Chapter 12: Ten Minutes to Escape
09:39
The red numbers on the Archivist's brass stopwatch continued to count down.
A low mechanical rumble echoed beneath the mountain.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Ancient stone walls groaned as hidden mechanisms awakened after decades of silence.
For the first time in anyone's memory...
Fear appeared in Adrian Wolfe's eyes.
"You've lost your mind," he said.
The Archivist calmly slipped the stopwatch back into his pocket.
"No."
"I finally accepted the cost."
Miles of steel security doors slammed shut throughout the underground complex.
Rebecca Monroe and her tactical team were thrown to the ground as one massive blast door crashed down only a few feet in front of them.
The tunnel shook violently.
"What happened?" an agent shouted.
Rebecca pulled herself to her feet.
"The entire facility is locking down."
Damian tried forcing the steel door open.
It didn't move.
"There's got to be another way."
Harold Pierce stared at the walls.
"There is."
Everyone turned toward him.
"This archive wasn't designed as a prison."
"It was designed as a maze."
Deep inside the library...
Lucas grabbed Victor by the arm.
"We're leaving."
Victor tightened his grip on the steel evidence box.
"What about him?"
He looked toward the Archivist.
The old man smiled gently.
"My job was never to survive."
"It was to make sure the truth did."
Victor shook his head.
"I'm not leaving you."
The Archivist stepped closer.
"For years, you protected yourself."
He rested a hand on the steel box.
"Protect something else."
Victor looked down.
For perhaps the first time in his life...
He understood what redemption might actually require.
Adrian slowly raised his pistol.
"You think destroying this place ends the Circle?"
The Archivist smiled sadly.
"No."
"But it gives the world a chance."
Adrian pulled the trigger.
A deafening shot echoed through the chamber.
Lucas fired at the same instant.
Both men dove for cover.
The bullet meant for the Archivist shattered a stone column instead.
Lucas's shot struck Adrian's shoulder.
The Raven Circle leader staggered backward.
Blood spread across his expensive suit.
He stared at the wound in disbelief.
"You shot me."
Lucas answered coldly.
"I've been waiting eighteen years."
Across the underground tunnels...
Rebecca's team followed Harold through a series of forgotten maintenance corridors.
None of them appeared on the blueprints.
Harold smiled faintly.
"The Archivist trusted almost no one."
Damian frowned.
"Almost?"
Harold nodded.
"He trusted me once."
Evelyn walked in silence.
Her father's letter remained folded inside her jacket.
She touched it gently as she walked.
It gave her strength.
Suddenly, the tunnel split into three separate passages.
Harold stopped.
"I don't remember which one."
Rebecca looked at the timer displayed on her wrist.
Less than eight minutes remained.
Back inside the library...
Victor turned toward the Archivist one last time.
"I spent my life becoming the man my grandfather wanted."
The Archivist nodded.
"I know."
Victor's voice broke.
"I don't want to die as him."
The old man smiled.
"Then don't."
He handed Victor a small brass key.
"What is this?"
"The last vault."
Victor frowned.
"What's inside?"
The Archivist looked directly into his eyes.
"Proof that William Hale wasn't the only founder."
Victor froze.
"There were others?"
"There were seven."
Without warning, another violent explosion rocked the chamber.
The ceiling cracked.
Large blocks of stone crashed onto the floor.
Lucas shouted,
"We're out of time!"
The Archivist pushed Victor toward the escape passage.
"Go!"
Victor hesitated only a moment.
Then he ran.
Lucas followed close behind.
Adrian struggled to his feet.
Blood dripped from his wounded shoulder.
One of his operatives rushed over.
"Sir!"
Adrian grabbed him by the collar.
"Forget the Archivist."
"The evidence."
"Find the evidence."
The operative nodded and disappeared into the collapsing tunnels.
Adrian looked toward the escape passage where Victor had vanished.
His eyes narrowed.
"He's carrying history."
Meanwhile...
Rebecca's team reached another massive iron door.
Unlike the others, this one stood slightly open.
A warm draft flowed through the gap.
Harold smiled.
"This is it."
Damian pulled the heavy door open.
Beyond it stretched a long corridor lined with portraits.
Every portrait showed one of the Raven Circle's original founders.
Evelyn stopped walking.
Her breath caught.
The seventh portrait had been slashed repeatedly with a knife.
Someone had tried to destroy the face.
But not completely.
Enough remained to recognize the features.
The man's eyes.
His jawline.
His unmistakable smile.
Victor Hale.
Or rather...
Someone who looked almost exactly like him.
Rebecca stepped closer.
"The resemblance..."
Harold finished her sentence.
"It's not coincidence."
A brass plaque beneath the damaged portrait read:
Founder VII
Jonathan Hale
Missing — 1988
Evelyn frowned.
"Jonathan?"
Harold nodded slowly.
"William Hale had a younger brother."
"No one ever found out what happened to him."
Damian stared at the portrait.
"If Jonathan disappeared..."
He looked toward Evelyn.
"...who inherited his secrets?"
At that exact moment, Victor and Lucas burst into the far end of the same corridor from the opposite direction.
They stopped instantly.
Rebecca's team froze.
For a brief moment, no one moved.
Then Evelyn saw the steel box in Victor's hands.
Victor saw the letter clutched against Evelyn's chest.
Lucas looked toward Harold.
"The old man actually made it."
Before anyone could speak...
A single slow clap echoed behind them.
Everyone turned.
Adrian Wolfe emerged from the shadows.
Despite the blood soaking his shoulder, he was smiling.
"You've all saved me a great deal of time."
Dozens of masked operatives stepped into the corridor behind him, sealing every exit.
Victor tightened his grip on the steel box.
Rebecca raised her weapon.
Damian stepped in front of Evelyn.
Adrian looked at them one by one.
Then his eyes settled on Evelyn.
His smile widened.
"Now..."
He said softly.
"...the whole family is finally together."
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And hidden somewhere behind the damaged portraits...
A secret door quietly began to unlock on its own.
