Chapter 18 - The Final Reckoning
"Shut up, Maria," Marcus growled, looking for a manual override crank along the heavy blast doors.
Arthur walked over to the wall control box and ripped the plastic casing off with his bare hands.
"Julian, you designed the emergency network architecture," Arthur said, pointing to the tangled mess of colored wires inside.
"Can you bypass the federal lock down signal from the junction box?" Arthur asked his son.
Julian knelt down beside the exposed box, pulling out his multi-tool knife with steady fingers.
"The main board runs on a double-bridged relay switch," Julian analyzed, squinting at the complex circuits.
"If I strip the green wire and short-circuit the red trigger, it forces an emergency power dump," Julian explained.
"What happens if you cut the wrong wire?" Marcus asked, keeping a watchful eye on the heavy iron doors.
"The system triggers an automatic halon gas release to prevent electrical fires," Julian replied grimly.
"Which means we suffocate in less than thirty seconds," Julian added, looking up at his father.
Arthur placed a warm, heavy hand on Julian's shoulder, giving him a firm nod of absolute trust.
"I trust you, son," Arthur said softly. "You've proven yourself a true Vance tonight."
Julian took a deep, steadying breath and placed the sharp blade against the thin copper wires.
Maria watched from the corner, her breathing growing fast and shallow as panic replaced her madness.
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"Don't do it! You're going to kill us all!" Maria shrieked, trying to crawl away.
Julian didn't hesitate; he sliced through the green wire with a single, decisive stroke.
