Chapter 5: The Bait
The voice came from somewhere behind the wall.
Calm.
Almost gentle.
“He was the bait.””
I looked at Michael.
He didn’t deny it.
That frightened me more than the words themselves.
“Who is that?”” I asked.
Michael’s eyes stayed on the darkness behind the concealed passage.
“I don't know.””
“You’re lying.””
“I wish I were.””
Above us, another heavy impact shook the ceiling.
Dust drifted down.
The phones upstairs continued ringing.
One after another.
A dozen simultaneous calls.
Then a thirteenth.
Then a fourteenth.
Sheriff Cross stared toward the staircase.
“They’re here.””
Colonel Mercer drew her weapon.
“Who?””
Cross swallowed.
“Not the Army.””
Michael gave a bitter laugh.
“That’s the problem.””
Mercer looked at me.
“General, we need to move.””
“No.””
She frowned.
“Sarah—”
“I want answers.””
Michael stepped toward us.
“You won’t get them here.””
“Then take me somewhere we can.””
He stared at me.
“You really don't know what this is.””
“I know enough to know you’ve been alive for eleven years while I buried you.””
His face tightened.
“I never wanted you involved.””
“You lost the right to decide that when you let me believe you were dead.””
He looked away.
For a moment, the soldier disappeared and I saw the man I had married.
Then he looked back.
“I didn’t let you believe anything.””
His voice broke slightly.
“They told me you were safer if you hated me.””
I stared at him.
“What?””
Michael took a breath.
“When they took me, I tried to escape three times.””
Mercer stepped closer.
“Who took you?””
“A group that officially doesn't exist.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It’s the only honest one I have.””
Another impact shook the building.
This one was closer.
Michael looked at the ceiling.
“They’re cutting power.””
Mercer radioed upstairs.
“Status?””
Static.
Then one of her soldiers answered.
“Colonel, exterior teams report multiple armored vehicles approaching from the east and west.””
“Military?””
“Negative. No visible insignia.””
Mercer looked at me.
“Then we have hostile forces.””
Cross laughed nervously.
“Hostile?””
He looked around the basement.
“You still don't understand.””
I turned on him.
“Explain.””
He rubbed his hands together.
“You think this started with Michael.””
“No,” I said.
“I think it started before him.””
Cross looked at me.
That was answer enough.
I stepped closer.
“How long has this facility existed?””
He hesitated.
“Twenty years.””
“Wrong.””
His eyes shifted.
“Thirty.””
“Wrong again.””
He said nothing.
Michael answered.
“Forty-seven.””
Mercer frowned.
“This station?””
“The station above us was built over the original facility,” Michael said.
“The basement predates the county.””
I looked at the walls.
“How many rooms?””
Michael gave a humorless smile.
“More than you can see.””
A soldier rushed down the stairs.
“General!””
I turned.
“Report.””
“Front entrance breached.””
Mercer immediately moved.
“By whom?””
“They’re wearing county tactical uniforms.””
Cross went pale.
“That's impossible.””
The soldier looked at him.
“No, Sheriff.””
He lifted his radio.
“They’re yours.””
Cross stared at him.
Then at me.
I understood.
The enemy wasn't coming from outside.
Not entirely.
Some were already inside.
“Lock the lower corridor,” Mercer ordered.
Her soldiers moved.
Michael grabbed my arm.
“Sarah, we have ninety seconds.””
“For what?””
“The second room.””
I looked toward the wall.
“You said there was another room.””
“Yes.””
“What’s inside?””
Michael’s eyes met mine.
“Everything.””
“Be specific.””
“A server.””
My brow furrowed.
“Evidence?””
“Names.””
“Whose names?””
“Everyone involved.””
That stopped me.
Michael continued.
“Judges. Contractors. officers.
businessmen. people inside federal agencies.””
He looked at Cross.
“And sheriffs.””
Cross shook his head.
“No.””
“You signed the transfer orders.””
“I was protecting my family.””
“You were protecting yourself.””
Cross's expression hardened.
“You have no idea what they threatened.””
Michael took a step toward him.
“They threatened everyone.””
Cross looked at me.
“You don't understand what happens if that server gets out.””
I answered quietly.
“Then let’s make sure it does.””
We moved through the concealed passage.
It was narrow enough that my shoulders nearly touched both walls.
Michael went first.
Mercer followed.
I came behind her.
