“Remember the stuff on the ceiling?” Jimmy unclipped one end of the safety rope from the back of Jack’s belt. “It probably started raining harder and all that rain made it to the sewer and it’s filling up and coming this way towards the river,” Jimmy said. “Go get up that ladder. I’ll be right behind you.”
The Governor heard a muffled horn echo through the tunnel and walked to the opening above the ladder to investigate. He cocked his head one way and then the other to try to pick up any sounds besides the water passing by below. He heard voices and peeked around the corner. To his right he saw two people in coveralls with hard hats and headlamps, talking. He ducked back behind the corner and listened. He pulled his gun out of his pocket and held it in his right hand, his back against the wall. To his right he could see the reflections of the headlamps dancing on the walls as the two men continued to walk towards him. The gun felt cold in his hand and he gently rubbed the trigger with his finger as he tried to decide what to do.
How could this be happening now? How many minutes left? He was so close. Were these men looking for him or exploring? He could hear voices now above the sound of the water. They were getting too close. Would they simply walk by? He couldn’t take the chance.
The Governor realized he couldn’t aim down the tunnel to his right with his right arm. The wall was in the way. He switched the gun to his left hand and turned right to face the wall, standing just inside the opening so he wouldn’t expose himself to the men. He strained to hear what they were saying. He saw them point and heard them say something about the ladder. He had to stop them. The wall was a dark, gray blur in front of his face, the only light coming from the men’s headlamps. He peeked out around the corner, sighted down the barrel of the gun at the closer of the two men, and pulled the trigger.
Jack stumbled and fell forward. His outstretched arms punctured the water and his face splashed the surface before his arms hit the bottom of the sewer. His hard hat fell off and floated away. A loud sound filled the tunnel, hurting his ears. The current tugged at his legs, threatening to pull him through the sewer towards the river. He dragged his hands on the bottom over the bricks to slow himself, but his legs swung to the left and started to float past his body. Jack clawed at the bottom, trying to stop, his fingertips just reaching the bottom. His body screamed for a breath as he continued to try to halt his trip down the sewer. He thought of the ladder on the side of the wall. If he hadn’t floated past yet, he needed to grab it. He rolled onto his back and ran his left hand over the rough bricks, searching for the ladder or something to grab on to.
One man fell. The Governor shifted his aim to the second man, who was standing in the middle of the tunnel, and pulled the trigger again. His target fell back from the force of the shot and splashed into the water. The Governor watched as the body drifted by the ladder and kept watching as one headlamp and then the second disappeared and the tunnel became dark again. He leaned back into the wall to get his bearings in the total darkness. He shivered as much from the cold as from the excitement. The darkness was total. He used his senses to place himself back in the present. His ears rang from the gunshots and the water rushing past. He smelled the water and the mustiness of the sewer. Only his sense of touch was of any use in the dark, dank, noisy tunnel. His hand pushed against the brick wall to help him keep his balance.
He had to get back and check on Vadim’s progress. They had minutes until the holiday system maintenance kicked in. It was their only chance to execute their plan.
He shuffled back to the command post, guiding himself by touch along the wall until he found his light and equipment.
Jack scraped his left hand along the wall. There was another bright flash and an explosion above him. His hand bumped into the ladder and he grabbed onto the vertical bar. His arm extended over his head as the water swept his body along. The force of the water threatened to rip him from the ladder. He gritted his teeth and hung on, vowing not to let the water win and carry him through the sewer out to the river. He’d never survive. He raised his other arm over his head and got another grip on the ladder. This relieved some of the stress in his left hand.
Jack struggled to keep his face above the water so he could breathe. Something bumped into him. Jimmy! Jack reflexively reached out and grabbed onto his collar. The force pulling on his one hand gripping the ladder now doubled. “Come on, Jimmy,” Jack grunted through gritted teeth as he hung onto the ladder. Jimmy was lifeless, but Jack wasn’t going to let him go. He’d risked his life to bring Jack down here.
The water surge couldn’t last much longer, could it? Jack felt his grip on the ladder weakening. He wiggled one finger, then another, to relieve some of the stress, but with the water dragging over both of them, he had to choose, let go of Jimmy or hang on. One finger slipped from the ladder, then another. Two fingers wrapped around the bar. Maybe he and Jimmy could make it together. But, Jack had a family. Jack’s hand slipped from the ladder and he grabbed at the wall to find another way to stop them as the water swept them away.
He grabbed onto Jimmy’s collar with both hands, determined not to lose him, when he suddenly jerked to a stop. Something yanked at his waist and Jimmy slipped from his grip. Jack stabbed in the dark to find him, but Jimmy was gone. The water pulled at Jack as he hung in place, something pulling at his waist. He twisted his head to get it above the water so he could get a breath. He felt at his waist and found that the rope from his safety belt had snagged on something.
“Vadim, just a second, I can’t hear you.” The Governor adjusted the headset. “My ears are ringing from gun shots and water’s roaring through the sewer.” He put his hands on either side of his head and pushed the ear muffs from the headset tightly against his head. “Say again, please.”
“We have three minutes,” Vadim said. “You are ready and OK?”
“Yeah, I’m ready. The equipment is set and the tunnel appears to be high enough to stay dry.”
“You don’t need to hear me. When you see the green light, enter the code and hit enter. Be ready.”
“Vadim, I’m ready.” The Governor looked at his left forearm under the light. He’d written the coded string of letters and numbers in permanent marker on his skin from his wrist to his elbow. He was ready. His ears still rang. He pulled the headset free. Three minutes couldn’t go fast enough.
Jack felt his heels hit the bottom of the sewer. The water surge was past and the tunnel was draining. He saw a light coming from the utility tunnel at the top of the ladder.
He stood up and noticed that his boots were gone. They must’ve been ripped from his feet by the water. He felt for the gun and found that it was gone. He pulled at the rope secured to his safety belt and found the other end attached to the ladder. Jimmy must’ve clipped it to the ladder as he drifted by and saved his life.
Jimmy was dead. The Governor had tried to kill Ross and Jack. He’d had enough. Jack grabbed onto the ladder and put one sock-covered foot onto the first rung. His arms were tired. He started to climb. It was time to end this and stop the Governor. Jack peered over the lip into the utility tunnel. Twenty-five feet ahead, the Governor sat on the floor of the tunnel with his hands on a keyboard.
Jack was trying to decide what to do when he heard the sound of the horn echoing through the sewer again. He ducked down so the Governor wouldn’t see him and hung onto the ladder. Another surge? Jack felt the air move as it was pushed ahead by the water and he heard the roar approaching. He risked a peek over the edge and saw the Governor getting up. He felt the water pushing on his legs as he stood on the ladder.
The Governor heard the horn and the sound of water rushing through the sewer. He had to take a quick look to make sure he was going to stay dry. He grabbed his flashlight, walked towards the end of the tunnel, and pointed the beam upstream where he saw the water churning through the sewer. He looked back at his controller. He’d be OK. The water wasn’t getting any higher. Two minutes to go. He took a step back towards his outpost when something grabbed his leg.
Jack used his legs to push himself off of the ladder into the utility tunnel and grab onto the Governor’s leg. He locked an elbow around his ankle and held on. The Governor swung the flashlight and hit Jack in the head. Jack twisted and pulled. The Governor fell on top of him and Jack turned over and twisted again to try and gain the advantage. The Governor hit him again with the flashlight. Jack leaned back and they both fell over the edge into the roiling water.
