Chapter 9: The Gunshot in the Dark
Chapter 9: The Gunshot in the Dark
Emily's scream echoed through the tunnels.
Then...
Nothing.
The silence that followed was worse than the gunshot.
"Evelyn!"
Ethan shouted before he caught himself.
"No..."
He corrected through gritted teeth.
"Emily!"
His voice ricocheted through the darkness.
There was no answer.
Only the distant drip of water somewhere inside the underground maze.
The little boy clung tighter to his father.
"Daddy..."
"Was Mommy hurt?"
Ethan couldn't lie.
"I don't know."
"But I'm going to find her."
Agent Ross snapped his flashlight toward the sound.
"Move!"
"Everyone stays together."
Several FBI agents switched on tactical lights.
Powerful white beams sliced through the darkness.
The tunnel stretched in three different directions.
Each passage looked identical.
Concrete walls.
Steel pipes.
Dust-covered floors.
A perfect labyrinth.
Ross cursed under his breath.
"Three routes."
Victor studied the ground.
"No."
He knelt.
His fingers brushed across the dusty concrete.
"There are four."
Everyone looked down.
A narrow maintenance hatch had been hidden beneath a loose metal grate.
Fresh footprints covered the dust around it.
Someone had opened it recently.
Ross shined his flashlight inside.
A vertical ladder disappeared into darkness.
"She's down there."
Adrian laughed weakly behind them.
"You'll never catch her."
Ross looked back.
"Why?"
"Because she isn't running from us."
Adrian smiled despite the blood staining his shirt.
"She's running from them."
Ross's expression hardened.
"Who?"
Adrian said nothing.
Instead...
He leaned his head against the wall.
Almost peacefully.
Victor stepped closer.
"This isn't over."
Adrian looked at him.
"It never was."
Ethan had heard enough.
"I'm going."
Ross grabbed his arm.
"It's dangerous."
"My wife is down there."
"My son needs his mother."
Ross hesitated.
Then nodded.
"I'm coming with you."
He pointed toward two agents.
"You're with us."
The remaining agents secured Adrian and the rescued children.
Victor stepped toward Ethan.
"I'm coming too."
Ross frowned.
"You're injured."
"I know these tunnels."
"Better than anyone."
Ross reluctantly agreed.
They descended the ladder one by one.
The air grew colder with every step.
The smell changed.
No longer damp concrete.
Now...
Oil.
Machine grease.
Fresh electrical wiring.
Someone had modernized this section.
At the bottom of the ladder, another corridor stretched ahead.
Unlike the old passage...
This one was brightly lit by emergency backup lights.
The walls were cleaner.
New surveillance cameras hung from the ceiling.
Ross stopped immediately.
"We're being watched."
A tiny red light blinked inside one of the cameras.
Victor looked around.
"This wasn't here."
Ethan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I designed the original tunnels."
"Someone rebuilt them."
Ross quietly spoke into his radio.
"Control, do you copy?"
Only static answered.
"They're jamming us."
One of the agents pointed ahead.
"Movement."
A shadow disappeared around the corner.
Ethan immediately ran after it.
"Emily!"
Ross followed.
"Wait!"
They rounded the corner.
The hallway was empty.
Except...
A small silver pendant lay on the floor.
Ethan froze.
He recognized it instantly.
His hands trembled as he picked it up.
Inside the heart-shaped locket was a tiny photograph.
A younger Ethan.
A smiling Emily.
And a newborn baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
His son.
Emily had worn the necklace every day.
She never took it off.
Not even while sleeping.
Ethan closed his fist around it.
"She was here."
Victor nodded.
"Minutes ago."
Ross examined the floor.
Fresh drops of blood.
Leading farther into the tunnel.
"She's wounded."
Ethan's heart pounded harder.
"We're losing time."
Suddenly...
A speaker hidden somewhere above them crackled to life.
A calm male voice echoed through the corridor.
"Mr. Winters."
Everyone stopped.
"I've been expecting you."
Ross immediately raised his rifle.
"Show yourself."
The man laughed softly.
"That wouldn't be wise."
Ethan shouted,
"Who are you?"
"My name is Dr. Nathan Mercer."
Victor's face went white.
"No..."
Ross noticed.
"You know him?"
Victor slowly nodded.
"I thought he was dead."
The speaker laughed again.
"So did everyone else."
Ethan frowned.
"Who is he?"
Victor swallowed.
"The company's former chief scientist."
Ross looked confused.
"What does a scientist have to do with this?"
Victor answered quietly.
"Everything."
Mercer's voice returned.
"Mr. Hale always did appreciate my work."
Ethan demanded,
"What do you want?"
"I want you to keep walking."
"Straight ahead."
"Emily is waiting."
Ross whispered,
"It's a trap."
Mercer chuckled.
"Of course it is."
"But it's also the only way you'll ever see her again."
The speaker went silent.
The tunnel became quiet once more.
Ross looked toward Ethan.
"We need another route."
Victor slowly shook his head.
"There isn't one."
Ethan looked ahead.
"I'm going."
Ross sighed.
"I know."
The group advanced cautiously.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
The hallway eventually opened into an enormous underground chamber.
Everyone stopped.
The room was massive.
Far larger than anyone expected.
Rows of glass-walled offices overlooked the floor below.
Computer servers hummed softly.
Large digital screens covered one wall.
It looked less like a bunker...
And more like a hidden research facility.
Ross stared in disbelief.
"What is this place?"
Victor whispered,
"It wasn't built for prisoners."
"No."
"It was built for experiments."
Before anyone could ask what he meant...
One of the monitors suddenly switched on.
Dr. Nathan Mercer appeared on the screen.
He was in his late fifties.
Neatly dressed.
Wire-rim glasses.
A calm smile.
He looked more like a university professor than a criminal mastermind.
"Welcome."
He folded his hands neatly on the desk in front of him.
"I've waited a long time to meet all of you."
Ethan stepped forward.
"Where's Emily?"
Mercer smiled.
"Recovering."
"Is she alive?"
"For the moment."
Ethan nearly lost control.
"What did you do to her?"
Mercer ignored the question.
Instead...
He looked directly into the camera.
Then at Ethan.
"You've spent the last several hours believing this story began with a missing child."
He slowly shook his head.
"It didn't."
He pressed a button.
A black-and-white photograph appeared on every monitor.
It showed two young men standing beside the foundation stone of a half-built company headquarters.
One was Victor.
The other was a much younger Richard Winters...
Ethan's father.
Between them stood a third man.
Smiling confidently.
Dr. Nathan Mercer.
Mercer looked directly into the camera.
"The truth is..."
"I helped your father build Hale-Winters Industries."
He paused.
May you like
Then his smile vanished.
"And your father was the first man who betrayed me."
