Chapter 15 - BREACHING THE VAULTThe abandoned naval munitions bunker was a colossal tomb of reinforced concrete and rusted steel, half-submerged in the murky, tide-swollen waters of the bay.
Our convoy killed its headlights fifty yards out, coasting silently into the shadowed perimeter of the dry dock.
“Kuro, take alpha team around the ventilation shaft on the east flank,” Ethan whispered into his tactical radio, crouching behind a massive concrete bulkhead. “Wait for my signal before breaching.”
“Copy that, boss,” Kuro’s voice crackled back.
Ethan turned to me, his hand resting reassuringly on my shoulder for a split second. “Stay behind me. Once we’re inside the cryogenic lab, find the master container, pack it in the thermal casing, and don't look back. Understood?”
“Understood,” I replied, my grip tight on my pistol.
With a synchronized nod, Ethan signaled the advance.
He kicked open the heavy steel access hatch with a deafening clang, his rifle raised and sweeping the dimly lit interior corridor in one fluid motion. Two Janus guards stationed at the doorway didn't even have time to raise their weapons before Ethan’s suppressed rifle neutralized them with surgical precision.
We poured into the subterranean bunker, stepping over the fallen guards and racing down the sterile, white-tiled corridors toward the central cryogenic laboratory.
Alarms began to wail overhead—flashing amber emergency lights painting the concrete walls in a frantic, stuttering rhythm.
“Intruders in Sector B! Initiate purge protocol!” an automated voice blared through the facility speakers.
“They’re burning the lab!” I shouted over the blaring alarms.
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Ethan sprinted ahead, kicking open the reinforced glass doors of the cryogenic lab with a heavy blow from his boot.
Inside, thick clouds of white vapor were already venting from a ruptured nitrogen tank, and a digital timer mounted on the wall was counting down rapidly: 03:12... 03:11...
