Chapter 7
1054 Words
The chemical complex was a fortress. Fences, guards, sniper nests.
Ethan and his team observed from the distance. They had a plan. A frontal assault would be suicidal. They would take advantage of the chaos.
"The key is the main reactor," Ethan pointed to the diagram. "We cause a controlled overload. It will produce an EMP pulse, taking out their power and electronics. In the darkness and pandemonium, we strike."
"And Valerius?" Kael asked.
"He'll come. He can't resist. He'll have to see me. To brag."
They came in under the cover of a storm. Rain pounded against their approach, concealing them. Ethan and Kael snuck in through a waste pipe.
Inside, the plant was a maze of pipes and catwalks. They moved towards the central reactor core.
They reached the control room. Two technicians were inside. Ethan slipped in silently. He incapacitated them before they could scream.
“Override the cooling sequence,” Ethan ordered Kael. “Initiate a core overload. Set the timer for ten minutes.”
Kael worked on the console. “Done. The pulse will fry everything in a half-mile radius.”
Alarms began to blare. The plant was on alert.
“They know we’re here,” Kael said.
“Good,” Ethan replied. “Let’s go find our host.”
The alarm was a deafening, continuous shriek. Red lights flashed, casting long, dancing shadows in the metallic corridor.
“They’ve locked down the sector!” Kael yelled over the noise, his fingers flying over a wall-mounted control panel. “All bulkhead doors are sealed. We’re trapped in this hallway.”
Ethan's thoughts were a blur, taking in their environment. "The EMP will still work. It doesn't need an escape path. But we'll be inside the blast if we don't reach the shielded sections."
"We have less than nine minutes," Kael reminded him, his voice tight.
Just as he was going to wonder, the comms in their helmets came to life. It was Jax. "Boss, we've got a problem! Their override security is faster than I expected. I've lost the eastern diversion unit. They're taking fire."
Ethan hammered his fist against the wall. "Where are we on the main reactor?"
"The overload is progressing, but it's doing it in slow motion. The system is fighting me. I might take twelve minutes, not ten.".
“We don’t have twelve minutes,” Ethan growled. He looked at Kael. “We need to get to a higher level. We’re too exposed here.”
“How? The doors are sealed.”
Ethan pointed upward. “The maintenance shafts. They run vertically through every sector. They won’t be locked.”
They found a service hatch overhead. Kael picked Ethan up, who propped it open with his knife. They crawled into the dark, skinny shaft, slamming the hatch shut behind them as a group of Syndicate troops spilled into the corridor below.
"They're after us," Kael said softly, peeking out through a vent.
"Let them look," Ethan replied, already climbing. "We need to get to Level 3. The central command nexus is there. If we can't break the security lockdown, we can at least determine what we're up against."
They rushed through the shafts, the alarm tone muffled but still clear. They ascended for two minutes, and emerged into a vent overlooking a gigantic, circular room filled with monitors. It was the backup command center.
Technicians worked frantically there below.
".core integrity at 78% and dropping," one of them spoke into a headset. "The Director is on his way. He wants the intruders alive."
"The Director," Kael silently mouthed. "Valerius."
Ethan's eyes were glacial. "He's here." He looked at Kael. "New plan. We split up. You go to the reactor. Make sure overload proceeds to conclusion. Whatever happens. I'll extract Valerius.".
"That's a suicide mission," Kael objected. "He'll have his entire personal guard with him."
"I'm counting on it. It will distract troops from the reactor, getting you time. It's the only option."
Kael wanted to disagree, but he noticed the icy resolve in Ethan's eyes. He nodded brusquely. "I'll do it."
"Good. Now let's give them a show." Ethan drew a small, high-explosive charge from his belt. "If I blow this charge, it will wreak havoc. You take the left, to the reactor. I take the right, to the main concourse. That's where he'll be."
He affixed the charge to the vent and set it to explode in five seconds.
"See you on the other side, Kael."
For the General," Kael choked out, his words thick with emotion.
The charge detonated, blasting out the vent into the command center. Smoke and confusion filled the room. As had been coordinated, the two men went down and immediately branched off in opposite directions, firing their weapons into the air to create maximum chaos.
Ethan ran, never looking back. He burst out onto a wide, elevated catwalk over the center of the main concourse of the plant. It was open, enormous. And empty, except for a single figure standing still in the middle, looking up at him.
The alarm continued to sound. Seven minutes to overload.
They left the control room. The corridor was filled with Syndicate troopers. On the opposite side, one individual stood silently. Older, with graying hair and the demeanor of command. General Valerius.
"Gad," Valerius's voice resounded down the corridor. "My boy. You came."
Ethan's blood ran cold. "Valerius."
"You seem well. My doctors tended to you well. For a time.".
"You betrayed me. You betrayed us all."
"Betrayal is a strong word," Valerius smiled. "I saw an opportunity. Your power, combined with my vision. We would have won. But you were ever so. noble. A flaw."
"It ends today," Ethan stated.
"Does it?" Valerius waved his hand. "Look."
On the screen of a monitor, a live shot flickered. It was of Linda's clinic. It was under attack. It was on fire.
"A diversion," Valerius said. "While you were here, I sent my best men to eliminate your little friend. She is very clever, but even she has a breaking point."
Ethan's composure snapped. "Linda!"
“You have a choice, Gad,” Valerius said. “Surrender now, and I’ll call them off. She might live. Fight me, and she dies for certain.”
The reactor alarm blared. Five minutes to overload.
Ethan was trapped.
- Writer
