Chapter 101 Before Midnight
Chapter 101 Before Midnight
The ground trembled beneath them as they escaped the observatory.
—
Rain lashed violently over the ridge, while the wind howled through the trees and emergency lights flashed everywhere below.
Federal agents hurried towards the crumbling structure, as debris from the upper dome continued to fall behind them.
—
And still,
The countdown continued.
00:41:26.
—
Adrian stumbled slightly once they reached a safer ground, pain coursing through his shoulder from the impact earlier.
Zoe quickly supported him.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine.”
He wasn't.
But there were greater concerns at hand.
—
Lila dashed toward them through the storm.
“We can’t stop the release remotely!”
An analyst's voice echoed through her comms—
“The encryption keeps resetting!”
Another voice chimed in:
“If the file hits public servers at midnight, every network in the country will mirror it automatically!”
—
Victor stood a few feet away in silence.
Rain soaking through his coat while the observatory burned slowly behind him.
For the first time in years,
He appeared truly powerless.
—
Charles remained near the edge of the ridge breathing unevenly.
Watching the observatory collapse l.
Watching everything he had built over the years crumbled.
—
The countdown flickered faintly on a surviving tablet nearby.
00:39:58.
—
Zoe glanced at him cautiously.
“Charles…”
He did not respond.
—
Adrian approached him slowly, despite Lila’s attempts to stop him.
“Adrian,”
“He’s the only one who can stop this.”
—
Charles chuckled quietly without looking back.
“You still trust me enough for that?”
“No.”
A pause.
“But I believe a part of you wants this to end differently.”
—
The storm howled around them.
Lightning splitting across the distant clouds overhead.
—
Charles finally turned around slowly.
Rain streamed down his face.
And in that moment,
He looked exhausted beyond repair.
—
“You know what’s ironic?” he asked softly.
Adrian said softly.
—
“All this time I've thought revenge would bring me closer to my father.”
A pause.
“But standing here now…”
His gaze fell on the crumbling observatory.
“I can barely remember his voice anymore.”
—
An uncomfortable silence enveloped them.
For grief, when held too long, eventually hollowed memory itself.
—
The countdown reached:
00:37:11.
—
Lila stepped forward urgently.
“Charles, if there’s any part of you left that doesn’t want to see more innocent lives destroyed—”
He cut her off softly.
“Innocent people were destroyed long before I came along.”
Victor closed his eyes briefly at that.
—
But Adrian stepped closer anyway.
“You’re right.”
Charles looked at him sharply.
—
“This world creates broken people,” Adrian continued quietly.
“My father helped establish systems that rewarded cruelty.”
Another pause.
“And maybe we both allowed that to define us for too long.”
The rain poured harder around them.
—
“But that?” Adrian gestured toward the countdown.
“That won’t free you.”
—
Charles gazed at him in silence.
And for the first time,
No hatred lingered between them.
Only pain.
—
The timer ticked down to:
00:35:02.
—
Suddenly,
A violent explosion erupted from within the observatory.
The remaining upper structure partially collapsed inward.
Sparks lit up the mountainside for a brief moment.
—
One federal agent shouted,
“The servers inside are overheating!”
Lila's eyes widened instantly.
“The release system!”
Another analyst yelled through comms:
“If the central relay burns out wrong, the file could release immediately!”
—
Everything sharpened in that moment.
—
Charles looked toward the burning observatory.
Then at the timer.
Then finally,
Toward Adrian.
—
And quietly asked,
“If I stop it…”
A pause.
“…what happens to me?”
Silence fell.
A heavy silence.
—
Because everyone knew the answer already.
Arrest.
Trials.
Prison.
Maybe worse.
—
Adrian locked eyes with him.
“The truth.”
Charles laughed weakly.
“Terrible deal.”
A small smile appeared on Adrian’s face despite the gravity of the situation.
“Probably.”
—
For several seconds,
Charles was mute.
Then finally,
He turned toward Zoe.
—
And somehow,
She understood what he was really asking.
Not about prison.
Not about consequences.
—
Whether stopping now would still mean something.
Whether redemption was possible after such massive destruction.
—
Zoe stepped forward with care.
And answered the question nobody else could.
—
“It matters.”
Charles stared at her.
—
“You can’t undo what has happened,” she said gently.
“But you can choose who you become after it.”
—
Something inside him quietly shattered then.
Not violently.
Not dramatically.
—
Just enough.
—
Then the timer displayed:
00:32:44.
—
Suddenly, Charles moved and sprang into action.
Fast.
Rushing back toward the observatory.
—
“CHARLES!” Lila shouted.
But he was already running into the crumbling structure.
—
Adrian cursed under his breath and followed him.
Zoe instinctively moved too,
But Victor restrained her firmly.
“No.”
She struggled against him.
“Let go of me!”
“That building is unstable!”
“And Adrian is in there!”
—
Meanwhile,
Inside the observatory,
Thick smoke filled the lower corridors.
Sparks fell from exposed wiring.
Structural beams creaked everywhere.
—
Charles moved through the destruction as if he knew every route by heart.
Adrian trailed closely behind him despite the pain in his shoulder.
—
“Where is it?!” Adrian shouted over the alarms.
“The central relay room!”
—
Another violent tremor shook the building.
Concrete cracked beneath their feet.
—
They finally reached the underground control chamber.
Half-flooded with sparks and smoke.
Multiple servers blinking red violently.
—
At the center,
The release terminal.
Still counting down.
00:30:18.
—
Charles rushed towards it without hesitation.
His hands flew over the controls.
—
Adrian watched him carefully.
“Can you stop it?”
“No.”
A brief pause.
“Not completely.”
Another sequence blinked red on the monitors.
AUTOMATED DISTRIBUTION LOCKED.
—
Charles’s expression darkened.
“There’s only one way.”
“What’s that?”
Charles glanced at the burning server cores.
Then quietly stated,
“We need to destroy the relay manually before the transmission completes.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed in realization.
“The explosion?”
Charles nodded once.
“That will fry the entire system.”
Another pause.
“But anyone left inside the chamber won’t make it out time.”
Silence lingered.
—
The countdown continued ticking.
00:28:07.
—
And slowly,
Charles looked at Adrian.
Understanding already settling between them.
—
“No,” Adrian objected instantly.
But Charles only offered a faint smile.
The saddest smile Adrian had ever seen.
—
“You said I don’t get to decide when my life ends.”
A pause.
“Maybe this isn’t the end.”
Another.
“Maybe it’s the first genuine choice I've made in years.”