Chapter 13 - The Underground Doctor.The maintenance chamber smelled of raw sewage, rusted iron, and the sharp copper scent of Ethan's blood.
Ethan collapsed against the slimy brick wall, his face entirely drained of color.
"Ethan!" Rosa gasped, dragging herself out of the waist-deep water and rushing to his side.
She tore open his tactical jacket, revealing the gruesome, jagged exit wound on the back of his shoulder.
"It missed the artery," Ethan wheezed, applying weak pressure to the wound with his trembling right hand.
"But I need a doctor, or I am going to bleed out in this sewer."
"Who can we trust?" Rosa asked frantically, tearing off a piece of her own shirt to use as a makeshift bandage.
"There is an old Russian surgeon named Volkov who runs a clandestine clinic in Brighton Beach," Ethan replied, his eyes fluttering shut for a terrifying moment.
"He owed my father his life, and he despises Victoria's syndicate."
"How far is it?" Rosa asked, tying the fabric tightly around his shoulder to stem the bleeding.
"Two miles through the storm tunnels," Ethan answered, forcing his eyes open with sheer willpower.
"Can you walk?" she asked, her voice cracking with fear.
Ethan looked at Lily, who was watching him with wide, frightened gray-green eyes.
"For her, I can do anything," he whispered.
With Rosa supporting his weight on his uninjured side, they began the agonizing trek through the dark, echoing tunnels.
Every step was a battle against unconsciousness for Ethan, his breathing growing shallower with each passing minute.
Rosa kept him moving, speaking to him constantly, refusing to let him slip away into the dark.
She talked about the days in Queens, the chemistry classes she had loved, and the dreams she had for Lily's future.
It took them two excruciating hours to navigate the subterranean maze.
Finally, they reached a heavy steel door marked with faded, Cyrillic warning signs.
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Ethan leaned heavily against the door and pounded his fist against the metal in a frantic, syncopated rhythm.
A moment later, the door creaked open, revealing a massive, bearded man holding a sawed-off shotgun.
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