Chapter 6 - The Ambush at the Old Post Office
The Old Chicago Post Office loomed over the Eisenhower Expressway like a massive limestone titan. Abandoned for decades, its echoing, cavernous halls and subterranean rail platforms were shrouded in thick shadows and the damp chill of late autumn.
At 2:45 AM, three sleek black SUVs pulled silently into the subterranean loading bay beneath the building.
Inside the lead vehicle, Claire sat in the rear seat wearing a heavy kevlar vest beneath a dark tactical jacket Grant had provided for her. Beside her, Noah was safely tucked inside the armored middle compartment under the care of two senior guards.
Grant leaned over from the front seat, checking Claire’s vest straps with careful, protective hands.
“You stay in the command vehicle with Gavin until the floor is clear, Claire,” Grant instructed sternly. “Vance has at least thirty mercenaries inside that platform.”
“I’m not staying in the car if you need the decryption key, Grant,” Claire reminded him, holding up the silver moon pendant, which contained a hidden micro-chip required to override the railway vault door. “Remember, Vance locked the vault with Rebecca’s personal biometric code. The moon necklace is the bypass.”
Grant stared at her, then reached out, cupping her cheek and pressing a lingering, passionate kiss to her forehead that made her heart soar.
“You stay behind Marcus and me,” Grant ordered softly against her skin. “If anything happens to me... take Noah and run.”
“Nothing is happening to you,” Claire said fiercely, gripping his lapel. “We come back together. All three of us.”
Grant gave her a firm, decisive nod, then drew his weapons and kicked open the SUV door.
“MERCER TEAM! MOVE IN!” Grant’s roar echoed through the massive concrete loading bay!
Dozens of Mercer enforcers poured out of the vehicles, advancing up the wide concrete stairwells toward the main rail platform!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Heavy automatic fire immediately erupted from the upper balconies as Vance’s mercenaries opened fire down the stairs! Sparks exploded off the concrete pillars as Mercer’s men laid down a wall of heavy suppressive fire, advancing with military precision under the cover of smoke grenades!
Grant moved like an unstoppable force of nature. He cleared the top of the stairs in three bounds, firing his twin pistols with deadly accuracy, dropping three mercenaries before they could even adjust their sightlines!
Claire followed closely behind Marcus, shielding her eyes from the chemical smoke as they pushed onto the grand central train platform.
In the center of the platform stood an old steel freight train, its diesel engines idling with a deep, mechanical hum. Men in black tactical gear were frantically loading heavy iron crates onto the rear cars.
Standing near the armored locomotive, wearing a pristine white coat, was Julian Vance—a tall, thin man with a cruel, scarred face and cold, reptilian eyes.
“Mercer!” Vance shouted over the roar of gunfire, grabbing a microphone from the control console. “You’re too late! The vault door is sealed! The train leaves in three minutes!”
Vance gestured toward a massive, ten-ton reinforced steel security gate that was slowly descending over the railway tracks, threatening to seal the train inside the tunnel until it reached the open tracks outside city limits!
“The vault override!” Grant shouted to Marcus over the deafening noise. “We need the moon pendant!”
Claire didn't wait for Marcus. She sprinted through the smoke, dodging behind concrete pillars as bullets chipped the masonry around her feet!
She reached the central control console beneath the descending vault gate. The control panel flashed red: BIOMETRIC OVERRIDE REQUIRED.
Claire stepped up to the panel, removed the silver moon necklace from her pocket, and inserted the crescent-shaped tip directly into the small emergency slot beside the digital screen!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The control panel instantly flashed bright green: REBECCA MERCER OVERRIDE ACCEPTED. RAILWAY VAULT LOCK SUSPENDED.
With a loud, hydraulic groan, the massive ten-ton steel security gate ground to a sudden, complete halt, locking the freight train inside the station!
“NO!” Julian Vance shrieked, his face twisting into a mask of rage!
Vance drew a heavy chrome revolver from his coat and leveled it directly at Claire’s chest! “You miserable little bitch!”
“VANCE!” Grant’s thunderous voice shook the entire cavernous hall!
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Vance spun around wildly—just in time to see Grant Mercer leaping across the control platform like a vengeful titan!
Grant slammed into Vance with terrifying force, sending both men crashing through the glass windows of the station master’s office!
