Chapter 16 - Waterline
The first surge of water hit the stairwell with a roar. Olivia grabbed Hannah before she could rush the glass. Ethan ran to the emergency panel, but the buttons were dead.
"There's a manual release," Mara said. "Every old ferry terminal has one. Find the pump controls."
They split up. Ethan went down a service passage while Mara pulled apart a maintenance cabinet. Olivia kept talking through the glass to Lily, forcing her voice to stay level.
"Honey, look at me. Can you find a chair? Something heavy?"
Lily shook her head. "I'm scared."
"I know. I'm scared too. But you can do one hard thing at a time."
Hannah pressed her forehead to the glass. "Count with me, baby. One. Two. Three."
On the far side Reed hesitated. She seemed more irritated by the child's voice than by the incoming water.
Ethan found a rusted handwheel, but it wouldn't turn. He wrapped his tie around the handle and pulled with both hands. The wheel shrieked. Water stopped climbing the steps.
"Mara!" he shouted. "Now!"
Mara ripped a yellow lever from the cabinet. The glass door clicked open. Hannah pushed through and scooped Lily into her arms. For one impossible moment the entire ugly night became a little girl crying against her mother's shoulder.
Reed drew her weapon. Olivia hurled a metal stool into her knees. The gun fired into the ceiling. Ethan tackled Reed and pinned her until a harbor patrol officer, responding to the emergency alarm, arrived with two colleagues.
"She's impersonating an agent," Ethan said, holding up Reed's wrist. "Check her credentials."
The patrol officer took one look at the tattoo and lowered his gun—not at Reed, but at Ethan.
"Harbor authority," he said quietly. "We have jurisdiction here."
Mara glanced toward the window. Outside, a black boat had pulled alongside the terminal.
A man stepped out under an umbrella. Charles Whitmore.
May you like
He raised his hands as if greeting guests at a party.
"Children," he called, "this has gone on long enough.
