Chapter 5 - The Glass Fortress
Hidden deep within the wooded hills bordering the estate stood the Sterling Agricultural Facility, a sleek monolith of reinforced glass and smoked concrete. Heavy security fences topped with razor wire surrounded the perimeter, but the wrought-iron security gate hung slightly ajar, its electronic lock mangled and sparking.
Marcus vaulted from the ambulance before it even came to a complete stop. Carrying Mia wrapped in Sarah’s emergency blanket, he sprinted across the slick courtyard toward the illuminated glass lobby. Sarah followed close behind, medical pack bouncing against her hip, eyes darting toward the silent shadows between the security towers.
The interior was pristine, smelling faintly of formaldehyde and high-grade antiseptic. Computer terminals blinked along the perimeter walls, displaying complex chemical chains and genetic markers for equine muscular enhancement. On a central stainless steel counter sat the brass cylinder Donald had taken from Julian earlier that evening. It was open. Next to it lay two empty glass vials and a broken syringe.
""Someone was here,"" Sarah whispered, scanning the refrigerated storage units labeled with biohazard warnings. ""They took the synthesis stock.""
""Donald,"" Marcus snarled, resting Mia carefully onto an examination gurney. ""He came here to destroy the evidence.""
A sudden sound of clinking glass broke the heavy silence from the rear cold-storage room. Marcus stepped quietly toward the door, raising a heavy brass microscope base in his right hand. He kicked the swinging door inward, expecting Donald or one of his hired hands.
Instead, huddled on the floor between two freezing racks of serum, was Julian. His face was bloody from his father’s earlier beating, his hands shaking so violently he could barely hold the insulated container pressed against his ribs.
""Julian?"" Marcus demanded, lowering the weapon by an inch. ""What are you doing here?""
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The boy looked up, tears cutting tracks through the grime on his cheeks. ""My dad... he didn't just want you injured, Mr. Vance. He never meant for Mia to be here, but now that she is... he's burning the whole facility down to erase the link.""
From the ceiling above, the fire alarm system began to shriek, and the heavy pneumatic containment doors slammed shut with a deafening thud.
