Chapter 136 The Children Beneath

Chapter 136 The Children Beneath

The underground corridor smelled of disinfectant and damp concrete. Marco noticed both immediately. Hospitals smelled similar. So did prisons. Places built to preserve life and places built to control it often shared unsettling similarities.

He raised a clenched fist. The eight De Luca operatives stopped as one. Absolute silence settled over the passage. Only the distant hum of ventilation systems disturbed the stillness. Marco knelt beside the heavy steel door ahead.

One operative removed a fiber-optic camera from his vest and carefully slipped it beneath the narrow gap. The tiny lens slowly rotated. Marco watched the live feed on a handheld monitor. Two armed guards. One seated behind a security desk. The other walking slow circles through the corridor.

Beyond them stretched another hallway lined with reinforced doors. Marco counted them. Eight. He looked toward the operator beside him and held up two fingers. The man nodded. No words were necessary. The camera disappeared back beneath the door. Three seconds later, a magnetic charge no larger than a coin adhered silently to the locking mechanism.

The operative stepped back. Marco counted with his fingers. Three. Two. One. A muffled pop. The electronic lock disengaged. The door drifted inward barely an inch. The patrolling guard frowned. "What was..." He never finished. Marco crossed the distance like a shadow.

His forearm struck the man's throat while another operative caught the assault rifle before it hit the floor. At the same instant, a suppressed dart struck the seated guard. He reached instinctively toward the alarm button. His fingers stopped halfway there. Within seconds he slumped unconscious over the desk.

Marco immediately checked both men's pulses. Steady. Alive. He had no intention of executing guards who were no longer a threat. The mission was rescue. Not revenge. He looked at the surveillance monitors. Eight camera feeds. Dormitories, classrooms, medical rooms and a cafeteria.

His jaw tightened. This wasn't temporary housing. This was an institution. Built to operate for years. He quietly activated his microphone. "Luca."

"I'm here."

"We've reached the lower security station."

"Status?"

Marco continued studying the monitors. "I've confirmed multiple detention areas." A pause.

"And classrooms."

The silence that followed spoke volumes. Even Luca had hoped Lia's recovered memories had exaggerated the scale of the place. They hadn't.

Thousands of kilometers away, Lia awoke again. Unlike the previous night, no nightmare accompanied her awakening. Instead, a strange calm settled over her. She slowly sat upright. Alessandro's side of the bed remained empty. He was still coordinating the operation from Mexico.

She walked quietly onto the balcony overlooking the sleeping lake. The stars reflected across the water like scattered diamonds. A gentle breeze brushed against her face. Without understanding why, she whispered into the darkness. "You're not alone anymore."

She wasn't certain who the words were meant for. Gabriel, the frightened little girl with the rabbit or the countless children she couldn't remember. Perhaps all of them.

Inside the compound, Daniel sat awake on the edge of his bunk. Something had changed. He knew it with increasing certainty. Not because of a sound. Because of the silence. Normally, guards argued. Doors slammed. Footsteps echoed through the hall. Now...Nothing.

The little girl with the stuffed rabbit stirred beside him. "Daniel?" He looked toward her.

"Stay close to everyone." Her small face grew worried. "Why?"

"I don't know yet." He hated giving uncertain answers. But uncertainty was all he possessed.

Marco divided the team. Three operators secured the security station. Two moved toward the surveillance control room. The remaining four followed him deeper underground. Each reinforced door bore only a number. No names. No descriptions. Just numbers. As though the children inside had ceased being people.

Marco stopped outside Door Three. Soft voices drifted through the metal. Children. He slowly opened the inspection hatch. Inside, nearly a dozen boys slept in tightly packed bunks. Or pretended to. Several pairs of frightened eyes stared back immediately.

One older boy instinctively stepped in front of the younger children. Protecting them. Marco felt something tighten inside his chest. Even here...Someone still chose courage. He quietly raised one finger to his lips. The boy nodded almost imperceptibly. He understood. Not yet.

Elsewhere underground, another operative entered what appeared to be a records office. Rows of filing cabinets stretched across the room. Hard drives, servers, paper files and photographs. He immediately contacted Luca. "You need to see this." Luca answered.

"Transmit."

Within seconds, hundreds of scanned images began appearing on the monitors at the forward command center. Alessandro stepped closer. His expression hardened. Each file represented another child. Medical evaluations. Language assessments. Psychological profiles. Recommended buyers. Training progress. Profit estimates.

His hands slowly curled into fists. They hadn't merely trafficked children. They had catalogued them. Like merchandise. Luca quietly copied every available file onto encrypted storage devices. "We're taking everything."

"No," Alessandro corrected. "We're taking copies."

Luca looked toward him. "If they realize the files are gone..." Alessandro finished the thought. "...they'll destroy every remaining archive in the world." Understanding dawned immediately. Leave the originals. Take the evidence. Make them believe their secrets remained intact.

Above ground, the Consortium meeting finally ended. Rafael Ortega escorted his guests toward the entrance hall. One of the older financiers smiled. "I believe tomorrow will be profitable." Ortega nodded politely. "I believe so."

As the men approached the front doors, a security officer hurried toward them. His breathing seemed slightly uneven. "Sir..." Ortega immediately noticed the man's expression. "What is it?"

"We've lost contact with North Post."

The hallway became silent. "Radio failure?"

"We're trying to confirm."

Ortega didn't answer immediately. Instead, he calmly removed his glasses. Cleaned them. Placed them back on. Then he looked directly at his chief of security. "Seal the estate."bThe man nodded. "And the underground?" Ortega's eyes grew colder. "Nobody enters." A pause. "Nobody leaves."

Deep beneath the mansion, Marco heard the electronic locks engage. A heavy metallic clang echoed through the corridors. Every operative froze. Luca's voice crackled urgently through the earpiece. "Marco..." He already knew. "They've discovered something."

Warning lights began flashing throughout the underground complex. A computerized voice echoed through hidden speakers. Security protocol initiated. All personnel report to assigned stations. Children inside the dormitories looked around in confusion.

Guards reached instinctively for their weapons. Daniel stood. His heart pounded violently. He didn't know why. Only that after years of hopelessness... Tonight felt different. Marco looked toward his team. The element of surprise had just disappeared. His voice remained calm. "Phase Two." The time for shadows had ended. Now came the storm.