Chapter 91: The Final Choice
Thud!
The metal of the SUV’s roof screeched. Xavier watched as long nails pierced the thin steel plating right above his head. Flakes of car paint fell onto his shoulders. He held his breath, aiming his gun at the widening hole.
"Get back, Mom! Get down under the seat!" Xavier yelled.
"Don't shoot, Xavier! I know that voice! It’s him!" Melynda shouted back.
"Who? Who do you mean, Mom? This person is tearing our car apart!" Xavier snapped.
"Xavier... it's me," a raspy voice drifted in over the roar of the wind.
Xavier froze. His chest tightened until it was hard to breathe. He lowered the muzzle of his pistol an inch. He stared intensely at the hole in the ceiling. A face appeared there. The skin was deathly pale. The hair was long and matted. Those eyes stared at Xavier with a hollow, painful look.
"Lucas?" Xavier whispered, disbelief coloring his voice.
"Eyes on the road, Frans! Concrete barricade ahead!" Xavier barked a second later.
"I can’t see a thing, Xav! The windshield is cracked!" Frans yelled, wrenching the steering wheel hard to the side.
Ugh!
Xavier was thrown to the side as the car hit a dirt mound. He groaned. The wound in his gut burned hotter. Fresh blood soaked through his shirt again. He clamped his left hand over the injury.
"Lucas, you were supposed to be dead in that warehouse explosion! How are you even here?" Xavier asked.
"Marco kept me alive just to torture me, Xavier. I crawl out of that hole every night just to find you all," Lucas answered.
His voice was raw. He hopped from the roof onto the hood of the car. He crouched there like a predator. Lucas gripped the edges of the hood to keep from falling as Frans made a sharp turn.
"What do you want now?" Xavier asked.
"To help you reach the North Wing. Marco set a trap at the next corner," Lucas said.
"How can I trust you after what happened?" Xavier asked.
"Agatha. She’s dying, isn't she? I can hear her heartbeat fading from miles away," Lucas replied.
Melynda crawled forward and gripped the back of Xavier's seat. "Let him help, Xavier. He’s the only one who knows the blind spots for the cameras in the North Wing."
Xavier looked at his mother for a moment. He gave Frans a short nod.
"Keep going. Ram anything that gets in our way," Xavier ordered.
Brak!
The car plowed through a barbed-wire fence. Lucas leaped into the air just before the impact. He landed on one of the watchtowers with impossible speed. He ripped the throat of the guard up there before the man could pull the trigger on his machine gun.
"Akh!" the guard’s scream was cut short.
"Damn. What did Marco do to him?" Frans muttered.
"Less talking. Turn left after this warehouse! The generator is in that gray building!" Melynda yelled.
Frans floored it. The SUV’s engine roared. They raced past a line of burning military vehicles. Black smoke choked the air. Xavier checked his watch. Sixteen hours were ticking away. Now, only fifteen hours and fifty minutes left.
"Xav, armored unit in front of the generator entrance!" Frans reported.
"I see them. Don't stop! Use the plow to hit them!" Xavier said.
Xavier cocked his gun. He rolled down the side window. The cold night air hit his sweaty skin. He started firing at the fuel tanks of the vehicles parked in front of the generator building.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Small explosions rocked the area. Marco’s mercenaries scrambled out of their hiding spots. They sprayed the SUV with a hail of bullets.
"Ugh!" Xavier ducked as a bullet slammed into the door right next to his head.
Brak!
The SUV smashed through a wooden barricade and took out the iron doors of the generator building. Frans slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched across the slick concrete floor. The cabin filled with the smell of burnt rubber.
"Get out now! Mom, stay behind me!" Xavier commanded.
Xavier kicked the door open. He stepped out, weapon ready. He shot two guards trying to approach from the steel stairs.
"Melynda! Get to the control panel now!" Pierre’s voice came through the radio.
"I’m heading there, Pierre! How is Agatha?" Melynda asked as she ran toward the east wall.
"Her heart rate is dropping again! The chemical battery is overheating! I need the main power in five minutes or her heart stops for good!" Pierre shouted in a panic.
"Hear that, Frans? Secure the main entrance! Nobody gets in!" Xavier ordered.
"On it, Boss!" Frans replied, taking cover behind a thick concrete pillar.
Xavier caught up to his mother at a large panel filled with iron levers. Melynda tried to pull the main switch, but it wouldn't budge.
"Ugh! It’s stuck, Xavier! The iron is rusted!" Melynda cried out.
Xavier moved in. He dropped his gun on the floor. He grabbed the iron lever with both hands. He pulled with everything he had.
"Akh!" Xavier groaned.
The wound in his gut felt like it was tearing open. Warm liquid soaked his pants. His vision blurred for a few seconds. He kept pulling. The metal started to move slowly with a piercing screech.
"Almost there, Xavier! Almost!" Melynda urged.
Click!
