Chapter 14 - Five Minutes
There was no longer time to understand the photograph.
We had to stop the explosion.
Daniel tore open the relay cabinet.
Dozens of wires filled the interior.
“Which one?”
He shook his head.
“I’m not an engineer.”
Elias stared at him.
“You helped install this.”
“I delivered money.”
“That sounds useful.”
“Not right now.”
The countdown reached four minutes.
I searched the room.
My grandfather had built parts of this terminal.
My mother once told me he never trusted electronic systems completely.
He believed everything important needed a mechanical backup.
I looked at the walls.
“There should be a manual shutdown.”
Daniel glanced at me.
“What?”
“My grandfather.”
I ran toward an old metal cabinet.
Locked.
Elias forced it open.
Inside was a large red wheel and a laminated instruction sheet.
EMERGENCY FLOOD GATE CONTROL.
Daniel read quickly.
“This controls the tunnels.”
“Can we flood the explosive chambers?”
Elias scanned the diagram.
“Yes.”
Daniel shook his head.
“But if we open the gates, this section floods too.”
“How long?”
“Maybe three minutes.”
The countdown showed 3:21.
We looked at one another.
Elias grabbed the wheel.
“Turn it.”
Daniel joined him.
The metal resisted.
I pushed too.
Slowly, it moved.
Somewhere beneath us, enormous mechanisms groaned.
Warning sirens began.
WATER RELEASE AUTHORIZED.
We heard rushing water.
The countdown continued.
2:11.
Daniel stared at the monitor.
“It isn’t stopping.”
“Give it time,” I said.
Water began seeping beneath the door.
Then rushing.
Ankle deep.
Knee deep.
Elias grabbed me.
“We go.”
“What about the countdown?”
“We did what we could.”
We ran.
Daniel slipped on the stairs.
I turned back.
He was struggling to stand.
Water filled the lower tunnel.
“Ava, go!”
For one second, I saw the man who had thrown me out.
Then I saw another truth.
If I left him there because I wanted revenge, some part of Daniel would own me forever.
I went back.
Elias swore and followed.
Together we pulled Daniel upright.
The timer reached forty seconds.
We raced toward the emergency ladder.
Water reached my waist.
Twenty seconds.
Elias pushed me upward.
Daniel climbed behind me.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
I reached the exterior hatch.
Elias forced it open.
Cold night air hit my face.
Three.
Two.
One.
A deep concussion shook the ground.
But there was no massive explosion.
Only a muffled boom beneath the flooded terminal.
We collapsed onto the pavement.
Alive.
Daniel laughed breathlessly.
“We stopped it.”
Elias looked toward the warehouses.
“Most of it.”
Smoke rose from one distant building.
Then my phone rang.
My mother.
I answered immediately.
“Ava.”
“Mom, are the babies okay?”
“Yes.”
Her voice shook.
“But you need to listen.”
“What happened?”
“Vincent called me.”
My stomach turned.
“What did he say?”
“He said the truth about the Vance family dies tonight.”
I looked at Elias.
My mother continued.
“And then he told me where he is going.”
“Where?”
May you like
“The cemetery.”
“To Thomas Bennett’s grave.”
