Chapter 5 - The Break-In at Sector 7
Headline: The Midnight Raid—A Broken Husband Faces His Greatest Fear To Steal Back The Woman He Loved.
"We can't go back up to the VIP wing," Marcus said, blocking Ethan’s path. "They've locked down the elevators. The only way to save her is to shut down the main power grid from Sector 7 in the sub-basement. If we cut the power, the electronic locks on her room will release, and the life support systems will transition to local battery backup, giving us a twenty-minute window to get her out."
Ethan nodded, his mind sharpening into a razor-focused weapon. "Let's do it."
They reached the heavy steel doors of Sector 7. The sign on the door read: RESTRICTED ACCESS. BIO-SECURITY LEVEL 4.
Marcus bypassed the electronic keypad by blowing it open with a small plastic charge. The doors hissed open, revealing a long, sterile corridor lined with glass chambers.
Inside the chambers, Ethan saw things that made his stomach turn—experimental bio-reactors, synthetic organs floating in blue liquid, and terrifying genetic sequences displayed on massive wall-sized monitors.
This was what his wealth had built. This was the dark monster hiding beneath the glossy surface of Marlo Industries.
"Keep Lily behind me," Ethan instructed Marcus as they reached the central control room.
The room was filled with servers humming like a swarm of angry hornets. In the center of the room was a massive terminal.
Ethan stepped up to the terminal. He plugged in a secure drive Marcus handed him. "How long to decrypt the files and cut the main grid?"
"Three minutes," Marcus said, guarding the door.
"Ethan," Lily whispered, tugging on his coat. She was pointing at one of the glass chambers at the far end of the room. "Look."
Inside the chamber was a massive glass display case. Inside it sat a small, intricate key made of pure, hand-blown glass, resting on a velvet cushion.
“Find the key in the garden of glass.”
Rachel’s note.
Ethan walked over to the chamber. He shattered the glass with a heavy metal stool and grabbed the glass key. As he held it, he noticed a tiny microchip embedded in the hollow center of the key.
"It's the master decryption key," Ethan realized. "She didn't just write a prayer, Lily. Your mother hid the entire data backup of Project Lazarus inside this key. She knew if I found it, I could destroy them."
Suddenly, the steel doors of Sector 7 slammed shut behind them.
The glass windows of the control room shattered as a barrage of bullets tore through the air. Ethan threw himself over Lily, shielding her body with his own.
Marcus fired back, but a bullet caught him in the shoulder, sending him spinning to the ground.
Through the shattered glass partition, Margaret walked in, flanked by a dozen heavily armed security guards. Behind them, Dr. Victor Vance held a tablet, his face pale with rage.
"It ends here, Ethan," Margaret said, her voice echoing off the concrete walls. "Hand over the glass key, and I will let the child live. She can grow up in a nice, quiet facility. Refuse, and I will have my men paint these walls with your blood."
Ethan stood up slowly, holding Lily behind him. His hand gripped the glass key tightly.
"You think you've won, Margaret?" Ethan said, a cold, dark smile spreading across his face. "You forgot one thing."
"And what is that?" Margaret sneered, raising her gun.
"I designed the security protocols for this entire facility."
Ethan reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He had bypassed the network block using the executive override. He tapped a single red button on his screen.
"I didn't just cut the power," Ethan said. "I initiated a thermal self-destruct of the biological servers. In thirty seconds, this entire level will be flooded with nitrogen gas to neutralize the bio-hazards. Your guns won't save you from suffocating."
Dr. Vance looked at his tablet, his eyes widening in sheer horror. "He's telling the truth! The valves are opening!"
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Panic erupted among the guards.
"Shoot him!" Margaret screamed.
