Chapter 14 - THIRTY SECONDS
Brand stared at the rabbit.
“I did not know it was armed.”
Warren rushed toward the table.
The device had been designed as a final safeguard.
If Victor lost control of the mine, he intended to collapse the tunnel and destroy everyone inside.
Nora crawled toward Lily.
Brand fired again.
The bullet struck the chair leg.
Nora reached Lily and cut the rope with a broken piece of metal.
“Run to the vent.”
Lily grabbed Nora’s hand.
“I will not leave you.”
Warren opened the rabbit.
Beneath the stuffing was a compact detonator.
He tore at the wires.
“Twenty seconds.”
Brand moved toward the exit.
Nora kicked the door closed.
“If we die, you die with us.”
Brand aimed at her.
Lily picked up the turquoise inhaler Nora had dropped.
She threw it at the overhead light.
The bulb shattered.
Darkness filled the office.
Brand fired blindly.
Nora pulled Lily beneath the table.
Warren continued working by the glow of the countdown.
“Ten seconds.”
He cut a blue wire.
The timer continued.
“Seven seconds.”
He cut a black wire.
Nothing changed.
“Four seconds.”
Warren closed his eyes and pulled the main battery free.
The beeping stopped at two.
For one silent moment, nobody moved.
Then Brand opened the door and ran.
Nora helped Lily into the ventilation shaft.
“Follow the passage until you see daylight.”
“What about you?”
“I have to warn your father.”
Lily hugged her.
“You always come back.”
Nora forced a smile.
“So do you.”
She climbed into the tunnel behind Lily.
Before they reached the next junction, an explosion shook the mine.
Victor had activated secondary charges.
Rock and dust crashed through the shaft.
The passage between Nora and Lily collapsed.
“Lily!”
“I am here!”
Lily’s voice came from the other side, faint but alive.
“Keep moving forward,” Nora shouted.
“Do not come back.”
Nora turned toward another opening leading to the central chamber.
Below, Adrian and Rose stood before Victor.
Victor held a remote detonator.
“You brought me copies,” he said.
Rose opened the metal case.
“No.”
She smiled.
“I brought you the end of your family.”
Behind Victor, the mine wall exploded inward.
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Adrian was thrown to the ground.
When the dust cleared, Rose was gone.
