Chapter 12 - The Search for Sector Four
The morning sun broke through the heavy gray storm clouds, casting a pale, golden light over the churning waters of Blackwood Cliff as federal backup and medical units arrived at the scene.
Inside the back of a warm ambulance, paramedics tended to David’s cuts and bruises while Sarah and Emma sat side by side on the bench seat, wrapped in emergency foil blankets.
Mark leaned against the open ambulance doors, holding a rugged military-grade tablet he had retrieved from Richard Vance’s confiscated briefcase.
“The federal cyber-crimes unit just unlocked the primary database server we seized from the archive raid,” Mark announced, scrolling rapidly through the glowing screen. “It contains the master ledger of Vance Pharmaceuticals' covert relocation facility—Sector Four.”
Sarah looked up sharply. “Where is it?”
“An abandoned underground fallout shelter beneath the old state psychiatric hospital on the northern outskirts of the city,” Mark replied. “That's where they transferred the children who survived the 2014 trials. And that's where Leo has been kept under medical surveillance for over a decade.”
Emma’s breath hitched. “My twin brother... he's been locked down there all this time?”
David nodded grimly, accepting a cup of warm water from a paramedic.
“Richard needed his unique genetic markers to finalize the multi-billion-dollar patent merger scheduled for next month,” David explained, his voice hard. “Leo was never treated like a human being by the board. He was treated like corporate property.”
Emma stood up abruptly from the ambulance bench, throwing off her emergency blanket.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Emma demanded, her eyes flashing with a fierce determination that mirrored her mother’s. “Let's go get my brother.”
The federal lead investigator walked over, stepping out of a black command SUV.
“Mrs. Mitchell, Mr. Mitchell, we're mobilizing a tactical unit to raid Sector Four right now. But given the sensitive nature of the facility and the bio-security locks Richard Vance installed, we need someone who knows the internal command codes.”
David stood up, wincing slightly as his bruised ribs protested the movement.
“I designed the biometric override system twelve years ago,” David said firmly, stepping down from the ambulance. “I'll lead the breach team.”
Sarah grabbed his arm, her expression a mix of terror and unwavering resolve.
“I'm going with you,” Sarah said.
May you like
David looked into her eyes, saw the unbreakable bond that twelve years of sorrow couldn't fracture, and nodded.
“Let's finish this.”
