A Kiss In The Moonlight

Beneath the City

The secret passageway behind Julian's office desk was not just a concealed exit but a tight spiral staircase descending into the darkness. Elara tumbled down the stairs, the heavy portfolio of her father's Aethel project banging against her hip, the actual very old key clutched in her hand oddly warm. The noises of splintering wood and furious cries grew louder above them, resonating with the raw violence that had just shattered the tranquillity of the penthouse.

Stay close. Julian's voice, stripped of its normal icy detachment, was a low order from behind her. His firm, warm hand clamped on her elbow, holding her steady when she fell on a slick step. His presence, normally daunting, was today an uneasy anchor in the mayhem.

They entered another hidden room, this one cold, with a slight smell of damp concrete and ozone. It was a secure entrance to a disused service tunnel, a remnant of the city's deep infrastructure, beneath Thorne Tower's foundations themselves. The air was heavy here, oppressive with a sense of crushing pressure from above.

Who were they? Elara was able to ask at last, her breathing in ragged gasps as they hurried through the dark tunnel. The cries of their pursuers were fading into the distance, to be replaced by the far-off rumble of the subway system.

Julian didn't glance at her, his eyes directed ahead into the darkness. The sort of individuals who want some secrets to remain buried. The sort who will not think twice about eliminating any hindrance. His tone was brusque, his words clipped. They've been monitoring me. They knew that I was onto something. Your father's work was their initial lead. Your abrupt, public downfall was their verification.

My ruin? Elara felt a fresh wave of despair. So, my public humiliation, the destruction of my career. That was all part of their plan too? To lure you out?

Partially, Julian admitted, a muscle clenching in his jaw. They used Sterling to compromise you, yes. To publicly discredit anyone who might be associated with the 'Aethel' project. To make a point. They just didn't anticipate that I would act quite so openly. A harsh, mirthless laugh escaped him. Or that I would drop the 'key' directly into their line of fire.

He looked at her, then at the key that was still clutched tightly in her hand. That key is not an artefact, Elara. It is a signature. It carries a specific energetic resonance that can be followed, if you know how. By removing it from my vault and placing it in your hand, I basically placed a beacon on both of us.

Elara's eyes narrowed. You used me as bait? The accusation was tinged with incredulity and anger that fought its way past fear.

Julian stopped abruptly in the middle of the tunnel, his tall body blocking her path. He turned, and his face in the subdued, wavering light was stern and unyielding. I made use of the opportunity presented to me, he corrected, his voice echoing with chilly logic. You were compromised. I needed you. And now you are involved in something bigger and something more perilous than corporate espionage. This isn't about your father's legacy, Elara. This is about an energy that can recreate the world, and there are those who will murder to keep it repressed.

He reached out his hand, his fingers grazing the key in hers, giving her a shock. They want the key, Elara. And they want to make sure no one ever succeeds with the 'Aethel' project. That means they want both of us dead. He bent closer, his voice lowering to a rough whisper that made the hairs on her arm rise. And they are very, very good at making people disappear without a trace.

A metallic clang sounded behind them, nearer now, and the distinctive thud of massive footsteps on pavement. They were not only pursued; they were cornered. Elara's heart whipped against her rib cage as the truth of their predicament hit her. She was no longer merely a dishonoured architect. She was on the run, trapped in a cocoon of lethal danger she little comprehended, with a cold, mysterious man whose motives were as shrouded as the secrets her father had hidden.

This way, Julian said, seizing her hand and yanking her abruptly into a darker, narrower side corridor. There's an old exit. But it's not safe.

As they moved down into the deeper darkness, Elara sensed the vibrations of footsteps nearer, louder, trembling beneath them on the very ground. She tightened her grip on the key, gasping in her throat. Her life had shifted from career ruin to a desperate fight for existence at the hands of the man who had promised to save her but had delivered her straight into the jaws of an unseen conflict.