Chapter 9: Breach of the Vault
The heavy iron freight elevator reached the subterranean level with a loud, grinding metallic thud that shook dust from the old concrete ceiling. A second later, the pneumatic doors hissed open, spilling a harsh wedge of white hallway light across the darkened concrete floor of the vault. Two heavy-set security guards in black tactical gear stepped out first, their heavy boots crunching on the gravelly surface, flashlights cutting sharp beams through the gloom. They swept their weapons in practiced arcs, checking the perimeter before Director Sterling stepped out behind them, adjusting his immaculate suit jacket with an air of cold, corporate detachment.
"I know you're down here, Doctor," Sterling’s voice echoed off the concrete walls, smooth and dripping with menace. "You can't hide institutional liabilities in a basement that was condemned before you graduated medical school."
Dr. Vance stood half-hidden behind a row of metal storage lockers, his hand resting reassuringly on Leo’s shoulder to keep the boy from making a sound. Nurse Miller crouched near the far corner of the patient’s cubicle, her fingers poised over the manual backup valve of the oxygen tank, ready to cut off the supply lines to prevent the telemetry equipment from signaling their exact position.
The security guards advanced slowly toward the center of the vault, their flashlights scanning the empty cubicles one by one until the bright beam finally locked onto the solitary bed in the middle of the room. Sterling walked forward, his polished shoes clicking sharply against the floor, stopping just a few feet away from the resting patient.
"Well, look at what the tide brought back," Sterling murmured, a cold smirk touching the corners of his mouth as he looked down at the gaunt, sleeping man. He reached out and touched the edge of the white hospital blanket, pulling it back slightly to expose the dark crescent mark on the patient's forearm. "Twelve years of silence, and you just had to wake up and ruin a perfectly peaceful retirement fund."
"Leave him alone, Sterling," Dr. Vance’s voice cut through the darkness, steady and resolute as he stepped out from behind the lockers into the pale light of the security flashlights.
Sterling didn't even flinch at Vance's sudden appearance. He simply turned his head, a condescending smile playing on his lips. "Ah, Dr. Vance. A promising career thrown away over a ghost. Do you have any idea what this man represents? He isn't a patient. He's classified corporate property under federal health code stipulations that override your little medical oath."
"He's a human being," Vance replied sharply, stepping closer. "And a father."
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Sterling let out a cold, humorless laugh. "Fathers are subjective, Doctor. Files can be rewritten, history can be erased, and accidents happen every single day in subterranean wards with faulty wiring." He raised a hand, signaling the guards to raise their sidearms. "Take the patient. And secure the boy as well; he's part of the biological anomaly that needs to be permanently contained."
Before the guards could advance, Leo stepped out from the shadows right beside Dr. Vance, his hazel eyes burning with a fierce, unyielding fury. He pulled up his jacket sleeve, exposing his own dark crescent mark directly to Sterling’s disbelieving eyes.
