Chapter 6
The digital clock on the emergency terminal flashed in angry crimson numbers, ticking backward from sixty with a relentless, mechanical precision that echoed like a hammer striking an anvil. 59… 58… 57… Dr. Harrison lunged forward, his heavy fingers missing Clara's shoulder by mere inches as she desperately threw her weight backward, causing the wheelchair to spin violently away from the desk and crash into a towering bookshelf. Heavy volumes of encyclopedia sets rained down around her like falling bricks, kicking up a thick cloud of dust that made them both cough violently in the confined study.
"You absolute little fool!" Dr. Harrison screamed, kicking a heavy leather-bound volume aside as he scrambled around the desk to cut off her escape route toward the double doors.
"That lockdown protocol seals every exit in this wing! We're trapped in here together!"
Clara coughed, wiping dust and sweat from her bandaged forehead as she stared up at the glowing red numbers currently resting at 42 seconds.
"Good," she gasped, her voice raspy but steady as she gripped the metal wheels of her chair.
"Maybe now someone outside will finally notice that something is wrong in this house."
Dr. Harrison grabbed the heavy brass doorknob and yanked it with all his might, but the internal magnetic locks engaged with a heavy, sickening clack that locked the deadbolts from the inside out. He slammed his fist against the wood in blind rage, his knuckles splitting open against the varnish and leaving a smear of dark blood on the white paint. He whirled around to face her, his eyes wild and desperate, the facade of the calm, collected physician completely shattered.
"You have no idea what you've done, Clara," he snarled, taking slow, deliberate steps toward her wheelchair like a predator cornering a wounded animal in a cage.
"That system isn't connected to the police; it's linked directly to the private security firm owned by my investors. When they arrive, they don't ask questions. They clean up messes."
Clara’s heart skipped a beat, but she didn't look away from him. Instead, she reached into her pocket, pulled out the small silver thumb drive, and held it out where he could clearly see it glinting under the emergency lights.
"Then it's a good thing I already uploaded the files to the cloud server before you smashed the computer," she lied with a cool bluff that she hoped would buy her precious seconds.
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"The moment the lockdown timer hits zero, an automated packet goes out to every major news station in the state."
Dr. Harrison froze in his tracks, his breath catching in his throat as he stared at the tiny piece of plastic and metal in her hand. 21… 20… 19… He lunged forward with terrifying speed, his hands outstretched to grab her by the throat, but the floor beneath his feet suddenly gave way with a deafening crack.
