Chapter 10 – Lockdown
A metallic clang echoed through the underground complex.
Then another.
And another.
Steel doors slammed shut throughout the tunnel system.
The calm electronic voice returned.
"Lockdown complete."
Emergency lights flickered to life, bathing the corridor in a deep red glow.
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Detective Sarah Collins took command.
"Check every exit."
Two deputies rushed to the nearest steel door.
One pulled on the handle.
It didn't budge.
"It's sealed!"
Another deputy tried the opposite end of the corridor.
"Same here!"
The entire underground facility had become a prison.
Daniel looked at the frozen security footage one last time.
Patricia had seen the hidden door.
She had paused.
She had looked directly at it.
Then she had walked away.
He clenched his fists.
"She lied to us."
Collins nodded grimly.
"Whether she was frightened or involved, she withheld critical information."
"She let me spend ten months believing my son was dead."
No one had an answer.
Leo stepped closer to the monitor.
He pointed to a blinking icon in one corner of the screen.
"That's new."
Collins looked at him.
"What is it?"
"They used those lights when someone important came."
"Important?"
Leo nodded.
"The man with the gray beard always got nervous."
Emma's face turned pale.
"It means he's here."
Daniel frowned.
"Who?"
Neither child answered.
Suddenly, every monitor in the room flickered back to life.
Static danced across the screens.
Then the image cleared.
A man sat alone in a dimly lit office.
His face was hidden in shadow.
Only his hands were visible, folded neatly on a polished wooden desk.
He spoke in a calm, almost friendly voice.
"Good evening, Detective Collins."
Every deputy raised a weapon toward the screens by instinct.
The man chuckled softly.
"I assure you... shooting the monitors won't help."
Collins stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
"I'm someone you've been looking for."
"Name."
"You'll have to earn that."
Daniel moved beside Collins.
"Where are the other children?"
The man's silence lasted several seconds.
Then he answered.
"Safe."
Daniel slammed his fist against the desk beneath the monitors.
"You call this safe?"
"I call it temporary."
The stranger leaned forward just enough for the edge of his jawline to become visible.
Still not enough to identify him.
"I've watched you for months, Daniel."
Daniel's heart skipped.
"You know me."
"I know every parent."
The room fell silent.
"You think Leo was chosen."
"He wasn't."
A cold chill spread through the room.
"There were others before him."
Emma began quietly crying.
Leo lowered his head.
The man continued.
"And unless you stop me..."
"There will be others after."
Collins signaled one deputy.
"Trace the signal."
The deputy plugged a portable forensic device into the surveillance system.
His fingers flew across the keyboard.
"I've got multiple relay points."
"Can you find the source?"
He frowned.
"Wait..."
The screen filled with dozens of locations.
"No..."
"It can't be."
"What?"
"The signal isn't coming from this property."
"Then where?"
The deputy slowly turned the laptop toward Collins.
A county map appeared.
Red dots covered it.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Old farmhouses.
Vacant churches.
Abandoned warehouses.
Private residences.
All connected by underground utility routes.
Daniel stared at the map in horror.
"This wasn't one house."
Collins finished the thought.
"It was a network."
The man on the monitor smiled.
"Now you're beginning to understand."
He reached toward something off-screen.
A digital countdown suddenly appeared on every monitor.
09:59
It immediately began ticking downward.
09:58...
09:57...
Daniel looked at Collins.
"What is that?"
Before she could answer, the man spoke one final sentence.
"You have ten minutes to decide which children you save first."
The screens went black.
May you like
Far below the complex...
A child's terrified scream echoed through the darkness.
