Chapter 15 The Escape
The alarm screamed through the compound. A high-pitched wail that bounced off concrete walls and made Aria's teeth ache.
"Lockdown protocol initiated," a computerized voice announced over the intercom. "All exits sealed. All personnel report to stations."
Sebastian pulled away from Aria. His jaw was set. His grey eyes hard.
"We need to move. Now."
Marcus was leaning against one of the operators, his face pale. Blood soaked through the makeshift bandage on his side, dripping onto the concrete floor.
"Can you walk?" Aria asked him.
Marcus nodded. Tried to straighten. His legs buckled.
The operator—a compact man with a shaved head and a scar across his cheek—caught him. "I've got him."
"Lia," Sebastian said into his comm. "We're out of the tunnel but trapped in the compound. Wells triggered full lockdown. What's our exit route?"
Lia's voice came through. Crisp. Professional. But Aria could hear the strain underneath.
"North exit is closest but it's reinforced steel. You'd need explosives to breach it. East exit is vehicle bay—possible, but heavily guarded. West exit leads to the old industrial sector. Less security but it's a maze. You could get lost."
"South?" Sebastian asked.
"Main entrance. Where Aria came in. It's the most direct route but also the most dangerous. Wells will have concentrated his forces there."
Sebastian looked at Aria. "Your call."
She thought fast. North required equipment they didn't have. East meant fighting through a bottleneck. West could trap them in unfamiliar territory.
"South," she said. "Main entrance. We go loud and fast. Overwhelming force before Wells can coordinate a proper defense."
Sebastian's lips quirked. Almost a smile. "My kind of plan."
He turned to the two operators. "Martinez, you've got Marcus. Don't let him fall behind. Chen, you're on point with me. Aria—"
"I'm with you," she said. Not a question.
Sebastian nodded. "Lia, we're heading for the main entrance. We need the extraction teams to create a diversion at the east vehicle bay. Pull as many guards away from the entrance as possible."
"On it. Diversion in thirty seconds."
They moved.
Sebastian and Chen took the lead, weapons raised. Aria followed close behind, her stolen pistol in a two-handed grip. Martinez supported Marcus, the older man's arm draped over his shoulders.
The basement corridor stretched ahead of them. Fluorescent lights flickered. Pipes dripped condensation.
And at the far end—guards. Four of them, taking defensive positions behind concrete pillars.
"Contact!" Chen shouted.
Gunfire erupted.
Sebastian and Chen dove for cover behind a support beam. Aria dropped and rolled, coming up behind a stack of supply crates.
Bullets sparked off concrete. The sound was deafening in the enclosed space.
Aria returned fire. Three shots. One guard went down clutching his shoulder.
Sebastian leaned out from cover. Fired twice. Clean. Precise. Another guard dropped.
Chen threw something. A flashbang. It clattered across the floor toward the remaining guards.
They scrambled back—
The flashbang detonated. Blinding white light. A concussive crack that made Aria's ears ring.
Sebastian was already moving. He rushed forward while the guards were stunned. Two more shots. Two more bodies.
"Clear!" he called.
They ran past the dead guards. Up a stairwell. Toward the ground level.
Through the comm, Lia's voice. "Diversion is active. East bay is taking fire. Guards are responding. You've got maybe ninety seconds before they realize it's a feint."
The stairwell door opened onto the main floor. The corridor Aria had walked down earlier when the guards had escorted her to Wells.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
"This way," she said, taking the lead. She knew this route. Had counted the cameras, the doors, the distance to the main entrance.
They ran.
Behind them, more alarms. More shouting. Wells's voice came over the intercom, cold and controlled despite the chaos.
"All units to the south entrance. Intruders are attempting to breach the main gate. Lethal force authorized."
"So much for surprise," Martinez muttered.
They reached the main corridor. The one that led directly to the entrance.
And waiting there—a wall of guards. At least a dozen. Armed with automatic weapons. Taking cover behind overturned furniture and portable barriers.
Sebastian pulled them back around the corner before the guards could open fire.
"Lia, we're pinned down," he said. "Heavy resistance at the main entrance. We need support."
"Extraction teams are engaging at the perimeter but they can't breach the gate from outside. You need to open it from inside."
"We can't get to the gate with twelve guns pointed at us."
Through the comm, a new voice. Male. Gruff.
"This is North Team. We're in position at the vehicle bay. Give us thirty seconds and we'll hit them from behind."
Sebastian's expression shifted. Calculated. "Do it. But make it loud. We need their attention completely off us."
"Roger that. Thirty seconds."
Sebastian looked at Aria. At Chen. At Martinez struggling to keep Marcus upright.
"When North Team hits, we move fast. Straight through. Don't stop for anything. If someone goes down, we keep moving. Understood?"
They nodded.
Aria checked her weapon. Half a magazine left. Maybe eight rounds.
She'd have to make them count.
Through the comm, a countdown.
"Ten seconds."
Aria's heart hammered against her ribs. Her palms were slick with sweat.
"Five."
She took a breath. Held it.
"Three. Two. One."
An explosion rocked the building. Not close but big. The vehicle bay going up in flames. The blast wave rattled windows and knocked dust from the ceiling.
The guards at the main entrance turned. Shouted. Half of them broke formation, running toward the vehicle bay to respond.
"Now!" Sebastian roared.
They burst around the corner.
The remaining guards spun back. Started firing.
But Sebastian was already on them. He moved like something inhuman. Fast. Brutal. Efficient.
Two shots. Two guards down.
Chen flanked right. Caught a guard exposed. Dropped him with a burst to the chest.
Aria went left. A guard raised his weapon toward her—
She shot him in the throat. Kept moving. Another guard ahead—
Sebastian got him first.
Then they were through. Past the barrier. The entrance was ahead. Massive double doors. Sealed shut.
