Chapter 9 - The Countdown
Arthur and Silvio disappeared behind the heavy steel blast door, taking the ledger and sealing it shut behind them.
The digital timer blared an agonizingly loud beep for every passing second.
Four minutes and forty seconds remained.
Gabriel sprinted toward the main warehouse doors, desperately pulling at the massive steel handles.
“It’s electronically locked, it won’t budge!” Gabriel shouted over the panic in his own voice.
Leah ran to Cecilia, completely ignoring the ticking bomb, and quickly untied the thick ropes binding the old woman.
“Arthur is a monster,” Cecilia sobbed, burying her face into Leah’s shoulder.
“We are going to get you out of here, Nonna,” Leah promised, helping her to her feet.
Three minutes and thirty seconds.
Gabriel pulled out his pistol and fired six rapid shots into the electronic control panel of the main doors.
Sparks rained down, but the heavy steel deadbolts remained firmly locked in place.
“It’s reinforced, we are completely trapped!” Gabriel yelled, slamming his fists against the immovable door.
Leah scanned the massive, dimly lit warehouse, her medical training forcing her brain to remain perfectly calm in a crisis.
She noticed a thick, high-pressure water main running directly above the electronic locking mechanism.
“Gabriel, the water pipe!” Leah pointed frantically toward the ceiling.
Two minutes and fifteen seconds.
“If we burst the main line, the water pressure will short out the entire electrical grid of the building and release the magnetic locks!” Leah explained.
Gabriel didn’t hesitate for a single second.
He reloaded his pistol, aimed carefully at the rusty joint of the massive iron pipe, and fired his last three bullets.
The metal groaned, but the pipe did not break.
“It’s too thick!” Gabriel cursed in absolute despair.
One minute and thirty seconds.
Leah looked around wildly and spotted a heavy forklift parked near a stack of wooden shipping crates.
She sprinted toward it, jumped into the driver’s seat, and jammed the keys that were miraculously left in the ignition.
The diesel engine roared to life.
“Get back!” Leah screamed at Gabriel.
She slammed the forklift into reverse, angled the massive steel lifting forks upward, and floored the gas pedal directly toward the wall.
Forty-five seconds.
The steel forks smashed violently into the water main, completely severing the rusty joint.
A massive torrent of freezing water exploded from the ceiling, instantly flooding the electronic control panels below.
The electrical grid sparked violently, completely shorting out the building's power.
With a heavy, satisfying clunk, the magnetic locks on the main warehouse doors finally disengaged.
Gabriel grabbed Cecilia and kicked the heavy doors wide open, dragging her out into the cool, foggy night air.
Leah leaped from the forklift and sprinted after them, her lungs burning with exertion.
Fifteen seconds.
They ran frantically down the wooden pier, not daring to look back at the warehouse.
Ten seconds.
Gabriel threw himself over Leah and Cecilia, pinning them to the damp concrete behind a massive shipping container.
Three.
Two.
One.
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The explosion was absolutely deafening, shaking the very foundation of the earth beneath them.
A massive fireball ripped through the warehouse, completely obliterating Pier 47 and sending a shower of burning debris into the black lake.
