Chapter 113 - The Fracture of Vance Ridge
Eleanor's face hardened, the veneer of maternal concern evaporating into pure, predatory venom. "Kill them all," she ordered coldly. "Save Julian's right arm. We only need the hand for the biometrics."
"Down!" Victoria screamed.
The blast gap erupted in gunfire. Submachine gun rounds chewed into the command console, shattering glass monitors and showering us in electrical sparks.
I dove behind the steel plotting table, dragging Victoria down with me as high-velocity rounds sparked against the reinforced frame. Arthur didn't duck; he stepped sideways with unnatural grace, raising his .45 and firing three rapid, heavy rounds directly through the narrow opening between the buckled doors.
A scream echoed from the corridor—an operative collapsed into the breach, his tactical helmet shattered.
"Julian! The key!" Arthur roared over the deafening cacophony of automatic fire. "Slot two! Turn it with mine! Now!"
I crawled on my elbows through the hail of ricocheting lead, my knees scraping against the jagged floor debris. The second key receptacle on the central pillar was five feet away, lit by a pulsing crimson emergency light.
An explosive grenade bounced through the fractured doorway, rolling across the slick concrete toward our position.
Victoria reacted instantly. With a savage kick of her combat boot, she deflected the canister toward an empty equipment bay. "Frag out!"
*CONCUSSION.*
The blast blew out the remaining overhead phosphor tubes, plunging the entire command hub into pitch-black darkness, illuminated only by the red warning strobes and the stuttering muzzle flashes from the hallway. The shockwave slammed into my back, knocking the wind from my lungs.
Through the ringing in my ears, I saw Arthur standing beside the master console. Blood was dripping down his left temple, but his right hand remained locked on the first obsidian key.
"Julian!" his voice cut through the gunfire like iron. "Do it!"
I lunged forward, thrusting my stone key into slot two.
My palm hit the biometric sensor beneath the lock. A sharp needle pricked my thumb, drawing a single bead of blood into the capillary tube.
*VANCE DNA CONFIRMED: CADET BRANCH / JULIAN.*
*DUAL-KEY SOVEREIGN PURGE AUTHORIZED.*
*TRANSMITTING ARCHIVAL CIPHER TO GLOBAL NODES IN: 05... 04...*
Through the smoke, the breaching drone smashed completely through the warped blast doors, followed by three heavily armored Vanguard mercenaries. Behind them, Eleanor raised a suppressed tactical pistol, her sights aligned directly on Arthur's chest.
"Too late, Arthur," she sneered.
"You're right," Arthur smiled, his silver hair bathed in the red strobe. "It is."
*01... TRANSMISSION COMPLETE.*
*STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE PROTOCOL ENGAGED.*
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Deep inside the mountain's granite heart, twelve consecutive explosive thuds detonated in rapid sequence. The floor dropped beneath our feet like an elevator cable had been severed.
The bedrock of Vance Ridge was splitting wide open.