"Lia, we're at the entrance," Sebastian said. "How do we open it?"
"Control panel to the right of the doors. But it's biometric. You need—"
"Wells's authorization," Aria finished. She looked at the panel. Palm scanner. Retinal reader. Exactly like the one on the server room.
"We don't have time to bypass it," Chen said. More guards were coming. She could hear boots pounding down the corridor behind them.
Aria looked at Sebastian. "The files. The ones you copied from the server room. Is there anything in there we can use?"
Sebastian pulled a small drive from his pocket. "Administrative access codes. Security overrides. But I don't know if—"
"Give it to me."
He handed her the drive. Aria jammed it into the control panel's port.
The screen flickered. Lines of code scrolled past.
"Come on," Aria muttered. "Come on, come on—"
Behind them, the guards were getting closer. Gunfire echoed. Martinez returned fire one-handed while supporting Marcus with the other.
"Aria—" Sebastian's voice was tight.
"I've got it."
The screen flashed green.
"Administrative override accepted. Emergency exit protocol engaged."
The massive doors began to open. Slowly. So slowly.
"Move!" Sebastian shouted.
They pushed through the gap before the doors were fully open. Out into the night air. Into freedom.
The extraction vehicles were there. Three armored SUVs, engines running.
Lia was in the lead vehicle. She threw the door open. "Get in!"
They ran for the vehicles. Martinez half-carried, half-dragged Marcus. The older man's eyes were glazed. His breathing shallow.
Gunfire erupted from the entrance behind them. Guards pouring out now that the doors were open.
Chen laid down covering fire. "Go! Go!"
They piled into the vehicles. Aria and Sebastian in the lead SUV with Lia. Martinez and Marcus in the second. Chen in the third.
"Drive!" Sebastian shouted.
The vehicles peeled out. Tires screaming. Bullets sparked off the armored plating.
They raced through Wells's compound. Past manicured lawns and security checkpoints. Past the gates—now open, the extraction teams having breached them from outside.
And then they were out. On the open road. The compound shrinking in the rearview mirror.
Aria looked back. Saw the building still standing. Still intact.
Wells was in there. Still alive. Still dangerous.
"Is everyone out?" Sebastian asked into the comm.
"North Team clear."
"South Team clear."
"East Team clear."
"West Team—" Static. Then a voice. Strained. "West Team took casualties. Three wounded. But we're clear."
Sebastian's jaw tightened. But he nodded. "Rendezvous point is the safe house. Twenty minutes. Stay sharp."
He ended the comm. Looked at Lia.
"Marcus?" he asked.
Lia's expression was grim. She was on her tablet, monitoring something. "His vitals are dropping. Martinez is trying to stabilize him but he's lost a lot of blood. We need to get him to a hospital."
"No hospitals," Sebastian said. "Wells has people everywhere. The moment Marcus shows up at an ER, Wells will know."
"Then he might die," Lia said flatly.
"He won't," Aria said. She leaned forward. "Elena. My... my birth mother. She's a nurse. She can help."
Sebastian looked at her. "Can we trust her?"
"Yes."
"Can she handle a gunshot wound? Covertly?"
"I don't know. But it's better than letting him bleed out."
Sebastian was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded. "Call her. Tell her we're coming."
Aria pulled out her phone. Her hands were shaking. From adrenaline or fear or relief, she didn't know.
Elena answered on the second ring. "Aria? Are you okay? I saw the news—there was an explosion—"
"I'm fine. But I need your help. I have a friend who's been shot. He needs medical attention. Off the books."
A pause. Then Elena's voice, steady and sure. "Bring him to me. I'll do what I can."
"Thank you."
Aria ended the call. Looked at Sebastian.
He was staring at the tablet Lia was holding. His expression had gone pale.
"What?" Aria asked. "What is it?"
Sebastian took the tablet. Turned it so she could see the screen.
It showed a file directory. The files they'd copied from Wells's server. Administrative codes. Security protocols. Financial records.
And one file that stood out. Marked in red. Encrypted.
The file name: DEAD_MAN_SWITCH.txt
"I found it buried in the administrative files," Lia said quietly. "It's on a timer. Wells has to reset it every twenty-four hours or—"
"Or what?" Aria asked, though she already knew.
Lia's voice was grim. "Or it releases everything. Every file Wells has on every person in his network. Financial crimes. Blackmail material. Evidence that could destroy hundreds of people. Including us."
Sebastian's hand clenched around the tablet. "When does it trigger?"
Lia checked. "Twenty-three hours and fourteen minutes from now."
The SUV was silent except for the hum of the engine.
They'd escaped. They'd gotten the files. They'd survived.
But Wells had one final card to play.
And the clock was already ticking.
"We need to find him," Aria said. "Before the timer runs out. We need to force him to disable it."
"Or we need to decrypt the file ourselves and disable it manually," Lia said. "But the encryption is military grade. It would take days. Maybe weeks."
"We don't have days," Sebastian said. His voice was hard. Flat. "We have less than twenty-four hours."
He looked at Aria. Then at Lia.
"Change of plans. Get Marcus stabilized. Then we split up. Lia, you work on decrypting the fail-safe. Aria and I will find Wells."
"And when we find him?" Aria asked.
Sebastian's grey eyes were cold. Empty of everything except absolute certainty.
"We make him wish he'd died in that compound."
The SUV raced through the dark streets. Behind them, Wells's compound burned in the distance—the vehicle bay still on fire from North Team's diversion.
But Wels wasn't in the compound anymore.
He'd escaped. Gone to ground. Taking his fail-safe with him.
And somewhere out there, a clock was counting down.
Twenty-three hours.
Twenty-three hours to find him.
Twenty-three hours to end this.
Or twenty-three hours until Wells destroyed them all from beyond the grave.