Chapter 14 - The Silver Scalpel
Before the guard could align his sights, a piercing wail echoed through the server room's ventilation shaft—a sharp, deafening mechanical scream.
The emergency fire suppression system roared to life. Overhead, high-pressure carbon dioxide nozzles hissed violently, dumping cold, choking white clouds into the room to suffocate any potential electrical fire.
The sudden drop in room pressure and zero-visibility caused the armed guards to stumble backward, coughing as the oxygen was rapidly displaced.
Julian didn't hesitate. He lunged forward through the white fog, tackling the nearest guard into the server rack. The suppressed pistol clattered against the perforated metal floor. Arthur swung his heavy brass pocket watch on its chain, striking the second guard across the temple, sending him sprawling into the darkness.
Victoria gasped, clutching her throat as the cold gas robbed the room of air. She stumbled toward the emergency exit button, but a hand clamped around her wrist like a vice.
Julian pulled his adoptive mother through the blinding mist toward the heavy steel doorway, dragging her out into the pressurized hallway where the air was clean. Arthur stumbled out behind them, carrying a small external hard drive pulled directly from the core terminal backup.
Victoria collapsed onto the hallway floor, hacking violently, her tailored blazer ruined, her polished hair wild and disheveled. She looked up at Julian with wide, terrified eyes.
"You... you ruined everything," she coughed, her manicured nails digging into the hallway carpet.
"No," Julian said, standing tall above her, completely untethered from the fear that had defined his life. "You ruined yourself the day you thought you could own human blood."
From the elevator at the end of the hall, the doors chimed.
May you like
Dr. Mercer stepped out, pushing Clara in a wheelchair. In Clara’s lap, wrapped securely against her chest, was baby Maya. And walking beside them, holding an open laptop displaying an active live-stream feed, was District Attorney Raymond Vance—Julian’s second cousin, and the head of the county integrity board.
"The server room microphones broadcast directly to the state attorney's emergency server, Victoria," Raymond said, his voice flat with disgust. "We heard every single word."
