Chapter 4 - The Underground Trap
The digital timer on the explosive device glowed menacingly in the pitch-black tunnel. It read exactly forty-five seconds until total detonation. “Diana planned for every contingency,” Sarah whispered, her face completely pale. Lily buried her small face into Marcus’s shoulder, terrified of the loud noises and flashing red lights. “There has to be a way to disarm it,” Marcus said, desperately scanning the mess of colored wires. He had served two tours in the military before taking over his father’s massive empire, but he was no bomb squad expert. The timer relentlessly ticked down to thirty seconds. “We can’t outrun the blast radius in this confined space,” Sarah noted grimly. Marcus noticed a small maintenance hatch located on the ceiling of the elevator car. “Help me boost her up,” Marcus ordered, handing Lily over to her mother. With all his remaining strength, Marcus shoved the rusted ceiling panel open. Sarah climbed onto Marcus’s shoulders and pushed Lily safely up into the concrete ventilation shaft above the elevator. Marcus quickly grabbed Sarah by the waist and hoisted her up into the dark tunnel just as the timer hit ten seconds. “Take my hand!” Sarah screamed, reaching down through the narrow opening. Marcus grabbed her hand, but his expensive dress shoes slipped on the greasy metal railing of the elevator wall. Five seconds remained on the glowing red display. Marcus knew that if the explosion happened while the hatch was open, the fire would roast Sarah and Lily alive in the shaft. “I love you, Sarah,” Marcus whispered softly. He forcefully let go of her hand and slammed the heavy metal hatch completely shut from the inside. “No!” Sarah’s muffled scream echoed from the other side of the thick steel plate. Marcus closed his eyes and braced for his inevitable death. The timer hit zero. But instead of a fiery explosion, a loud mechanical click echoed through the empty elevator. A small compartment on the bomb popped open, dropping a single black smartphone onto the floor. The phone immediately began to ring loudly in the silent tunnel. Marcus picked it up and answered it with a shaking hand. “I knew you would sacrifice yourself for them,” Diana’s chilling voice whispered through the speaker. “Now look up at the security camera in the corner, darling.” Marcus looked up and saw a red light blinking on a hidden camera. “Congratulations,” Diana laughed coldly. “You just locked yourself inside the elevator, and I just remotely filled the ventilation shaft above you with deadly carbon monoxide.”
