Chapter 8 - The Mountain Facility
The rainforest was alive with the sound of dripping water and rustling wind.
Claire and Mia crawled through the dense underbrush, staying low beneath the sweeping beams of the facility's perimeter floodlights.
Using the wire cutters, Claire snipped a precise, square hole through the bottom section of the chain-link fence hidden behind a thick clump of blackberry bushes. One by one, they squeezed through, landing silently on the gravel perimeter path.
Mia pointed toward a set of large, industrial ventilation shafts protruding from the rear of the main building.
The facility is built underground, Mia signed, recalling blueprints she had seen months ago on Victoria’s desk. The upper level is just administrative offices and guard quarters. The medical labs are on basement level two.
They made their way to a heavy steel emergency exit door near the vent shafts.
Claire took out a small plastic card—her interpreter badge from the gala—and slid it carefully into the door latch mechanism, applying firm pressure while Mia turned the handle.
With a soft, metallic click, the heavy door swung open.
They slipped inside, entering a brightly lit, sterile hallway that smelled powerfully of antiseptic, bleach, and cold air.
The contrast between the wild, dark mountain outside and the cold, artificial brightness inside was jarring.
Claire locked the emergency door behind them with a plastic wedge to prevent it from closing fully. They moved quickly down the corridor, staying close to the wall, dodging security cameras by following the blind spots mapped out in Eleanor’s downloaded technical files.
They reached an elevator bank.
Mia stepped up to the control panel. The elevator required a keycard scan to access the lower basement levels.
Look, Mia signed, pointing to a small, hidden keyhole beneath the card reader. It’s an older override lock.
Claire pulled a sturdy pair of hairpins from her pocket. Her brother Mark hadn't just taught her about computers—he had spent years practicing physical lock-picking as a hobby, and he had made sure his sister knew the basics.
Claire knelt before the panel, her hands precise and steady. She inserted the tension wrench and rake, feeling for the brass pins inside the cylinder.
Click. Click. Click.
The elevator chime rang softly. The brushed-metal doors slid open.
They stepped inside. Mia pressed the button for BASEMENT LEVEL 2: HIGH-SECURITY MEDICAL.
As the elevator descended, the air grew colder, heavy with a strange, pressurized stillness.
When the doors opened, they found themselves in a long, glass-walled corridor lined with empty examination rooms, monitoring stations, and rows of glowing server racks.
At the very end of the corridor was a single, heavily reinforced door made of opaque glass.
Two security guards in grey uniforms were sitting at a desk outside the door, drinking coffee and watching a bank of monitors.
Claire pulled Mia back into the shadows of the elevator frame.
There are two guards, Claire signed quickly. We can't fight them.
Mia looked around the hallway. Her eyes landed on a wall-mounted fire suppression system control box. A red manual pull lever sat behind a glass cover.
Mia looked at Claire, a sly, brilliant idea sparkling in her eyes.
She pointed to the fire alarm, then pointed to a set of heavy automatic fire doors situated directly above the guards' desk.
When the alarm goes off, those emergency doors drop automatically to seal the sector, Mia signed. The guards will be trapped on the outside.
Claire smiled. Do it.
Mia sprinted down the side corridor, grabbed a heavy fire extinguisher from a wall bracket, and smashed the glass cover of the alarm.
She yanked the red handle.
A deafening, shrill strobe light began flashing throughout the entire floor. Sirens blared.
"WARNING. ATMOSPHERIC DEPRESSURIZATION CONTAINMENT INITIATED. CONTAINMENT DOORS CLOSING IN FIVE SECONDS."
The two guards jumped up, spilling their coffee, confused and panicked. Before they could react, a massive steel blast door slammed down from the ceiling with a thunderous CRASH, sealing the guards outside the corridor!
Claire and Mia ran to the glass door at the end of the hall.
The electronic lock had disengaged automatically due to the fire safety override protocol.
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Claire pushed the heavy door open.
Inside, sitting in a soft armchair beside a wide window overlooking a small indoor garden, was Eleanor Holloway.
