Chapter 3
My throat is dry and scratchy, and my neck hurts. My ass hurts, too. Actually, most everything hurts. I open my eyes and try to get my bearings, but it’s completely dark, and I gasp.
“I’m right here.” The deep voice next to me is quickly followed by a click, and a small amount of light illuminates the area around me. “Just conserving the batteries.”
A sharp pain in my leg brings everything back to me—Eckhart, the hotel, the explosions, and the people running in the street.
“How long was I out?”
“A little over an hour.”
“Anything on your radio?”
“Nothing.” Eckhart shifts beside me. “No more explosions either.”
“Is it safe to go back?” I rub my hands over my dusty skirt and check my phone. There’s no signal, and the battery is nearly dead.
“The only way to know is to try,” he says. “It’s been quiet for a while now.”
“Should we go?” I know I’m peppering him with questions that he can’t answer, but I don’t know what else to say.
“I want you to stay right here,” Eckhart tells me. “I’m going to head back the way we came to see if we can get out that way.”
“Why can’t I come with you?”
“Because I can move faster on my own. Your leg is going to feel pretty painful when you put weight on it, and I’m fairly certain you’re safe here for now.”
“What if someone comes?”
“Scream,” he says. “The tunnel echoes and I’ll hear you. I can be back here quickly.”
“What if there are more explosions?”
“Then I’ll come back.”
He stands, and the light flickers around the tracks and the rocks. He dusts off his backside with one hand.
“I’ve got to take the light with me,” he says. “I won’t be gone long though. Just yell if you need me.”
“What if…what if you don’t come back?”
Eckhart looks down at me before crouching and looking me in the face.
“No matter what has happened up there,” he says, “you are in my protection. I don’t take my job lightly. I will not let anything happen to you. You, Hannah Savinski, are my one and only concern until I can get you to the Pentagon.”
He keeps staring into my eyes until I nod at him, accepting his words.
“Now stay put,” he orders. “I’ll be back soon.”
He jogs into the tunnel and around a corner, and I’m left in complete darkness with nothing but my thoughts.
Five months ago, I was just a grunt in the IT department of a company with a lot of government contracts. I worked nine-to-five, came home to a diabetic cat in a quiet apartment on the north side of Chicago, did my laundry, and watched Netflix. A single email regarding account data with some funky-looking numbers on it changed my life.
“Hannah, could you please check the discrepancy in this report? Jillian’s out of town, and I know she usually does these things, but we’ve got people waiting on this. Mr. Hudson has already gone over everything, so it sho
uldn’t be a big deal.”
“Sure! No problem!”