Two soldiers stayed at the rear.
The passage ended at a steel door.
Michael entered a sequence into a keypad.
The light remained red.
He tried again.
Nothing.
“What's wrong?””
“They changed the code.””
Mercer looked at him.
“Can you bypass it?””
“Not electronically.””
He knelt and removed a thin metal plate beneath the keypad.
Inside was a mess of wires.
He stared.
“They’ve already been here.””
“Meaning?””
“They’re inside.””
The room behind us suddenly echoed with footsteps.
Mercer raised her weapon.
“Move.””
We squeezed deeper into the passage.
Michael pulled a lever.
The rear wall shifted.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a tiny room.
No windows.
No furniture.
Just a metal cabinet bolted to the floor.
Michael stepped inside.
“This is it.””
He entered another code manually.
The cabinet opened.
Inside were dozens of drives.
Black.
Unmarked.
Each no larger than a deck of cards.
I stared.
“How long would it take to access all of that?””
“Minutes.””
“To copy it?””
“Less.””
I looked at Mercer.
“Secure the drives.””
One soldier stepped forward.
Then the lights in the room turned red.
Michael froze.
“Oh, no.””
“What?””
“The system knows we're here.””
The room filled with a low warning tone.
A digital screen appeared above the cabinet.
*REMOTE PURGE INITIATED.*
Mercer swore.
“How long?””
Michael looked at the countdown.
“Three minutes.””
I grabbed the nearest drive.
“What happens after three minutes?””
“The data is destroyed.””
“Then we have three minutes.””
Michael caught my wrist.
“No.””
“What?””
“You don't understand what else happens.””
He pointed to a second line of text.
*BIOLOGICAL CONTAINMENT SEAL: ARMED.*
I stared.
“Biological?””
Michael nodded.
“If the purge fails, they burn the room.””
“With us inside.””
“Yes.””
Mercer stepped toward the door.
“Then we don't fail.””
A gunshot cracked through the passage.
The rear soldier fell against the wall.
“Contact!””
Mercer returned fire.
Muzzle flashes lit the corridor.
Michael grabbed the cabinet.
“Take the drives!””
I stuffed several into my jacket.
“How many?””
“As many as you can carry.””
Another shot.
Then another.
A voice called from the passage.
“General Hayes!””
I recognized it.
Sheriff Cross did too.
He went rigid.
The voice belonged to Deputy Mason.
“General! Don't trust Michael!””
Michael stopped.
I looked at him.
Mason's voice echoed again.
“He's lying to you!””
Michael whispered, “Sarah, don't listen.””
Mason shouted from the corridor.
“He wasn't captured eleven years ago!””
I stared at Michael.
His face changed.
“What does that mean?””
He said nothing.
Mason continued.
“He volunteered!””
My hand slowly moved away from the cabinet.
Michael looked at me.
“Sarah…”
“Is it true?””
He closed his eyes.
“Partly.””
The countdown showed *01:47*.
I stared at him.
“You volunteered to disappear?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because someone had to get inside.””
“Inside what?””
“The organization.””
My voice dropped.
“Then why didn't you come home?””
“Because I couldn't.””
“Why?””
“Because the operation kept expanding.””
He stepped toward me.
“Every time I got close to exposing them, another layer appeared.””
I shook my head.
“You could have told me.””
“They were watching you.””
“So you let me bury you?””
“I thought I was protecting you.””
“You thought wrong.””
A metallic click sounded behind us.
Everyone turned.
Deputy Mason stood at the mouth of the corridor.
Blood stained his sleeve.
His gun was pointed at Michael.
Sheriff Cross was beside him.
Mason's eyes were wet.
“I'm sorry.””
Mercer raised her weapon.
“Drop it.””
Mason shook his head.
“I can't.””
Cross whispered, “Mason, do it.””
Mason looked at him.
“No.””
Cross's face changed.
Mason turned toward me.
“General Hayes, the server isn't the real evidence.””
I looked at him.
“Then what is?””
He swallowed.
“Michael.””
Michael went still.
Mason continued.
“The organization doesn't need the files anymore.””
“Why?””
“Because they changed the plan.””
The timer reached *00:59*.
I looked at Michael.
“What plan?””
Before he could answer, Mason whispered:
“They don't want to kill your husband.””
He lowered the gun.
“They want him to remember.””
May you like
The lights went black.
And in the darkness, Michael screamed my name.
