Three-year-old Owen was shoved into the deep koi pond even though Celeste knew he could not swim. / Chapter 28 / 56

Chapter 28 - The Subterranean Breach

The air inside the geothermal exhaust shaft tasted like sulfur and burnt hydraulic fluid. Vance led the ascent up the rusted iron rungs bolted into the curved concrete flue, his combat boots slipping against decades of wet mineral buildup. Below him, Valentina climbed with one arm hooked tightly around Owen, securing the boy against her chest with a nylon tactical harness. Matteo brought up the rear, coughing raggedly into his sleeve.

"The ventilation grate is thirty meters up," Matteo called out, his voice bouncing hollowly off the circular shaft walls. "It leads out to the drainage ravine behind the ridge. If Arthur’s tactical teams are smart, they’ve already deployed perimeter drones."

"They're Arthur’s men," Vance grunted, pulling himself up another rung. "They aren't just smart; they're ex-special operations. And Celeste is signing their checks. That means they have infrared."

Valentina felt Owen’s forehead against her neck. His skin was unnaturally warm now, burning with a feverish intensity. The silver luminescence had retreated from his eyes, but she could feel his pulse racing at an alarming rate, vibrating like a trapped bird against her ribs.

"Hang on, baby," she murmured softly. "Almost there."

Suddenly, the shaft shook violently. Deep beneath them, the silo’s primary geothermal manifold screamed back to life. A blinding blast of superheated steam hissed through the pressure relief valves fifty feet below.

"The reboot sequence!" Matteo shouted, panic spiking his tone. "The purge is venting the toxic runoff straight up this pipe!"

"Move! Double time!" Vance surged upward, hitting the heavy steel mesh grate at the top of the shaft with his shoulder. It didn't budge. He braced his feet on the narrow ladder and slammed his upper body against the iron barrier once, twice, three times. The rusted bolts groaned.

Hot air rushed up the column, carrying the suffocating stench of ammonia. Owen began to cough, his little hands gripping Valentina’s collar in terror.

"Vance, get it open!" Valentina screamed, choking on the rising chemical haze.

With an oath, Vance drew his sidearm, angled the muzzle into the rusted locking mechanism, and fired three point-blank rounds. Sparks and lead fragments sprayed into the dark. He kicked the shattered iron with all his weight.

The grate blew open with a metallic shriek, tumbling outward into the rain-drenched night.

Vance vaulted through the opening, immediately spinning around to grab Owen from Valentina’s harness, hauling the child out onto the wet earth. He reached down again, locking hands with Valentina and pulling her up just as a boiling geyser of steam roared out of the open flue, singeing the heels of Matteo’s shoes as the billionaire scrambled desperately onto the muddy grass.