Chapter 12: The Hidden Wing
Chapter 12: The Hidden Wing
Darkness swallowed the underground facility.
Not a single light remained.
The humming of the servers stopped.
The monitors went black.
Even the emergency alarms fell silent.
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
Then Ethan heard it.
His son's frightened voice.
"Daddy?"
"I'm here."
Ethan immediately reached for him.
His hands found the little boy's shoulders.
He pulled him close.
"It's okay."
"I've got you."
The little girl who had been rescued earlier grabbed Ethan's jacket.
"So did Noah."
The frightened teenager found Victor in the darkness.
Everyone instinctively moved closer together.
Agent Ross clicked on his tactical flashlight.
A narrow beam of white light cut through the black.
One by one, other FBI agents switched theirs on.
The chamber slowly came back into view.
Only...
Something had changed.
Adrian Blackwell was gone.
Ross spun around.
"What?"
The handcuffs lay open on the floor.
One of the agents cursed.
"He couldn't have gone far."
Victor knelt beside the broken restraints.
He frowned.
"These weren't forced open."
Ross looked down.
The locking mechanism had been cleanly unlocked.
Someone had used a key.
"Impossible."
Ross immediately turned toward his team.
"Did anyone move him?"
Every agent shook their head.
"No."
"No, sir."
Ross's expression darkened.
"He had help."
A slow clapping sound echoed through the chamber.
Everyone turned toward the upper observation deck.
A lone figure stood behind the glass.
Elegant.
Perfectly composed.
Adrian Blackwell.
He smiled down at them.
"You really should pay more attention."
Ross immediately raised his rifle.
"Freeze!"
Adrian laughed.
"You've been chasing the wrong man all night."
He pressed a button on the railing beside him.
A thick steel blast door slammed shut behind him.
The observation deck was sealed.
Ross fired once.
The bullet struck reinforced glass.
It didn't even crack.
Adrian gave a small wave.
Then disappeared behind the corridor.
Ethan took a step forward.
"We have to stop him."
Ross grabbed his arm.
"We can't."
"The glass is bulletproof."
Victor looked toward the far wall.
"No."
"There is another way."
Ross frowned.
"You know this place?"
Victor nodded slowly.
"I've never been here."
"But I recognize the design."
He pointed toward a faded company logo stamped into the concrete.
"Richard used the same architectural plans on every secure facility."
He walked toward the back of the chamber.
"There should be a maintenance corridor."
Everyone followed.
The concrete wall looked solid.
Victor reached beneath an old electrical panel.
His fingers found a hidden switch.
A soft mechanical click echoed.
Part of the wall slowly slid aside.
A narrow hallway appeared.
Ross stared.
"How did you know?"
Victor answered quietly.
"Because..."
"I helped design the original prototype."
The group hurried inside.
The hidden corridor was narrow.
Barely wide enough for two people.
Dust covered the floor.
No footprints.
No signs of recent use.
Until...
They reached the first intersection.
Ross lowered his flashlight.
Fresh boot prints.
Large.
Heavy.
Military.
"They came through here."
Victor nodded.
"So did Adrian."
The little girl suddenly tugged on my sleeve.
"I've seen this hallway."
Everyone stopped.
Ross looked at her.
"When?"
She pointed ahead.
"They brought food this way."
Ethan crouched beside her.
"Can you remember where it leads?"
She closed her eyes.
Trying to remember.
"There was..."
"A blue door."
"And..."
"A room full of clocks."
Victor looked surprised.
"Clocks?"
She nodded.
"They all showed different times."
Ross exchanged a glance with Ethan.
"Why would anyone build that?"
Victor answered before anyone else.
"It wasn't decoration."
"It was a command center."
Ross frowned.
"For what?"
Victor's face grew pale.
"Multiple time zones."
"The Circle operated internationally."
The realization settled over everyone.
This operation had never been local.
Never even national.
It stretched far beyond one corporation.
Far beyond one city.
Maybe beyond one country.
The hallway curved sharply.
Then opened into a circular room.
The little girl gasped.
"This is it."
Blue steel doors surrounded the room.
Exactly as she remembered.
And on the far wall...
Twenty-four clocks.
New York.
London.
Tokyo.
Sydney.
Dubai.
Berlin.
São Paulo.
Singapore.
Every major financial center in the world.
Ross slowly turned in a circle.
"My God."
Victor whispered,
"They weren't controlling one company."
"They were coordinating an empire."
Ethan walked toward the center console.
The computers were still running.
Unlike the rest of the facility.
One monitor remained active.
A blinking message filled the screen.
WELCOME, ETHAN WINTERS
Ross frowned.
"That's not good."
Ethan stepped closer.
Another line appeared.
IF YOU'RE READING THIS...
YOU'RE ALREADY LATE.
Victor shook his head.
"Don't touch anything."
Too late.
The screen changed by itself.
A live video feed appeared.
Adrian stood inside what looked like a helicopter hangar.
Behind him...
Emily.
Grace.
Both were alive.
Both had their hands bound.
Grace struggled against the restraints.
Emily stood perfectly still.
Her face was bruised.
But her eyes remained defiant.
Ethan slammed his fist against the console.
"Adrian!"
Adrian smiled.
"Good."
"You found the message."
Ross shouted,
"Where are you?"
Adrian ignored him.
Instead, he looked directly into the camera.
"Ethan."
"You've been asking the wrong question."
Ethan glared at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"You keep asking..."
"'Where is Emily?'"
"'Where is Grace?'"
"'Where are the children?'"
He smiled.
"The real question is..."
"Which one can you save?"
Silence filled the room.
Adrian lifted a remote control.
The screen split into two live feeds.
On the left...
Emily and Grace inside the hangar.
On the right...
A hidden underground dormitory.
Rows of frightened children.
At least thirty of them.
Some were sleeping.
Some were crying.
Some simply stared blankly at the camera.
The little girl beside Ethan burst into tears.
"My friends..."
Noah covered his mouth.
"I know some of them."
Ross stared in disbelief.
"There are so many..."
Adrian calmly continued.
"I've placed explosives beneath both locations."
Ethan's blood ran cold.
"You monster."
Adrian ignored him.
"You have enough time..."
"...to reach one."
He looked directly into the camera.
"The woman you love."
"Or the children who have no one."
The room became deathly silent.
No one could speak.
No one could think.
Ethan looked from one screen to the other.
Emily met his eyes through the camera.
Slowly...
Almost imperceptibly...
She shook her head.
Don't choose me.
Then Grace looked at him.
Tears streamed down her face.
She mouthed two words.
Help them.
Adrian smiled.
"I'll give you exactly ten minutes."
He pressed a button.
A large countdown appeared on both screens.
10:00
09:59
09:58
The timer had begun.
Then Adrian delivered one final sentence before the transmission ended.
"Today, Ethan..."
"...you'll learn what every leader eventually discovers."
"You can't save everyone."
The screens went black.
Only the countdown remained.
09:47...
May you like
09:46...
09:45...
