. “You’re going to have to do it. Tell me when you’re down there.”
“I’ll let you know if I’m still alive,” Kyle said as he shimmied a little further forward.
He gripped the far edge of the metal, pulling himself forward until his legs dangled in the vertical vent.
Alex crawled forward, his eyes widening as he stared down the hole. “Uhh, no. Nope, can’t do it.”
“Sorry, I have another call I need to take. Figure it out.” The line clicked as Sebastian went off.
“Seriously? We’re crawling through the vent, and he has to take another call? What a total idiot,” Alex said, his voice shaky.
“Okay, umm, well, I guess we need to get down to the next floor, so I’m just going to…you know, drop down there and see if I break anything.”
“Wait,” Alex said, panic in her voice. “Don’t do it. What if you get hurt?”
“It’ll be horrible, but I’ll have to drag my broken body through the rest of the ventilation system until we get to the server room?”
“Doc, I’m serious. We have to go back or something.”
“No way,” Kyle grunted, his feet kicking the vent to steady himself. “We’re doing this. I’m going to go.”
“Okay, wait. I’ll count to three. One, two–”
Kyle slid down the vent, landing in a heap in the vent below. Alex’s eyes went wide as he stared down at him.
Kyle groaned, shifting around with pinched features.
“Doc! Doc, are you okay?”
He scrubbed his face before he nodded. “Yeah. I’m good. I’m good. You can do it. Oh, wait. Let me get out of your way.”
“I’m not sure I can do it,” Alex said with a groan.
“Yes, you can. You have to. We need to get to that server. Now, come on. Just…drop down here.”
Alex bobbed his head as he toggled off his phone’s display and shoved it into his pocket. “Okay, I’m just going to…go across like you did and then try to…ease down.”
“There’s no easing, bro. You just gotta do a quick drop.”
“I can ease. I’m tall. I’ll just…dangle from my arms and then kind of…slide down.” Alex grabbed hold of the corner across from him, pulling himself forward until his legs dropped into the vent.
“Dude, there’s no easing. I’m tall, too.”
“I’m taller,” Alex answered with a grunt as he let his chest slid into the opening.
“You’re not that much taller. I’m also tall. I’m like just as tall, maybe a half inch shorter.”
Alex rested his chin on his edge of the vent as he gripped it. “No way. I’m way taller.”
“You’re lankier,” Kyle answered. “I’ll give you that. I’m a little more bulky, probably more muscular.”
“That’s such crap,” Alex said as he tried to talk himself into dropping to the floor below.
“Definitely true. Just let go. Don’t try to dangle. You’re not as tall as a story, bro. Just drop.”
“I’m not going to just drop. I’m not going to do that.” Alex squeezed his eyes closed, trying to steady his nerves before he took the plunge.
He blew out a long breath before he started to lower himself down. “Okay, here we go.”
“Just let go,” Kyle advised.
“I’m not letting go.” Alex’s arms trembled as he dangled from the vent’s edge, his fingers slipping with each passing second.
His breath hitched, and his vision blurred with sweat as he stared down the drop below.
The fall seemed endless, a dark chasm waiting to swallow him whole.
His heart thudded painfully in his chest as his grip finally gave way.
The freefall only lasted a second, but the impact jarred his bones, the shock of it knocking the breath from his lungs.
“Mav? You okay?”
“Yeah,” he squeaked out, struggling to get breath back into his lungs.
“Awesome. Only like three more of those to go into the basement,” Kyle said. “And I guess we go forward here since there’s no way to go.”
Alex’s features pinched as he dug his phone from his pocket. “Can’t wait. I hope Shadow’s back with us soon.”
With Kyle crawling forward, Alex grunted as he flipped onto his belly, his arms aching from the effort of dragging his weight through the vents.
His knees throbbed from the constant pressure on the hard metal surface, and every breath felt heavier than the last. By the time they reached the second-floor vent, his muscles burned with fatigue, but he couldn’t stop now.
“Still nothing from Shadow?” Kyle asked as they hit a junction in the vent.
“Nope,” Alex said with a shake of his head. “I guess we either have to wait or pick a way.”
Kyle glanced right, then left. “I’m going…left.”
“Dude, I hope you aren’t wrong because backing up is going to be really awful.”
“I feel like this is right.” Kyle turned the corner, and they crawled forward until they found another vent leading down. “That’s a huge drop. Like double the others.”
“It’s dropping into the basement. Hopefully not in front of a guard,” Alex answered.
“Yeah. Umm, it’s…far.”
“Like ‘we’re going to die far’ or like ‘we’re going to be mangled far’?”
Kyle shifted his head back and forth. “Umm, mangled to a point where death may be preferable. But I think we need to do it.”
“I don’t see any other choice either.”
“All right. I’m going for it,” Kyle said.
“Whoa, wait,” Alex said as Kyle moved forward.
“They don’t call me crazy Kyle for nothing.” He shot a grin over his shoulder before he shifted forward and dropped into the passage.
A massive crash boomed through the vent. Alex held his breath as he crawled forward, his eyes wide. He glanced down, finding Kyle in a heap in what he expected was the basement.
“Doc?”
His heart skipped a beat at the familiar voice. A second later, Ava appeared, pressing two fingers against Kyle’s throat.
“Ava?” Kyle asked, his voice weak. “Did I die?”
“Nope,” she said. “Where does it hurt?”
“Can you kiss it better?” Kyle asked.
“Hey!” Alex called from his perch above them.
Ava snapped her gaze up, her eyes widening. “Ace!”
Alex’s heart swelled at the sight of her, the tension in his body loosening just slightly.
“Hey, babe,” he breathed, his voice softer than usual, the relief washing over him. Ava’s eyes softened as she knelt beside Kyle. For just a second, everything else—the alarms, the guards, the danger—faded into the background.
“Are you coming down? I could use your help.”
“I mean, I really don’t want to, but…I guess.”
“Cool. Just let me drag Doc out of the way so you don’t kill him when you fall.”
“I can move. I’m good,” Kyle answered. He shifted to his hands and knees, scurrying away.
“Okay, babe, whenever you’re ready.”
“Hey, Avs?”
She appeared under the vent again. “Yeah?”
“Is there like a mattress or a cushion or something you could put down to break my fall?”
“Nope. This is literally the server room. Sorry, babe.”
He grumbled, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as he positioned himself closer to the edge, ready to take the plunge. He licked his lips, his heart hammering. But he had to get to Ava. He just hoped he could do it one piece.
With his eyes squeezed closed, he blew out a shaky breath before he spread his legs, bracing his shoes against the sides, hoping the friction of the rubber on the metal slowed him.
He slid faster than he hoped, his eyes shut until he smacked into the floor. Everything hurt for an instant before a warm hand pressed against his cheek.
“Ace?”
He snapped his eyes open, finding Ava hovering over him, concern etched into every line of her face. “Hey, you okay?”
He smiled at her. “I think so.”
“Good,” she answered. “Because I need your help cracking that server.”
“I can do that.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“Perfect. While you work on the server, I’ll be working on a plan to get out of here with Shadow. We’re running out of time, Alex,” she added, her voice low and urgent. “If we don’t find a way out of here soon, they’re going to lock this place down even tighter, and we’ll be trapped.”
Alex’s heart skipped a beat as he realized what he’d just went through was probably the easy part. Even if they got the program, would they ever make it out of this facility?