The lever finally snapped into place. But no lights came on. The room stayed pitch black. Only Xavier’s heavy breathing filled the silence.
"Why isn't it on?" Xavier panted.
"The underground connection must be cut! We have to bridge it manually in the basement!" Melynda answered.
"I’m going down," Xavier said.
"You can't, Xavier! You've lost too much blood! You're white as a sheet!" Melynda protested.
"I don't have a choice, Mom! Agatha is waiting!" Xavier shot back.
Xavier grabbed his gun. He limped toward a small iron door in the corner. He headed down the steep metal stairs. The sound of dripping water echoed in the basement. The smell of oil and old iron filled his nose.
"Mmhh," Xavier gripped his side.
He reached the bottom. He clicked on a small flashlight. He saw a row of thick cables lying on the floor. They were cleanly severed.
"Damn you, Marco," Xavier hissed.
He began pulling one end of a heavy cable toward the other. It was dead weight. Xavier dragged it inch by inch, crawling across the filthy, damp floor.
Brak!
The door above slammed open. Boot steps clattered down the metal stairs. Xavier killed his flashlight instantly. He ducked behind a massive fuel tank.
"Xavier Valois! I know you're down here!" It was Silvio.
The man was still alive. Silvio descended slowly. The sound of a gun cocking was deafening in Xavier's ears.
"You think you can save your wife with these scraps? Marco ordered this place leveled!" Silvio shouted.
Xavier held his breath. He tried not to make a sound. His wound throbbed in time with his racing heart. He felt his consciousness slipping.
"I smell you, Xavier. The scent of your blood is thick in this room," Silvio chuckled.
Silvio stopped right in front of the tank. He aimed his gun behind it.
"Come out now, or I’ll blow this tank with you inside!" Silvio threatened.
Xavier gripped his pistol with shaking hands. He looked at the cable ends just three feet away. If he connected them, the power would return. But the shock could kill him.
"One..." Silvio started counting.
"Two..."
Xavier saw something move on the ceiling. It was Lucas. He was crawling through the pipes like a wild animal.
"Three!"
Brak!
Lucas dropped onto Silvio. they rolled across the concrete. Silvio’s gun slid across the floor toward Xavier’s feet.
"Xavier! Connect the cables now! I can’t hold him!" Lucas yelled, pinning Silvio’s throat.
Xavier crawled forward. He grabbed both ends of the massive cables. He knew the risk.
"I'm sorry, Agatha," Xavier whispered.
Zzap!
Bright light sparked from Xavier's hands. His entire body jerked violently as thousands of volts surged through him into the generator. He didn't let go. He held on even as the skin on his palms began to smell like it was burning.
"Akhhhhh!" Xavier screamed, his voice raw.
The lights throughout the building flickered and then blazed to life. The generator engine roared, shaking the entire basement.
"Power's back! Pierre, get the ventilator on!" Melynda’s voice crackled over the radio.
Xavier slumped to the floor. His body was shaking from the shock. He stared at the ceiling, which was now brilliantly lit. He saw Lucas standing over Silvio’s lifeless body.
"You did it, Xavier," Lucas said softly.
Xavier tried to speak, but his jaw was locked. Black spots filled his vision.
"Xav? Xav? Answer me!" Frans sounded frantic on the radio.
Xavier couldn't answer. He watched Lucas lean his head to the side as if listening to something far away.
"He's here, Xavier. Marco is at the front gate with everyone," Lucas said.
Xavier tried to reach for his gun, but his fingers wouldn't move. He could only hear his own heartbeat slowing down.
"Agatha..." Xavier whispered in his mind before everything went dark.
Brak!
The basement door opened again. This time it wasn't Frans or Melynda. Polished boots stepped into the room.
"So, this is your last hiding spot?" a heavy voice asked, dripping with victory.
Xavier couldn't see the face, but he knew the voice. Marco had arrived.
"Take him. And destroy this generator now," Marco ordered.
"Don't touch him!" Melynda screamed from the stairs.
Gunfire erupted again. Chaos returned to the room. Melynda stood on the stairs with her shotgun, but Marco just smiled coldly, leveling his pistol at Xavier’s helpless head.
"One more step, and your son joins his wife in hell," Marco said.
Melynda froze. Her hands shook. She looked at Xavier, limp on the floor. Lucas had already vanished back into the shadows.
"What do you want, Marco?" Melynda asked, her voice cracking.
"I want what was mine from the beginning. You know exactly what that is," Marco replied.
Marco leaned down and whispered into the ear of the nearly unconscious Xavier.
"Tell me where you hid that key, or I’ll turn off Agatha’s ventilator from my phone right now," Marco threatened.
Xavier opened his eyes a sliver. He looked at Marco with what little strength he had left.
"You... will never... get it," Xavier wheezed.
Marco laughed loudly. He pressed the barrel of the gun harder against Xavier’s temple.
"We’ll see how long you hold out when your wife starts turning blue," Marco said coldly.