Chapter 13: Six Minutes

Michael looked at the tablet.

“How long?”

Julian checked the timer.

“Six minutes until full shutdown.”

“Stop it.”

“I can’t.”

Victoria laughed bitterly.

“He never understood the system. Wallace built it.”

Michael’s mind raced.

Wallace was in federal custody.

Laura contacted the agents guarding him.

Wallace explained that the virus could only be stopped from the airfield tablet using a biometric authorization.

“Whose biometric?” Michael asked.

“Julian’s.”

Michael looked at him.

“Unlock it.”

Julian stared at Victoria.

For the first time, his arrogance disappeared.

He seemed like what he truly was.

A frightened son who had spent his life begging for the approval of a woman incapable of love.

Victoria whispered, “Do not help them.”

Julian slowly lowered his gun.

Sarah stepped toward him.

“You can still choose what you become in the final minute.”

Victoria plunged the knife toward Michael.

A shot rang out.

Julian had fired.

Victoria collapsed.

He stared at her body in horror.

Then he placed his thumb on the tablet.

“Authorization accepted,” the device announced.

The shutdown halted with ninety seconds remaining.

At the hospital, Thomas’s ventilator flickered but remained active.

Julian dropped the gun.

Laura arrested him.

He did not resist.

As agents led him away, he looked at Sarah.

“I never meant for you to survive.”

Sarah met his eyes.

“I know.”

He paused.

“Was there ever a time you loved me?”

Sarah’s expression softened with sadness.

“You were my little brother. Before she taught you that love was weakness.”

Julian looked down.

Then he disappeared into the police vehicle.

Michael returned to the hospital.

Thomas was still alive, but his condition had worsened during the system interruption.

A transplant coordinator approached Michael.

“We may have a donor.”

Hope rose.

Then she continued.

“The heart is from a woman matching Victoria Bennett’s age and blood type.”

Michael stared at her.

Victoria had been pronounced brain-dead after the shooting.

Sarah stood beside him.

The woman who had destroyed their lives could now save Thomas.

The decision legally belonged to Sarah as next of kin.

Everyone looked at her.

She closed her eyes.

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