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.Even if he fired his handgun at the window, the rounds wouldn’t shatter the glass.He glanced around frantically then checked the attic hatch with a quick look over his shoulder.Flashlight beams swathed across the ladder and the floor space beneath the hatch opening.Mancini heard voices from the room above him.The law agents would soon be making their way down the ladder and he’d be trapped inside the bar room.Mancini had two options.He could either try and hide and risk being caught or try and escape the bar through the back route, assuming there was an alternative exit.“Fuck it,” Mancini hissed, turning towards the rear of the bar.He rushed into the murky shadows near the bar counter and used the mirrored columns as cover.The flashlights beams flicked around the floor under the hatch and Mancini saw a pair of black boots on the top rungs.He kept in the shadow and crept towards the back of the room.The law enforcement guys talked to each other in hushed tones at the top of the hatch.Mancini silently bypassed the bottom of the ladder and headed into the murkiness to the rear, unsure if any possible escape routes or hazards lay ahead.Chapter Fifty-TwoThe bar room seemed hot and airless to Mancini as he pressed on further into the darkness.He felt sweat running down his back and face while he slowly padded forward with his arms held out in front of him.The law agents on the ladder and around the top of the hatch were obviously discussing the best way to tackle the problem.They knew Mancini was armed but probably weren’t sure if he was infected.They’d decided to eradicate him anyhow, that much was certain.It was probable that the law agents, whichever department they worked for, were going to wipe out the entire population of civilians who were left within the cordoned zone.Mancini’s fingers touched the rough porous surface of an exposed brick wall.He felt his way across the bricks and discovered a recess in the wall.The recess was just about wide enough for him to hold out his arms and touch the walls on either side of him.Mancini sincerely hoped the recess or corridor led to an exit access.The flashlight beams around the hatch flickered back and forth and the guy on the ladder started to descend.Mancini hurried further into the recessed corridor and felt a cool breeze on his face.He saw the flashlights sweeping around the bar room floor before the light disappeared from sight when he took a right angled right turn within the corridor.Mancini followed his route and felt the breeze grow stronger on his face.Deciding he was far enough away and out of sight of the armed law agents, he felt in his pocket and took out his Zippo lighter.The corridor lit up in an orange glow once Mancini ignited the lighter flame.He saw a trolley, loaded with various types of glasses parked a few inches from his position.He blew a sigh of relief with the knowledge he would have walked straight into it if he hadn’t lit his lighter.Mancini stepped around the trolley and made his way further down the corridor.He heard voices behind him and knew the law agents would also soon discover the recessed corridor.Raising the lighter to head height, Mancini saw a pair of wooden double doors with glass upper panels.The doors stood slightly open and the breeze blowing through the two inch gap caused the lighter flame to flicker.Mancini headed straight for the doorway, ignoring the voices growing in volume behind him.He put his free hand on the push bar but recoiled in shock when he saw a face appear at the opposite side of the glass.“Where have you been, man? We’ve been waiting for you, for like an hour or something,” Trey whispered through the door.Mancini composed himself when he recognized who the figure was.“Keep your voice down,” he hissed.“Those goons are right behind us.”Trey nodded and pulled open one of the doors.Mancini stepped through the threshold and welcomed the scent of fresh, cool air.He followed Trey as they crept around the back of the building through a narrow courtyard, stacked with crates of empty beer bottles and silver barrels.Two figures loomed out of the darkness and Mancini recognized Jorge and Leticia lurking beside a wire meshed gate.An eight foot high fence constructed of similar crisscrossed wire ran horizontally either side of the gate [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]