Chapter 28 - The Bloodline Protocol
The three biometric terminals rose from the titanium floor like stone altars.
Arthur stepped up to the leftmost console. A high-resolution retinal scanner deployed from the column, scanning his iris with a thin crimson laser. A mechanical chime sounded through the silent chamber, followed by a synthetic voice that echoed off the cold steel walls:
*PRIMARY FOUNDER IDENTIFIED: ARTHUR VANCE. STATUS: VERIFIED.*
Arthur turned his gaze toward Daniel, his face twisting into a triumphant, predatory sneer. "Your turn, Daniel. Take your place."
Daniel stepped toward the center pedestal, Ethan standing beside him. The central console required a palm-vein scan and a DNA finger-prick sensor. Daniel rested his right palm against the cold glass. A sharp needle pierced his index finger, drawing a micro-drop of blood.
*STEWARD IDENTIFIED: DANIEL VANCE. STATUS: VERIFIED.*
Two of the heavy hydraulic locking bolts on the massive circular vault door retracted with a deafening, metallic *CLANG* that shook the concrete floor. Only the final console remained—the pediatric biometric terminal designed specifically to register the direct third-generation descendant.
"Bring the boy forward," Arthur commanded, his hand trembling with raw, manic greed as he pointed at Ethan. "Put his palm on the glass!"
Daniel placed his hands on Ethan’s shoulders, gently guiding him toward the third pedestal. The boy looked up at the glowing green scanner, his tiny chest heaving with shallow, nervous breaths.
"Just like we practiced, Ethan," Daniel whispered under his breath, his muscles tensing like coiled steel springs. "One... two..."
"Hurry up!" Arthur snapped, stepping closer, his cane clicking against the metal floor.
"Three!" Daniel roared.
In a fraction of a second, Ethan dropped to the deck like a stone, throwing his arms around the heavy steel structural conduit bolted to the floor, taking a massive gulp of air and squeezing his eyes shut.
At the exact same instant, Daniel didn't place Ethan's hand on the terminal. Instead, Daniel grabbed the heavy chrome base of the pediatric scanner and ripped it upward with all his strength, using his momentum to smash the steel housing directly into the high-pressure emergency sea-water intake valve behind the console!
The brass intake valve sheared off with a catastrophic, ear-shattering crack.
Immediately, a jet of super-pressurized Atlantic seawater—blasting at over one thousand pounds per square inch from the oceanic depths—exploded into the enclosed chamber like a cannon shell!
The sheer force of the water jet instantly vaporized the electronic control panels, triggering the catastrophic emergency system failure. Klaxons began to shriek, their red strobes flashing through the blinding white deluge of freezing water.
*WARNING: HULL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. FLOODING IMMINENT. AUTOMATIC SEAL INITIATING.*
The two guards closest to the console were swept off their feet by the violent torrent of freezing water, their heads smashing against the titanium vault door.
Arthur screamed in fury, raising his cane to strike Daniel, but the roaring wall of ocean water knocked the old man off balance, sending him crashing into the rising pool of foam on the floorboards.
"Ethan!" Daniel shouted over the deafening roar of water, diving through the surging flood to scoop his son into his arms.
The water level was rising with terrifying speed—ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep within thirty seconds. The automated safety systems had engaged, and the massive hydraulic elevator doors were beginning to slide shut, attempting to quarantine the flooded sector from the rest of the deep-sea rig.
"The doors! Kill them!" Arthur shrieked, spitting saltwater as he dragged himself up by clinging to the vault wheel, struggling against the freezing current.
One of the remaining guards raised his rifle toward Daniel. But before he could fire, the elevator doors burst open prematurely, and a volley of suppressed automatic fire ripped through the chamber!
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Marcus, soaking wet and covered in battle-dressing bandages, stood in the opening of the elevator shaft alongside an elite tactical assault team wearing US Navy SEAL insignias!
"Daniel! Move!" Marcus bellowed over the roar of the flooding ocean.
