Just as they arrived at the edge of the building, the Vigilante stopped and gestured for him to do the same, a well-known military signal that he immediately recognized.
Less than a foot away, Luke noticed how much shorter the Vigilante was than he’d expected. In the tunnels and then going down the stairs, he’d appeared taller, or maybe it was the aura surrounding his stature that gave the impression. Nonetheless, being so close now, it was as if he could almost dwarf him, but it was only an illusion as the energy, the power emanating from the suited stranger was warning enough that he shouldn’t be messed with, years of combat training had taught Luke that.
A touch to his chest confirmed the Vigilante was listening to someone using another device Luke knew well and raised another question to file away until later.
The Vigilante waited a beat, and then two, and lifted his hand to tell Luke to stand by. As if on cue, he broke into a run again, this time keeping the shadows as close to the buildings as possible before disappearing into the next alley. Before he turned, Luke looked back and saw three vehicles screeching to a halt in front of the building they’d exited seconds ago. Yells and the sound of guns firing told him they hadn’t been fast enough to go unnoticed. In the other alley, the Vigilante was entering a dark car. He didn’t know what to expect, but through the gleaming lines, he recognized a modified Bugatti Veyron. The matte paint job made it blend in, to the point of almost disappearing.
“Get in if you want to live, professor.”
As another question popped into his head, the use of his title made Luke move and get into the car just in time as the men appeared before them. Half expecting the Vigilante to reverse, he had another surprise when the machine exploded forward like lightning, heading straight at the men firing in front of them, like a roaring weapon.
They scattered like butterflies, all but one who tumbled over the car in a sickening agony of crushed bones and bleeding flesh.
“Put your seatbelt on.”
The command took a moment to compute until Luke realized that the Vigilante had buckled up, and that meant he expected worse to come. The Bugatti moved like a steel panther through the streets but didn’t have a chance to gain distance from the men behind them. One look in the mirror told Luke they were driving muscle cars, not as fast as their bullet, but unless they had a straight stretch of road, the game wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 6
Sloane felt the professor’s gaze on her hidden face with a burning intensity. However, at the speed they were going, if she got distracted, she’d have an accident before they’d made it a full mile.
She didn’t have to check to guess their tail wanted in their pants in the worst way possible and that made her bitchy. That, and the fact her side pulsed with pain. Thanks to her body armor, she would only have bruises, but at the moment, she could’ve done without them.
The professor had taken a bad beating, but Sloane hadn’t had time to make sure it wasn’t serious. The way he walked showed discomfort, but apart from that, he would most probably survive.
“Who are you? Why are people trying to kill me?”
No surprise that Luke’s compliance hadn’t lasted until they were safe.
“They aren’t trying to kill you, but to kidnap you.” And with that answer, she took a sharp left, the tires sliding on the cold, wet street until she got them back under control again.
“What do you mean? I’m a university professor. I don’t have any enemies, and I’m not a criminal.”
The way he said the word with such disdain was a barely veiled comment at her.
“No, you’re not. They’re not after you because of what you’ve done, but because of what you know, what you could do for them. You know the tunnels under Chicago better than anyone else, and these men want you to tell them all about it. You’ve dismissed them long enough. Now they’re out of patience.”
Silence stretched. “The emails, the constant requests for me to consult for them, that woman.”
“No! Not... her. Not her.” Sloane winced behind her mask when she reacted too strongly at the accusing tone. “The woman who visited you is an ally.”
The professor wasn’t convinced. “You mean she wasn’t there to learn about the tunnels like the others?”
Each word must be chosen very carefully. The two of them were on edge, and the professor had to be convinced to tip the odds in their favor. “We didn’t know about the other requests until after that. She came to you because we need to learn about the tunnels faster than they can. We’re here to stop them.”
“Who is ‘we’?”
Not a question Sloane wanted to touch with a ten-foot pole. “The only thing you need to know is who ‘they’ are. They distribute Phantom. Have you heard of it?”
As she suspected, he snarled at the name. “That vile poison? We’ve had two students at the university die from it. Another is in a coma, with little chance of waking.” A hesitation trailed between them. “You’re tracking Phantom?”
Sloane checked her mirror and smashed the gas to run a red light. Horns blared, but she ignored them. “We’re tracking what is endangering the city. That gangrene is about to spread even more, especially if they expand their distribution through the underground. There are too many means of ingress and egress. Even if we put every cop the city has on each entry point, we’d still risk missing most of them. That can’t happen.”
The professor remained silent, and Sloane hoped it was him thinking hard about what she’d said and his next words being that he would gladly help them take those fuckers down.
“I saw you in the underground, tracking those men, the ones you said were the traffickers. I saw you kill them in that building earlier.”
It took all her self-control not to turn her head and look at him in astonishment. He’d been the man in the tunnels? The one who’d saved her? The one she let go? However, it was the tone he used that diverted her, but before she could form a sentence, he continued. “You’re a killer, no better than the men after us.”
His words stung more than she cared to admit. “Yes, I am, and I’ll be one until the city is safe from the scum poisoning it. If I don’t shoot them first, innocents will die. I’d rather end their lives one by one, instead of seeing a single citizen of Chicago suffer because I didn’t have the courage to pull the trigger.”
“And that’s murder?”
That alone made her snap. “And why did you kill the third man about to shoot me? Was it from the goodness of your heart? If I’m the killer you so despise, why didn’t you aim at me?”
“Hey, Sloane. Sorry to interrupt, but maybe that’s not the right way to convince him to help us.”
Lance’s voice in her ear did little to calm her down. She wasn’t a fool, and the conversation was going sideways fast. The professor didn’t respond to her question, and Sloane touched her chest to answer her friend. “Get us out of here now.”
The only noise on the other end of the comm was a grunt, but she knew help would come, and the tell-tale sirens in the distance was her cue. “Hang in there, professor. I’ll get you out of the current mess you’re in.”