Chapter 15 - THE ABANDONED BUNKERTen grueling minutes later, Leo stopped in front of a massive, rusted steel door half-concealed by thick ivy and overgrown blackberry bushes embedded directly into the gray rock face of the mountain ridge.
He pulled a small electronic keycard from his pocket, swiped it through a weather-beaten wall panel, and typed in a rapid twelve-digit numeric code.
Clang. Hiss.
With a heavy pneumatic sigh, the thick steel door popped open outward, revealing a dim, emergency-lit corridor stretching into the subterranean depths of the mountain.
"Inside. Fast," Leo commanded.
We filed into the bunker. Leo slammed the heavy door shut behind us, engaging three massive manual deadbolts from the inside.
The interior was surprisingly clean, humming with the faint, steady thrum of an auxiliary generator. Rows of steel shelving lined the walls, stocked with dry rations, bottled water, medical supplies, and advanced computer terminals.
Maya collapsed onto a metal cot near the back, burying her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with quiet exhaustion.
"Are you okay?" I asked, walking over and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.
She looked up, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. "I remember this place, Ryan. Dr. Thorne brought me here when I was six. This is where they ran the cognitive synchronization tests. This whole nightmare... it started right here in these rooms."
"It ends here, too," I said firmly, though my own heart was hammering against my ribs.
Leo was already busy at the main computer console, his fingers flying across the keyboard with astonishing speed. Code and schematics scrolled across the twin monitors in cascading green text.
"What are you doing, Leo?" I asked, stepping up beside him.
"Fighting back," Leo replied without looking away from the screen. "Aegis Biotech thinks they can hunt us like animals and sweep their corporate atrocities under the rug. But they made one fatal mistake."
"What's that?"
"They left the master ledger on the server I downloaded," Leo said, pressing the enter key with a definitive click.
A global map flashed red across the monitors, pinpointing dozens of secure corporate facilities, offshore bank accounts, and—most importantly—the real identities of every high-ranking government official and politician on Aegis's payroll.
"If I broadcast this data packet to every major news outlet, international law enforcement agency, and independent journalist simultaneously," Leo explained, looking up at me with a cold, piercing smile, "Aegis Biotech will be completely dismantled within sixty seconds. They won't just lose their funding; they'll lose their empire."
"Do it," I said without hesitation.
Leo smiled—a genuine, youthful smile that finally made him look like a real eight-year-old boy for a split second. He raised his hand over the enter key.
BEEP.
A warning dialog box suddenly flashed across the screen in bright, bold red letters:
WARNING: BIOMETRIC OVERRIDE REQUIRED. DATA TRANSFER PAUSED. ENTER PRIMARY DONOR DNA SEQUENCE TO EXECUTE BROADCAST.
I frowned, leaning closer. "Biometric override? What does that mean?"
Leo’s expression darkened. "It means the broadcast protocol requires a direct biological authorization from the primary genetic source—the root DNA provider."
May you like
"Me," I realized instantly.
"Yes, Dad," Leo nodded solemnly, pointing to a small, medical-grade thumb scanner built into the side of the computer terminal. "You have to authorize the upload with a drop of your blood."
Related Stories
