Chapter 14 - Return to the Ashes
The northern ridge of the Mendoza ranch had been abandoned since my grandfather's time. I drove through the night, arriving at the perimeter fence as dawn broke through the gloomy gray clouds.
Armed with my late husband’s rifle and the floor plans Rodrigo had sketched for me on a visitor napkin, I navigated the thick pine forest toward the old mine shaft.
The heavy steel doors leading into the mountain were disguised as a rusted utility shed. Using the security access code Rodrigo had memorized years ago, I punched the numbers into the hidden keypad.
The heavy hydraulic doors hissed open, revealing a pristine, sterile corridor extending deep into the earth.
I crept down the concrete hallway, my heart thumping against my ribs like a trapped bird. Through the glass panels of the inner chambers, I saw rows of high-tech medical pods and specialized harvesting equipment.
In the central ICU suite, sleeping inside a glass isolation chamber, was the young boy from the photograph.
Standing beside his bed, adjusting a drip bag of synthetic plasma, was an elderly man in a bespoke suit, holding a silver cane.
May you like
Victor Sterling.
"I expected Agent Miller to handle you more discreetly, Mrs. Mendoza," Sterling said softly, without even turning around.
