Chapter 6 - The Fall and the Chase
The impact with the asphalt knocked the wind completely out of Harrison’s lungs. He hit the ground shoulder-first, rolling across the rough surface to dissipate the momentum. Pain shot up his right arm, sharp and blinding, but adrenaline kept him moving. He scrambled to his feet, clutching the silver flash drive tightly in his left hand, and bolted toward the shadows of the large green industrial dumpsters lining the perimeter of the loading dock.
Above him, the shattered window of the bio-workshop framed Marcus Vance’s dark silhouette.
“Coward!” Marcus yelled, leaning out the window and squeezing off two rapid shots.
Pang! Pang!
The bullets sparked against the brick wall just inches from Harrison’s head, showering him with masonry dust. Harrison ducked behind the nearest dumpster, his chest heaving as he gulped in the cool night air. He couldn't stay here; the loading dock was a wide-open concrete square under direct surveillance by exterior security cameras.
He needed to reach the main emergency ambulance bay on the opposite side of the hospital wing, where Detective Miller and the police units were stationed.
Crouching low, Harrison sprinted along the side of the laundry loading zone, his sneakers pounding against the pavement. The pain in his right shoulder throbbed with every step, but he pushed forward, ducking beneath a steel overhang just as a heavy hospital supply truck rumbled out of the underground garage, its headlights sweeping across the yard.
The truck’s high beams illuminated Harrison for a fraction of a second.
From across the courtyard, a voice shouted from the darkness near the emergency exit stairs.
“There he is! Stop right there!”
Harrison spun around, expecting Marcus, but instead saw two uniformed security guards rushing toward him with batons drawn, responding to the gunshot reports from the sub-basement.
“Wait! Don’t shoot!” Harrison yelled, raising his empty left hand while keeping the flash drive concealed in his fist. “I’m Dr. Cole! Chief Administrator Marcus Vance is the one behind the embezzlement and the MRI attack! He’s armed!”
The lead guard—a burly veteran named Sergeant Thomas—hesitated, lowering his baton slightly as he recognized Harrison’s face under the harsh security lights. “Dr. Cole? What the hell happened to you? You look like you’ve been through a war zone.”
“Marcus is hunting me down,” Harrison panted, taking a step forward. “He tried to kill Eli Mercer in the MRI suite using my credentials, and now he’s—"
Before Thomas could respond, a gunshot echoed sharply across the loading dock.
Bang!
Sergeant Thomas gasped, stumbling backward as a bullet struck his shoulder, spinning him around. The second guard immediately drew his sidearm and returned fire toward the shadows near the laundry bays.
“Get down!” Harrison screamed, grabbing the wounded guard by the vest and dragging him behind the concrete pillar of the ambulance bay overhang.
From the shadows of the delivery tunnel, Marcus Vance emerged, holding his service pistol with a two-handed grip, his face twisted in a mask of cold desperation. He realized he couldn't afford any witnesses—guard or doctor.
“Give it up, Harrison!” Marcus called out over the hum of the idling ambulance truck. “You’re not walking out of here alive!”
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Harrison looked down at the silver flash drive in his hand. The evidence was right here. He didn't need to fight Marcus; he just needed to get the data into the hands of the police officers currently inside the emergency department lobby, less than fifty yards away through the automatic sliding glass doors.
As Marcus raised his pistol for another shot, Harrison made his move.
