Chapter 13 - THE BIOMETRIC VAULT
The vault room was eerily quiet compared to the roaring street battle above. In the center of the far wall stood a specialized deposit box—not a standard brass locker, but a custom-built, heavy steel vault door mounted into a three-foot-thick reinforced concrete alcove.
In the center of the steel face rested a dual-interface terminal: an optical glass scanner for a badge interface on the left, and a sleek glass touchpad with an infrared DNA scanner on the right.
Above the interface, a red digital countdown timer hummed softly: 00 : 42 : 18—forty-two minutes until the automated lock expired forever.
Clara’s hands trembled as she pulled Captain Reyes’s silver badge from Lily’s coat pocket. She stepped up to the panel, her breathing ragged.
"Aligning badge interface," a flat, synthesized electronic voice echoed from a small speaker above the terminal.
Clara carefully pressed the reverse side of Reyes's silver badge—with its exposed optical microchip—into the left recessed slot. The slot clicked, glowing bright cyan as it scanned the embedded digital credentials.
BEEP!
"Master Command Badge Authenticated: Captain Marcus Reyes," the voice announced. "Secondary Authentication Required: Biological Descendant DNA Match."
Clara looked down at Lily. She gently smoothed her daughter’s hair, kneeling beside her. "Put your hand on the glass box, sweetie. Just like we practiced in the church."
Lily stepped forward, her small right palm pressing flat against the infrared glass touchpad. A soft blue laser light swept across her small hand from wrist to fingertips.
For three agonizing seconds, nothing happened. The terminal hummed quietly, the red countdown timer ticking down... 00 : 42 : 12... 00 : 42 : 11...
Then, a sharp mechanical chime rang through the vault.
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CLICK-CLACK!
"Biological Match Confirmed: Descendant of Detective Daniel Vance," the computer chimed. "Access Granted. Initializing Master Archive Decryption."
