Chapter 42 - The Judas Protocol
My blood ran cold. "Beneath the study? But the well house... the iron tunnel—"
"Decoys," Evelyn interrupted. "All elaborate layers of misdirection designed to filter out trespassers, thieves, and impatient fools. The iron well leads to the secondary maintenance corridors, which is where Sterling wasted his men and his time. But the true entrance—the primary elevator shaft—was built into the structural core of the hearth. Beneath the very fireplace your grandfather sat in front of every evening."
She stood up and tapped the display table. The holographic map zoomed into a cross-section of Vance Ridge. Beneath the 3D model of the humble two-story timber house lay an inverted pyramid of colossal proportions—a labyrinth of reinforced bunkers, automated power stations, and vault doors extending deep into the ancient tectonic bedrock.
"Why build it under a family home?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Why put his family on top of a nuclear bullseye?"
"Because nobody bombs a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere without drawing the attention of the world," Evelyn said. "And because Arthur Vance knew that the only people who would ever look for his masterpiece would be his own blood. He designed the vault so that only someone carrying his DNA and his moral conviction could pass the final threshold."
Suddenly, the cabin lights flickered from white to amber.
The pilot's voice came over the speaker, tight with urgency: "Commander, bogies are not pursuing. Repeat, they are breaking off pursuit."
Evelyn's brow furrowed. She stepped up to the cockpit door. "Why would they break off? They have air superiority in this quadrant."
"They're not trying to shoot us down, ma'am," the pilot responded, his voice chillingly steady. "Thermal telemetry indicates they have dropped heavy ordnance on Vance Ridge. They are boring into the foundation from above."
Sterling let out a ragged, wheezing laugh from his restraint chair. "Did you really think... the Vanguard Consortium would let you leave with the prize? If they can't open the front door... they'll use a seismic penetrator to crack the mountain open like an egg."
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Evelyn lunged forward, grabbing Sterling by the lapels of his shredded coat. "Who authorized a kinetic strike on domestic soil? Who is funding the mercenary unit?"
Sterling grinned through his bloodied teeth, his eyes glittering with spiteful triumph. "Look at the tail numbers on those aircraft, Evelyn. Look at the satellite signatures. It’s not a foreign power. It's the board of directors. Your old friends."
