Chapter 10 - The Countdown Below
The basement of the Vance Estate was a labyrinth of stone arches, exposed steel pipes, and modern climate control units. The smell of natural gas was already thick in the damp air, sharp and sulfurous, filling the subterranean corridors with a deadly, invisible haze.
Julian tore down the narrow spiral stairs leading to the utility room, carrying Noah tucked securely under his left arm like a football, his gun held in his right hand.
"Hold your breath, Noah! Cover your nose with your shirt!" Julian barked, his lungs burning as he burst into the main boiler vault.
The primary gas control panel was blinking wildly with red emergency lights. A digital timer mounted above the main valve was counting down from sixty seconds.
00:48... 00:47... 00:46...
The electronic ignition spark unit near the ceiling was already crackling, small blue electrical arcs jumping across the gap every three seconds, waiting for the gas concentration to reach critical mass.
"Papa, I'm scared!" Noah cried out into Julian’s shirt.
"Stay right behind this concrete pillar, Noah. Do not move!" Julian shouted, setting the boy down behind a reinforced structural column near the exit tunnel.
Julian rushed to the central manual override wheel—a massive, iron wheel rusted with age and painted bright yellow. He grabbed the handles and heaved with all his strength.
The wheel didn't budge.
"Come on!" Julian screamed, his muscles straining, the veins in his neck bulging against his skin. The gas concentration was so thick now that his eyes were watering, his vision blurring around the edges.
00:22... 00:21... 00:20...
Behind him, the heavy iron door of the boiler room creaked open.
Julian turned his head. Standing in the doorway, supporting herself against the frame with a blood-soaked leg, was Elena. Her gray uniform was ruined, stained dark with crimson, her face pale as death. But in her hand, she still held the suppressed pistol.
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"You can't stop it, Julian," Elena rasped, her voice wet with internal bleeding. "The mechanical lock is jammed. We die here together. For Sarah. For the money. For everything."
She raised the pistol, aiming straight at Julian’s head.
