Chapter 7 - The Countdown
The digital timer on the detonator had burned into my memory, leaving me exactly two minutes and fifty seconds to prevent a massacre.
Absolute pandemonium finally erupted in the cathedral as the wealthy guests trampled each other in a desperate stampede toward the main doors.
The corrupt federal agent realized he was about to be blown to pieces and turned to flee alongside the terrified civilians.
A deafening gunshot echoed through the vaulted ceilings, and the agent collapsed to the floor with a bullet in his back.
I looked toward the altar and saw Adrian standing in the shadows of the tunnel entrance, smoke curling slowly from the barrel of his gun.
He offered me one final, mocking salute before disappearing completely into the damp darkness of the underground catacombs.
I did not hesitate for another second, sprinting past the bleeding agent and plunging directly into the freezing tunnel.
The air below the church was thick with the smell of ancient dust, rotting wood, and the sharp, chemical scent of wiring.
I navigated the pitch-black corridors strictly by memory, relying on the historical blueprints I had secretly studied months ago.
I could hear Lily's muffled sobs echoing off the cold stone walls, guiding me deeper into the terrifying maze.
I turned a sharp corner and found Adrian attempting to unlock a heavy, rusted iron gate that blocked his escape route.
Lily was slumped against the damp wall, her eyes wide with desperate hope as she saw me approaching through the gloom.
Adrian cursed loudly as the old key snapped off inside the rusted lock, leaving him completely trapped in the dead-end corridor.
He spun around to face me, raising his weapon with a trembling hand as the countdown timer on his belt dipped below sixty seconds.
I pleaded with him to leave Lily out of this, begging him to disarm the bomb and face his punishment like a man.
He laughed hysterically, claiming that a life without his stolen billions was absolutely not a life worth living.
He pointed to a massive cluster of blinking C4 explosives wired directly to the main support pillar holding up the entire cathedral.
He tossed the digital detonator onto the ground between us, challenging me to disarm it before the timer reached zero.
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Before I could even take a single step forward, he aggressively smashed the only lightbulb in the corridor with the butt of his gun.
We were instantly plunged into absolute, suffocating darkness with exactly forty-five seconds left to survive.
