Chapter 12 - The Race Back to the Archive
The men in plainclothes moved forward with terrifying efficiency, their weapons raised as they forced David, Leo, and Miller toward the open door of the black SUV.
"Get in the back. Now," one of the guards snapped, shoving Miller roughly toward the rear seat.
David pulled Leo tightly against his chest, refusing to let go of the boy as he climbed into the vehicle, sliding across the leather seat to keep his son shielded from the armed men. Justice Vance climbed into the front passenger seat, closing the door with a sharp, final thud.
The SUV reversed sharply into the tall grass, spun around in a wide arc, and accelerated back toward the city limits with reckless speed, its tires kicking up gravel and dust in the moonlight.
"Where are they taking us?" Leo whispered, looking up into his father's face with heavy tears running down his cheeks.
"We're going back to the archive, buddy," David whispered back, kissing the top of the boy's messy light brown hair. "Just stay close to me. No matter what happens."
Miller leaned forward from the back row, his eyes darting toward the dashboard clock of the SUV. The glowing digital numbers read 11:42 PM.
"Eighteen minutes until midnight," Miller muttered under his breath, his voice laced with panic. "If Marcus hasn't triggered the analog relay by then, the dead-man's switch will purge the entire database, and Vance wins everything."
David stared out the armored window as the dark silhouette of the city skyline loomed closer and closer. The streets were completely deserted, bathed in an eerie, unnatural red glow from the emergency grid shutdown.
The SUV slowed down, turning sharply down a steep ramp that led directly beneath the municipal archive building—the very heart of the city's legal bureaucracy.
The vehicle came to a sudden, jarring halt inside the subterranean loading bay. The heavy security shutter behind them slammed down automatically with a deafening crash, sealing the underground garage completely from the outside world.
Justice Vance stepped out of the SUV first, her guards immediately flanking her as they pulled David, Leo, and Miller out onto the cold concrete floor.
"Walk," Justice Vance ordered, pointing toward a heavy steel fire door marked SUB-BASEMENT ARCHIVE - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY.
They marched down a long, sterile hallway lined with exposed pipes and flickering fluorescent lights until they reached a massive, reinforced vault door fitted with a heavy analog combination wheel and a digital biometric scanner.
Standing directly in front of the vault door, leaning against the cold concrete wall with a calm, unbothered expression, was Marcus.
He had a small cut above his left eyebrow, and his clothes were stained with dust, but his eyes were sharp and alert.
Justice Vance stopped abruptly, her face freezing in absolute shock as she stared at the older man.
"Marcus?" Vance hissed, her voice losing its cool composure for the very first time. "How did you get down here before us?"
Marcus pushed himself away from the wall, holding up a heavy copper key with a faint, knowing smile.
May you like
"Some of us know the city better than the maps do, Your Honor," Marcus replied smoothly, inserting the key into the central lock of the vault door just as the digital clock on the wall flipped to 11:50 PM.
---
