Chapter 16 - The Tunnel of Truth
The digital timer mounted on the tunnel wall ticked down ruthlessly: 00:10 SECONDS.
"You won't detonate it, Maria," Julian said, taking a slow step forward.
"If you press that manual trigger, you blow yourself up along with us," Julian pointed out calmly.
"You love your life and money too much to die in a dark sewer," he added, staring into her frantic eyes.
Maria’s hand trembled on the gun grip, her jaw clenched in pure desperation.
"You stole my whole life, Arthur!" Maria shrieked, tears of rage smearing her mascara.
"I gave you ten years of my youth, and you left everything to this pathetic boy!" she screamed.
"I gave you respect, wealth, and a family, Maria," Arthur replied softly, his voice heavy with sorrow.
"But your greed was a black hole that could never be filled," Arthur said quietly.
Marcus used the distraction to quietly close the distance along the shadowed wall.
With lightning speed, Marcus lunged forward, grabbing Maria's wrist and twisting the weapon upward.
BANG!
A gunshot echoed deafeningly in the tight space, the bullet ricocheting off the concrete ceiling.
Marcus disarmed her in a fraction of a second, kicking the gun into the dark water channel below.
Julian rushed forward and grabbed the remote detonator from her trembling left hand.
His fingers flew across the keypad, entering the master cancellation code his father had taught him years ago.
00:03... 00:02... 00:01...
May you like
Julian slammed the enter key just as the screen read 00:00.
SYSTEM OVERRIDE: DEMOLITION CANCELLED.
