Page 112 of Twilight Tactics

Another memory surfaced—her mother stopping at a junction similar to this one, hesitating before choosing a path.

“This way,” she’d said. “There’s a ladder that leads up to the access road.”

A ladder. Elena played her light around the tunnel, lookingfor any sign of a vertical shaft. Nothing but rough stone walls and rotting support beams.

The passage split again. Left, right, or straight ahead? The voices behind her grew louder. They were gaining. Elena chose the left path, moving faster now. Her beam weakened. The battery was dying.

She rounded a bend and stopped short. The tunnel ended in a sheer wall of rock. A dead end. She definitely didn’t remember this. “No,” she whispered, spinning around. “No, no, no.” She’d have to go back, try another route.

But as she turned, her light caught something—a glint of metal embedded in the wall. A rung. Then another above it.

The ladder.

Oh, thank you, God.

Elena directed her failing light upward. The ladder disappeared into darkness, leading to what looked like a shaft in the ceiling.

The exit.

She tucked the stun gun between her teeth and grabbed the first rung. It held her weight. The second one too. Elena climbed steadily, ignoring the pain in her injured wrist. After what seemed like forever, she reached a door of some kind.

She pushed against it with her good hand. It didn’t budge. Rusted shut, maybe, or blocked by something above. Voices echoed from the tunnel behind her. They were closer. How did they know which way to go? Which paths she’d chosen? They’d probably split up into multiple groups.

Elena braced herself against the ladder and shoved with all her strength. The door groaned, then gave way with a screech of protesting metal. Freezing night air rushed in, carrying the scent of pine and the taste of snow.

Thankful she’d taken the time to grab her heavy coat, boots, and gloves, she hauled herself through the opening, emerging onto what appeared to be an old logging road. The moonprovided just enough light to see by. She cut the stun gun’s light off and tucked it into her back pocket.

She shut the door, as there was still a chance they might not find it. She thought about trying to put something on top of it, but that would take time.

Elena looked around, trying to orient herself. The road stretched away in both directions, disappearing into the forest. Which way would lead her back to the store? To Sully?

A noise from below made her decision for her. They’d found the ladder.

Elena took off running down the road, away from the mine entrance. If she couldn’t find the market, she’d just need to put enough distance between herself and her pursuers to find a place to hide until daylight.

The road curved, then began to descend. Elena slowed, conserving her energy. Running blindly in the dark was a good way to break an ankle.

She came to a fork in the road. Which way had they gone?Which way, Mom?

Left. It had always been left.

Elena stood weighing her options, praying her decision was right. Behind her, the door crashed open. Flashlight beams swept the road.

She ran.

Sully pushed through the underbrush,branches slapping against his face. When he exited the tree line, the mine entrance loomed ahead, a dark mouth in the hillside guarded by three armed men. They hadn’t been in time to catch Elena before she went in. He rubbed his chin. So where did it come out?

His earpiece crackled.Oh, thank you, Lord.The team lookingfor the jammers must have found more and disabled them. “Sullivan, we’re in position. Tactical teams ready.”

“Copy that.” Sully crouched behind a fallen log. “She’s not here. She’s already inside. I’m assuming others went in after her and the three guards on the outside are there to grab her if she comes back out the entrance.” He paused a moment. “Team Bravo, move on the compound. Rescue the minor in the jail cell. Alpha team with me at the mine. If the signal goes out, do what you’re trained to do.”

Federal and local officers fanned out toward the mine, dropping before they broke cover. Sheriff Donovan in tactical gear converged on Sully’s position.

“You think she’s in there?” Donovan asked, nodding toward the mine.

“Last intel we had from Lindy Grace was that Elena escaped into the mine.” Sully checked his weapon. “Elena told me about escaping through the mine with her mother when she was a teen. So there’s another exit—assuming it hasn’t been closed off or caved in or ... whatever. Problem is, I don’t know where it comes out.”

Agent Martinez crawled up beside them. “If there’s another exit, your girl could be anywhere in these mountains by now.”