Chapter 6 - Through the Coal and Iron
The coal chute was narrow, damp, and smelled of ancient dust and decay.
Claire pulled her hair back into a tight knot, wrapping a heavy canvas jacket around her shoulders to protect herself from the sharp iron edges of the old shaft.
"Take this," Ethan said, handing her a small, waterproof radio and a compact black flashlight. "Once you cross the railway creek, hit the frequency knob twice. Rinaldi is waiting with eighty men at the staging area three miles out. He just needs the green light to flank them from behind."
Claire nodded, slipping the radio into her pocket.
She looked back once toward the bunker entrance. Dominic was sitting on the floor with Lily in his lap. The terrifying crime Don was carefully holding a tiny wooden cup of water for the little girl, whispering quiet stories about farm animals to keep her from crying.
Lily caught Claire’s eye and gave a small, sleepy wave with her rabbit's paw.
Claire smiled, a tear cutting through the soot on her cheek, turned around, and pulled herself into the narrow, dark tunnel.
The crawl was agonizing.
For twenty minutes, Claire dragged herself through six inches of coal dust and wet gravel, her elbows and knees scraping against the jagged stone walls. Spiders skittered across her knuckles; the air grew thin and heavy, making her chest ache with every ragged breath.
Just keep moving, she told herself, the image of Lily's small face burning in her mind. Keep moving for Lily.
Finally, the tunnel sloped downward, opening into a wide, bricked drainage sewer.
Fresh, cold night air rushed over her face. Claire dropped four feet onto the wet gravel of the sewer floor, gasping for air, her clothes completely blackened by coal dust.
She didn't pause to rest. She turned on the narrow flashlight and sprinted down the drainage tunnel, following the sound of running water until the tunnel burst out into the heavy brush near the railway line.
The storm was still raging outside, rain lashing against the trees, lightning illuminating the high steel tracks above her.
Claire pulled the radio from her jacket, her fingers slick with mud and sweat. She turned the small dial to the frequency Ethan had given her and pressed the side button twice.
CLICK-CLICK.
Static hissed through the small speaker, followed by a dark, heavy voice.
"This is Rinaldi. Who is this?"
"Captain Rinaldi!" Claire shouted over the roar of the wind. "My name is Claire Bennett! I'm the housekeeper at the Caruso estate! Dominic and Victor are trapped in the subterranean bunker beneath the wine cellar! Marcus Bell betrayed them to Don Carmine!"
A long pause hung on the line, followed by the sharp sound of a heavy bolt action racking on an assault rifle.
"Where are Carmine's men positioned, girl?" Rinaldi demanded, his tone turning dangerously sharp.
"They have four heavy units at the front gates and two teams surrounding the rose garden!" Claire yelled into the microphone. "If you come up the secondary access road behind the service cottage, you can catch them in a crossfire between the woods and the east terrace!"
"How many men inside the bunker?"
"Thirty! Including Mr. Caruso, Sophia, and my daughter!"
"Hold your position near the tracks, Claire," Rinaldi commanded. "We're moving in thirty seconds. And girl?"
May you like
"Yes?"
"You just bought yourself a seat at the head table."
