Chapter 2: The Escape Plan
Gunfire ripped through the silence of St. Augustine’s Chapel, shattering what remained of the stained-glass windows. Jasper Hawke hit the ground, rolling behind the crumbling altar as bullets tore through the wooden pews. The air filled with dust and the acrid scent of gunpowder.
Marius Keller slumped against the stone wall, blood soaking through his jacket. His breath was ragged, his face pale. Hawke knew the signs—Keller wasn’t going to last long.
“Who are they?” Hawke demanded, keeping low as he checked his magazine. He had six rounds left—not nearly enough.
Keller coughed, forcing a weak smirk. “Does it matter? They’re not here to talk.”
Hawke risked a glance past the altar. Shadows moved outside, three, maybe four operatives. They were disciplined—no reckless charging, no wasted shots. They wanted something.
The cipher.
Keller’s grip tightened around the folded document in his hand. He held it out. “Take it. Get out of here.”
Hawke hesitated. The last time he had seen Keller, the man had been declared dead. Now he was bleeding out in a ruined chapel, handing him a cipher that people were willing to kill for.
None of this made sense.
Another round of gunfire slammed into the stone wall behind them. Keller flinched but kept his eyes locked on Hawke. “Take it, damn it! If they get this—” His breath hitched. “The world changes.”
That was all Hawke needed to hear. He snatched the paper and shoved it into his coat just as a grenade clinked onto the floor beside them.
Move.
Hawke grabbed Keller and dragged him behind a row of fallen pews just as the grenade detonated, shaking the entire chapel. Dust and debris rained down. He could hear the operatives advancing.
Keller groaned in pain. Hawke knew he wouldn’t make it, but he wasn’t about to leave him behind. He grabbed his earpiece and tapped into the secure frequency.
“I need an extraction. Now.”
A familiar voice responded instantly. “You’re in deep, aren’t you?”
Isabella Vega.
Vega was an off-the-books contact, a logistics specialist who could get him out of anywhere in the world—for a price.
“Chapel on the south end of Vienna,” Hawke said, steadying Keller against the wall. “I need a car in two minutes.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Figure it out.”
A sigh on the other end. “Fine. There’s an old sewer tunnel under the chapel. Takes you outside the perimeter. Head south. I’ll have a car waiting.”
Hawke ended the call and turned to Keller. “Can you walk?”
Keller nodded, but his legs barely held. He was fading fast.
No choice. Hawke threw Keller’s arm over his shoulder and pushed forward, moving past the wreckage as the gunmen reloaded.
A bullet whizzed past his head. Another shattered a stone column beside him. Hawke fired twice, dropping one of the operatives before dragging Keller toward the trapdoor at the back of the chapel.
Boom.
A second explosion sent tremors through the floor. They were bringing the whole place down.
Hawke yanked the rusted trapdoor open, revealing a pitch-black tunnel beneath. He climbed down first, then pulled Keller in after him just as the ceiling collapsed above.
The chapel was gone.
The Tunnel
The air was damp and thick with the scent of rotting stone. Hawke pulled out his flashlight, sweeping the tunnel ahead.
“We have to keep moving,” he said.
Keller exhaled, struggling to stay upright. “They… they knew I was coming. I tried to warn you.”
Hawke frowned. “About what?”
Keller’s breathing grew weaker. He gripped Hawke’s jacket, pulling him close. His voice was barely above a whisper.
“The cipher… it’s not just a code.” His eyes flickered with urgency. “It’s a map.”
Hawke’s pulse quickened. “To what?”
Keller opened his mouth to speak—but the shot rang out before he could.
The bullet slammed into his chest.
Hawke spun, gun raised, but the tunnel behind him was empty.
A silenced shot. A sniper.
Keller gasped for air, but there was nothing Hawke could do. The old spy’s grip loosened. His eyes locked on Hawke one last time before he went still.
Hawke clenched his jaw, his grip tightening around the cipher in his pocket. Whoever had done this wasn’t just after Keller—they wanted to erase everything he knew.
The chase wasn’t over. It was just beginning.
The Extraction
Hawke sprinted through the tunnel, his heartbeat steady despite the storm brewing inside him. Keller was dead, but he had left behind something bigger than both of them.
The tunnel exit led to a deserted back alley. Parked against the curb was a black Audi, engine idling.
Inside, Isabella Vega tapped the steering wheel impatiently. “Took you long enough.”
Hawke slid into the passenger seat. “Drive.”
As the car peeled out onto the empty streets, he pulled the cipher from his pocket, unfolding it beneath the dim glow of the streetlights.
The paper wasn’t filled with random symbols or encrypted messages.
It was coordinates.
And at the bottom, a single word was scrawled in Keller’s handwriting:
“Bastion.”
Hawke had no idea what it meant, but one thing was certain—someone had just killed Marius Keller to keep it hidden.
Now, it was his turn to uncover the truth.
