Page 102 of A Madness of Crows

Tony is savage, his face a mask as he picks off men one by one. We pass many of our own, calls and shouts telling us which way to go.

“Who?” I call to Rocco when we pause to catch our breath. His brows furrow, clear in understanding.

“Gio and Dante.”

Luc would be with Alessia, then. ButDom—

More soldiers. More gunshots.

We lose ourselves to the fight. Pushing through.

More smoke fills the hall we’re caught in. I start to cough as it catches in my lungs. Shots still echo, dangerous in the dim space, and I press myself to the wall as I slide.

“Cat!”

Stefano. I can hear his bellow, but he sounds further away than I expected. I can’t fuckingsee. There are shapes ahead of me, unfamiliar enough that I don’t dare take the risk of calling back.

Slowly, I keep moving, my hands on the stone. I run out of wall, the space indicating yet another hall in this maze of a fucking place.

Taking a chance, I slip down it. The smoke begins to clear as I get further from the first hall, and I lift my gun.

Silence.

My feet pad along the floor. I pass several bodies, none of which I recognise. As I reach another fork, I glance up and down.

Everything the fucking same.

I turn right. I can hear shouting in the distance, and I pray that the rest of them are fine. Danny’s empty eyes flash into my mind, and I almost stumble.

Stay aware.

When I walk around the next corner, my body locks up. A whole fuckingunitof Asante men are there, their backs to me. Slowly, I back up, my hand slipping to check.

I have one cartridge left.

Something sharp cracks beneath my bare feet, and one of them looks up.

Fuck –fuck.

I spin, racing back down that hall as shouts ring out behind me. Feet pound against the concrete, and I pump my arms, cursing the lack of exercise from the last three months as my breath seesaws.

I fly past the original entrance to this hall, racing down endless concrete as I beg silently for allies at the other end.

But they’re gaining on me.

And I’m too fuckingslow.

Day 100 – Dante

I’ve lost all track of time as Gio and I move past another pile of bodies. We lost the others, all of us separated in the fight.

And still no sign of Cat.

Movement behind us, and I spin, lifting my gun.

A pair of hands, lifting. Dark eyes meet mine.

“Where is she?” Gio’s voice is a demand as I keep my gun trained on Stefano Asante’s face. He doesn’t even look at it as he turns to Gio.