Julian panted as he raced down the tunnel, struggling to match Marcos's pace. Nadeja provided words of encouragement as she jogged effortlessly behind him.

It was hard to reckon distance underground, and the tunnel made frequent turns, presumably to avoid other intrusions into the ground. Julian felt like they'd run at least a mile when they came to a halt at a steel panel with a pull-bar.

Marcos put an ear on it to listen. "Mechanical whirring, no voices. Sounds like a big engine or something. Let's see what we got."

He eased open the panel and peaked in. "Just a storage closet, looks like this panel was a fake wall. The main room must be through the next door."

Marcos stepped over a mop bucket and tried the door. It opened into a concrete room filled by two giant fans and a monstrous ducting system. Julian couldn't see any other exits, but a steel ladder climbed the wall.

"Where the hell is this?" Marcos wondered aloud. "Looks like the way out is up. You two go ahead, I've got another present for our Blackmountain friends."

Marcos pointed Julian and Nadeja to the ladder, then turned and began positioning a squat package on a tripod in the closet. Julian noticed one side of it read "FRONT TOWARD ENEMY." He hurried away from the explosive.

The ladder brought them to a service corridor terminating in another unmarked door.

"Should we open it?" Asked Nadeja.

"Let's wait for Marcos," Julian replied.

A minute later Marcos clambered up the ladder. "I heard sounds from the tunnel. I think they're close," he reported.

He cracked the next door quickly, then pushed it open. Another hallway, though better lit. Boot scuffs suggested it saw more use than the one they'd come from.

An explosion echoed up from behind them.

"Go!" Marcos urged.

The three of them ran down the hall. Nadeja turned a corner and almost collided with a uniformed official.

"Stoppen. Du kannst nicht hier sein!" He yelled at her.

Marcos tripped the man and they all ran past, racing full speed. They burst through another door and found themselves on a subway platform. A train was at the station, receiving a final few passengers.

"Get on that train," Marcos commanded. He sprinted for the nearest door and got a foot in to hold it for the others. Julian and Nadeja hopped on and the door slid shut behind them.

"Keep low, don't let them see you" Marcos whispered, kneeling as if to tie his shoe. The others followed his lead. Julian pretended to adjust his socks, Nadeja just sat against the wall as if it were a normal thing to do.

There was some commotion on the platform as the train pulled away. A man in their car yelled "Waffe!" and suddenly all the other passengers were on the floor with them.

The train accelerated swiftly; Julian breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the safety of the tunnel. He looked up and saw Marcos helping another passenger off the floor. A surprising display of compassion, Julian thought.

"That was too close," Marcos whispered. "We need to change trains at the next stop, they might try to intercept this one. They'll also be watching the station exits now."

"The green line goes above ground at Schönbrunn station," Nadeja said. "Maybe we could sneak out."

"Good idea." Marcos studied the multicolored snakes of the metro map. "Anyone catch the stop we just left?"

"Taubstummengasse," Nadeja responded. "We can transfer to the green line next stop."

"Seems like you know your way around here," Marcos said with an appreciative nod.

"I went to boarding school in Vienna." Nadeja answered. "Spent plenty of time in these tunnels.

"Here's our change. Follow me guys."

Nadeja marched them swiftly through Karlsplatz toward the green line. They moved as fast as they could without attracting attention.

Julian's eyes darted between the faces of the other passengers. Mostly just commuters and tourists, no one seemed to be looking at them.

They turned a corner and Julian spied a pair of dead-eyed burly men coming down the escalator. He tugged at Nadeja and pulled her into a shoe store they were passing by.

"Military types coming up behind us," Julian said in a low voice to Marcos.

"Good eye. Stay behind the racks, don't let them see you through the window."

The end of the aisle had a little bench with a built-in mirror for trying on shoes. Marcos angled it to get a view of the corridor.

"I know those guys," he said. "Definitely Blackmountain. Looks like they're headed back the way we came. Give them a minute to pass."

A polite store clerk walked over.

"Can I help you find anything?" She asked in English.

"Do you have any hats?" Marcos responded.

They walked out wearing matching Yankees caps. Not much of a disguise, but better than nothing. Nadeja put her hair into a ponytail and let it fall out the back.

The green line train was pulling up when they arrived at the platform.

"This is us," said Nadeja.

The three of them rode on in nervous silence. Every time the doors open Julian tensed to run, but there was no further sign of pursuit.

"Two stops from here," Nadeja announced as they left Längenfeldgasse station.

"How long between trains?" Marcos asked.

"This time of day? Maybe five, six minutes."

"Alright, follow my lead."

The doors opened and Marcos exited.

"Wait, it's the next stop," Nadeja called at him.

"Come, now," Marcos replied. He didn't look back. Julian looked to Nadeja and shrugged. They followed.

Marcos walked down to the end of the platform, past the exit tunnel. He waited a moment until the rest of the passengers had left, then hopped down on the tracks.

"Are you crazy!" Julian exclaimed.

"We can't leave through the gate son. If you don't want to die, come this way quick. And don't touch that third rail."

Nadeja had already jumped down. Julian shook his head and followed.

Daylight was visible up ahead where the tunnel opened to air. They jogged down the track and came out into a sheer-walled concrete trench that stretched into the distance. There was a metal railing above them, but the wall was too tall for Julian to reach it.

Marcos chucked his pack up over the rail. "Gimme a boost Julian."

Julian clasped his hand and made a hold for Marcos. Marcos stepped up and jumped, catching the rail and pulling himself up. Then he hooked his feet on the railing and hung backwards into the trench, arms extended.

"Nadeja," Marcos called down.

She jumped up and grabbed his hands, then climbed him like a tree.

Julian looked nervously down the track, which had started to whine and shake lightly. His hands were sweating profusely.

"Julian, your turn."

A train appeared in the tunnel, horn blaring. Julian jumped for Marcos, but slipped off trying to make the grab.

He wiped his damp hands on his pants. The train was bearing down on him, screeching now as the driver braked hard. Julian could see it wouldn't stop in time.

He jumped again, making the catch this time. Nadeja was ready at the top to help pull him up. Marcos crunched his abdomen hard to avoid being decapitated by the passing train. He grabbed the railing and made his way over.

"That sucked," Julian said as he collapsed onto the grass.

"We're out, and we're alive" Marcos replied, "that's a win. But that driver spotted us, and you can bet he radioed it in. Get up, we gotta bounce."

They hurried down the greenway toward a thoroughfare, then made a series of turns that ended in an alley. Marcos leaned against a wall and pulled out a tablet. He tapped away at it, frowning.

"Trouble finding a good lunch spot?" Julian quipped.

"Funny. No, trying to get us another safe house. But no one will touch us right now. We're too hot. Think we need to get out of town."

Marcos walked over to a transit kiosk and stuck in his credit card.

"You sure that's a good idea? What if they're monitoring your card?"

"No problem," Marcos smiled, "I stole this one from a guy on the subway."

"Where are we going?" Nadeja asked.

"Right now? Just getting out of town. Maybe we can camp out with the homeless once we get some distance between us. Still might be risky, Blackmountain put bounties on all of us."

"What about going to that Wizza woman?" Julian asked.

"Weizza. When I left her she threatened to kill me."

"Well did she?" Julian asked with a raised eyebrow.

Marcos narrowed his eyes, but didn't reply. Julian took the opening to make his pitch.

"The way I see it we've all got giant target signs painted on our back. We need allies, and I want to help Mom. If you won't go back at least help me get to her."

Marcos sighed. "I'm sticking with you Julian. Maybe you're right, better the devil we know. I'll see what I can do. But for right now let's get on a bus."