Chapter 6 - The Locked Vault
The biometric scanner flashed its stubborn amber warning, casting an eerie glow over Julian’s face in the cramped steel vestibule.
“The system is locked out,” Julian said, pulling his hand away as the scanner emitted a low, electronic denial tone.
Clara squeezed past him on the narrow grating, her boots clanking softly against the metal as she brought her encrypted tablet close to the maintenance port beneath the screen.
“Dr. Evans didn't just purge the core,” Clara whispered, her fingers flying across the tablet’s virtual keyboard with frantic precision. “He re-routed the master firewall through an external satellite uplink.”
Walter stood behind them in the dim passage, his dark t-shirt damp with condensation from the subterranean chill.
“Can you bypass it?” Walter asked, keeping his voice low as a muffled, metallic thud echoed from deep within the sealed laboratory behind the blast door.
Clara didn't answer immediately; she stopped typing, her eyes widening slightly as a stream of raw data code began scrolling down her screen in reverse order.
“Someone is downloading the core files from the outside,” Clara said, her breath fogging in the freezing air. “If they finish the download before we open this door, every experimental file on human neurological mapping will be uploaded to an unverified offshore server.”
Julian slammed his fist against the reinforced steel door, the impact reverberating through his knuckles without causing a single dent.
“There’s a manual override cable inside the junction box on the wall,” Julian said, pointing to a small, tamper-proof panel bolted beside the blast door. “It requires a physical breaker switch to be thrown from inside the wall cavity.”
Walter stepped forward, pulling a compact multi-tool from his pocket and flicking out a heavy steel screwdriver blade.
“Stand back,” Walter instructed, jamming the blade into the seam of the junction box and twisting hard with a sharp screech of shearing metal.
The panel cover popped off, hitting the metal grating with a loud clatter and exposing a tangle of high-voltage wiring sparking with dangerous blue arcs of electricity.
Julian reached into the recess without hesitation, his fingers searching blindly for the heavy rubber-coated handle of the emergency breaker switch.
“Be careful, Julian,” Clara warned, shining her tablet light into the sparking cavity. “That line is carrying direct current from the facility’s auxiliary generator.”
Julian’s fingers brushed against the cold rubber handle, and with a swift, forceful yank, he pulled the switch downward.
The sparking stopped instantly, plunging the vestibule into pitch blackness for a heartbeat before the emergency backup lights kicked on with a dull, amber hum.
With a heavy, pneumatic sigh, the massive steel blast door began to slide inward, revealing the frost-covered laboratory beyond.
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As the fog cleared from the doorway, Julian stepped inside, his eyes widening at the sight of Dr. Evans sitting calmly at the central computer terminal with a loaded silver revolver resting on the steel desk.
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