Chapter 15 - DESCENT INTO THE VAULT
By 10:00 PM, Julian was in handcuffs in the back of an interrogation room, spilling every detail of the operation in exchange for a plea deal.
Based on Julian’s confession, a federal judge issued an emergency search warrant for Saint Leopold Memorial Hospital.
Armed federal marshals and tactical police units surrounded the hospital complex under the cover of darkness. Detective Miller, flanked by four SWAT officers, stood near the rear maintenance entrance of the old boiler house.
Beside them stood Nathan, wearing a ballistic vest over his street clothes, carrying a handheld electronic tablet displaying the facility's internal structural map.
"The entry code Julian provided gets us past the primary security door," Miller whispered to his team. "Once we're inside, we secure the server banks and locate Dr. Vance."
Nathan tapped his tablet, overriding the magnetic seal on the heavy steel door.
CLACK-CHUNK.
The massive reinforced door hissed open, revealing a long, sterile concrete corridor descending deep into the earth. The air inside smelled sharply of ozone, industrial grade chemical disinfectant, and cold metal.
As the team moved quietly down the subterranean corridor, tactical lights cutting through the darkness, they reached a massive glass-paneled observation room overlooking a high-tech bio-containment facility.
Inside were row upon row of cryo-preservation pods and experimental telemetry units—unlicensed, highly illegal pharmaceutical testing setups funded by international shadow investors.
Sitting at the central command desk, calmly packing an encrypted hard drive into a silver briefcase, was Dr. Marcus Vance.
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He didn't panic as the SWAT team surrounded the perimeter glass. He slowly turned around, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses, his cold eyes fixing directly on Nathan.
"You should have stayed in the casket, Mr. Cross," Dr. Vance said calmly through the intercom speaker. "You have no idea what you've just uncovered."
