Chapter 15 - The Shadow over Riverdale
The air in the basement was growing heavy and toxic as the hissing gas rushed through the vents.
"I can't see anything!" Jasmine cried out, coughing violently as the fumes stung her eyes.
"Stay low! Crawl along the concrete floor!" Emma commanded, dropping to her hands and knees while gripping the leather ledger inside her jacket. "Follow the condensation line along the cold water pipes! It leads directly to the exterior drainage hatch!"
Marcus took the lead, using his heavy steel-toed work boot to smash through a rusted iron grate covering the emergency drainage conduit. "Here! The hatch is jammed from the outside with a padlock!"
"Use the crowbar!" Emma yelled through her sleeve.
Marcus wedged the crowbar beneath the padlock hasp and threw his entire body weight against the steel bar. With a screech of tearing metal, the lock snapped.
Marcus kicked the heavy steel hatch open, and crisp, freezing night air flooded into the toxic basement.
"Go! Go!" Marcus pushed Jasmine up through the opening into the alleyway behind the store, then hauled Emma up by her arms just as an electrical spark near the main breaker ignited a burst of flame inside the basement ceiling.
The three of them tumbled onto the asphalt alleyway, gasping for clean air as thick gray smoke billowed from the open hatch.
Sirens wailed in the near distance as two black Oakhaven Police cruisers and Robert Walker's security SUVs roared into the alley, tires screeching against the wet pavement.
Robert leaped out of the SUV before it had even come to a full stop, his face etched with terror. "Emma! Jasmine! Marcus! Are you all right?"
Emma sat on the curb, coughing, but held the black leather ledger high in the air with both hands. "We have it, Robert! We have the maintenance logs and Vance's handwritten override on the truck that hit Lily!"
Robert dropped to his knees in the alley, taking the book with reverence, his eyes brimming with tears. "You saved it. You brave, incredible girl."
Detective Raymond ran up, inspecting the damaged basement hatch. "The gas valve was deliberately bypassed with an electronic remote timer. Vance's private security operatives tried to cremate the evidence and kill everyone inside."
"Where is Vance now?" Emma asked, catching her breath.
"He fled his Chicago penthouse two hours ago," Raymond replied grimly. "His private jet is fueled at Midway Airport, but federal marshals have placed a no-fly hold on all his corporate tail numbers. He's cornered."
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Robert stood tall, his gaze hardened into titanium. "He won't flee the country until after tomorrow's emergency shareholder vote. Vance's ego won't let him leave without trying to liquidate his sixty million dollars in corporate stock. He will be at the Chicago Financial Center tomorrow morning."
Emma stood up beside him, wiping soot from her forehead. "Then that's where we're going. We're going to face him in front of the entire world."
