CHAP 14: THE COUNTDOWN TO EXTINCTION
💥 30 SECONDS REMAINING! THE BIOMETRIC OVERRIDE REQUIRES A SACRIFICE!
CRASH!
The heavy glass doors of the server chamber shattered into a million glittering shards as Marcus kicked them open! He raised his weapon, but before he could fire, two heavily armored mercenaries tackled Marcus to the floor, disarming him in a violent flurry of hand-to-hand combat.
Julia pulled her weapon, but Thorne was faster. He pulled a heavy revolver from his coat and pointed it directly at Julia’s forehead!
"Stop right there, Mrs. Sterling!" Thorne roared, his eyes wild with desperation. "One move and I splatter your brains across this server rack!"
Marcus fought brutally against the two mercenaries, breaking the arm of one and hurling the other into a rack of high-speed servers. He scrambled to his feet, pulling a combat knife and neutralizing the remaining attacker, before spinning around to face Thorne.
The countdown clock beeped ominously: 01:15... 01:14... 01:13...
"It's over, Thorne!" Marcus yelled, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. "Shut down the purge sequence!"
"It can't be shut down from here, Vance!" Thorne laughed hysterically. "The failsafe requires a two-factor biological authorization! It requires the DNA of a founding Apex member... AND one of the original subjects!"
Julia’s heart stopped. "What did you say?"
"The system was programmed thirty years ago by your mother!" Thorne sneered. "To abort a purge, you need a founding member's blood on the reader... and the blood of Leo or Liam! But those boys are blocks away! You failed, Detective! In less than sixty seconds, forty-eight children die!"
00:42... 00:41... 00:40...
Suddenly, the massive blast doors at the rear of Sector 7 hissed open.
Eleanor Sterling stepped into the room. In her arms was three-year-old Leo, his tiny hands clutching a stuffed animal.
"No! Mother, why did you bring him down here?!" Julia screamed in absolute panic.
"Because I built this system, Julia," Eleanor said softly, tears finally trickling down her aged cheeks. "And I won't let my legacy be the murder of innocent babies."
Eleanor pulled a small silver pocketknife from her coat. Before Thorne could react, Eleanor sliced her own palm, then gently pressed little Leo's tiny thumb against the console's glass scanner.
00:05... 00:04... 00:03...
The scanner flashed bright blue:
BIOMETRIC MATCH CONFIRMED.
PROJECT NEXUS PURGE ABORTED.
AUXILIARY BUNKERS UNLOCKED.
"NO!" Thorne shrieked, raising his revolver toward little Leo!
May you like
BANG! BANG!
Two shots rang out in the enclosed room. Thorne collapsed backward, his weapon clattering to the floor as Julia stood with her smoking gun raised, her eyes cold as ice.
