THE BOY WHO TRADED HIS TEARS FOR FREEDOM AGAINST THE COLD WALLS OF JUSTICE

"Stop him! Shoot him!" Justice Vance screamed, her voice cracking with sudden panic as she pointed a trembling finger at Marcus.

The two plainclothes guards raised their weapons instantly, but before either man could pull the trigger, the heavy copper key in Marcus’s hand clicked home with a deafening, echoing clank.

A massive hydraulic hiss filled the subterranean hallway as the reinforced vault door slowly swung outward, releasing a dense cloud of cold, compressed air from the secure archive chamber inside.

At the exact same second, every overhead fluorescent light in the hallway flickered violently and flashed a brilliant, blinding white.

"Too late," Marcus said softly, stepping backward through the open vault door.

On the far wall inside the archive chamber, a massive analog relay terminal began spinning its heavy magnetic reels, its mechanical arms clicking rhythmically as a glowing green progress bar filled the central monitor.

Justice Vance rushed forward, shoving past her own guards in a desperate bid to reach the terminal, but Miller lunged sideways, tackling her hard against the concrete wall just outside the threshold.

"Get off me, you fool!" Vance shrieked, struggling with surprising strength as she tried to claw her way past him.

The two guards raised their sidearms, aiming directly at Miller, but David didn't hesitate. He grabbed a heavy metal fire extinguisher from the wall bracket and hurled it directly at the nearest guard, catching him squarely in the chest and knocking him backward to the floor.

"Leo, run inside the vault! Stay by Marcus!" David yelled over the deafening noise of the spinning reels.

Leo clutched his blue button-down shirt and scrambled past the threshold into the archive room, his hazel eyes wide with fright as he stood beside Marcus near the glowing terminal.

"Dad! The clock!" Leo cried out, pointing up at the digital wall display.

The numbers blinked in glaring red light: 11:59 PM.

The green progress bar on the analog relay terminal reached ninety-nine percent, hovered for a agonizing second, and then suddenly stopped moving entirely.

A harsh, grating alarm tone began to blare from the terminal speakers, accompanied by a flashing warning light: ERROR: ENCRYPTION KEY CONFLICT. MANUAL OVERRIDE REQUIRED.

Marcus slammed his fist against the metal console in absolute frustration.

"The system is locked! It needs a secondary authorization code from a registered magistrate!" Marcus shouted over the blare of the alarm.

Justice Vance managed to break free from Miller’s grip, stumbling into the doorway with a manic, triumphant laugh.

"You can't win!" Vance yelled, pointing at the flashing red warning light. "The system requires a biometric signature from the sitting Chief Justice. You're locked out forever!"

Marcus looked down at Leo, who was staring up at the terminal with heavy tears still wet on his pale cheeks.