Chapter 12
A sharp, high-pitched electronic tone began to pulse rhythmically from somewhere beneath the concrete floorboards, cutting through the tense silence of the warehouse.
Mark’s eyes widened as he recognized the distinct acoustic signature of an industrial-grade thermal charge timer.
“It’s a C-4 demolition sequence,” Mark yelled, turning frantically toward Detective Vance. “He’s rigged the foundation! We have less than three minutes before this entire building collapses on top of us!”
Arthur didn't panic. He checked the gold-plated pocket watch in his hand, snapping the lid shut with a crisp click.
“Two minutes and forty seconds, to be exact,” Arthur corrected politely. He turned on his heel, gesturing toward a narrow, reinforced personnel door tucked away in the back corner of the warehouse alcove. “Elena, come along. We have a helicopter waiting on the upper helipad.”
Elena hesitated for a split second, casting a lingering glance toward Clara, who was writhing desperately against her restraints. Then, with a cold, hardened expression, Elena turned and began jogging toward the back exit behind Arthur.
“Don’t let them get away!” Mark shouted, sprinting toward Clara’s chair. He pulled a heavy pocket knife from his trousers, sawing frantically at the thick plastic zip ties binding her wrists to the wood.
“Sterling, cover that door!” Detective Vance ordered, keeping her service weapon trained on the escaping figures while backing up slowly toward Mark and Clara.
“I’ve got her!” Mark grunted, slicing through the final zip tie just as Clara’s hands broke free. She tumbled forward out of the chair, landing heavily against his chest.
“Mark... the data drive,” Clara gasped, coughing as smoke began to vent from a hidden floor grate near the back wall. “In her pocket... when she hit me... I slipped the master drive out of her coat pocket.”
Clara held up a small, encrypted black USB drive, its indicator light blinking with a steady green pulse.
Detective Vance glanced back over her shoulder, firing two rapid shots toward the retreating figures of Arthur and Elena as they slipped through the reinforced personnel door and slammed it shut behind them. A loud, heavy mechanical thud echoed through the frame as the automated deadbolt engaged from the outside.
“They’ve locked the escape hatch from the control room!” Sarah shouted, rushing over to the heavy steel door and kicking it furiously with the heel of her boot. It didn't budge an inch. Reinforced titanium alloy.
“Stand back!” Mark yelled, pulling Clara behind him as he scanned the surrounding walls for an alternative route. The electronic countdown beep was accelerating now, the high-pitched pulses blurring into a continuous, nerve-wracking shriek.
“The drainage culvert!” Clara pointed toward the dark, open mouth of the tunnel they had used to enter the building. “It’s the only way out before the foundation blows!”
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Detective Vance holstered her weapon, grabbing Clara by one arm while Mark supported her other side. Together, the three of them sprinted across the shaking concrete floor toward the gaping maw of the underground pipe.
As they dived headfirst into the darkness of the culvert, a blinding flash of white light erupted behind them, followed immediately by the deafening roar of a massive subterranean explosion.
