Chapter 17 - The Chimera Protocol
The supersonic jet touched down on a deserted logging road miles below the massive Apex BioGen fortress.
The freezing Alpine air instantly cut through Ethan’s thin jacket, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins kept him completely numb to the cold.
David stayed behind in the cockpit, tapping into the local cellular towers to provide Ethan with remote overwatch and security jamming.
Ethan hiked through three miles of dense, snow-covered pine forest, approaching the sheer cliff face where the facility was hidden.
He completely bypassed the heavily guarded tramway, utilizing a dangerous, icy service shaft used for venting underground exhaust.
He scaled the vertical pipe using stolen climbing gear, his muscles screaming in agony as he fought the freezing winds.
He reached the primary ventilation grate, using a quiet laser cutter to slice through the heavy steel bars.
He dropped silently into the warm, sterile corridor of the facility's highest security sector, his pistol drawn and ready.
David’s voice crackled softly in Ethan’s earpiece, guiding him through the labyrinth of pristine white hallways.
He navigated past heavily armed patrols, using his profound knowledge of human blind spots and acoustic echoes to remain entirely invisible.
He reached the primary biomedical containment laboratory, a massive room secured by a reinforced glass wall and a biometric retinal scanner.
Inside the lab, Ethan saw Claire strapped to a terrifying steel operating table, surrounded by advanced monitoring equipment.
She was unconscious, her beautiful face pale and exhausted, with thin, dark veins beginning to faintly show beneath the skin of her neck.
The stress of the kidnapping had accelerated the dormant pathogen remaining in her bloodstream; she was dying all over again.
Standing over her was the lead scientist of Apex BioGen, an older man with cold, calculating eyes, holding an extraction syringe.
He was preparing to drain the unique antibodies directly from her spinal fluid, a procedure that would guarantee her immediate death.
Ethan did not hesitate, knowing that any attempt at stealth was completely useless against the reinforced glass.
He aimed his pistol at the heavy, pressurized fire-suppression tank mounted on the wall above the laboratory door.
He fired three rapid shots, the suppressed bullets shattering the high-pressure valve and causing a massive explosion of thick, blinding chemical foam.
The sudden drop in pressure shattered the safety glass, triggering a deafening cascade of red emergency alarms throughout the mountain.
Ethan lunged through the broken glass into the chaotic, foam-filled laboratory, his eyes locked entirely on the scientist.
The man pulled a weapon, but Ethan tackled him to the steel floor, disarming him with brutal, calculated efficiency.
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He drove his knee heavily into the scientist's chest, shattering his ribs and pinning him down amidst the blinding white foam.
Ethan grabbed the terrified man by the throat, demanding the location of the synthesized Chimera antigen.
