Chapter 7 - The Blood Override
The red laser scanned my right eye, burning brightly as the machine processed my genetic identity.
I heard my mother gasp softly beside me as the secondary laser scanned her retina at the exact same moment.
The digital timer on the wall read exactly four minutes remaining before total oxygen depletion.
The computer system hummed loudly, processing the combined DNA sequence to verify our authority.
"Access denied, genetic match incomplete," a synthetic female voice announced coldly.
I punched the titanium door in sheer frustration, feeling the despair slowly crush my spirit.
"It did not work, the system is too advanced to be fooled by a partial match," I choked out, gasping for the thinning air.
Sofia refused to accept defeat, frantically typing complex override codes into the manual keypad.
"There has to be another way to bypass the biometric relay," she muttered, sweat pouring down her forehead.
My mother reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, ornate silver locket she always wore.
"Ernesto gave this to me the day he locked me away for my own protection," she whispered, her voice incredibly weak.
She popped the locket open, revealing a tiny, glowing microchip hidden beneath an old family photograph.
"He said to only use this if the family empire was completely destroyed," she explained.
I grabbed the microchip and examined the scanner panel, noticing a small diagnostic port hidden under a metal flap.
I shoved the chip into the port just as the timer hit exactly sixty seconds.
The red lights on the scanner immediately flipped to a bright, welcoming green.
"Override accepted, opening main vault doors," the synthetic voice chimed beautifully.
The heavy titanium door hissed loudly, fresh, cool air rushing into the room and filling our starving lungs.
We pushed the door completely open, only to find the mercenary commander standing right outside, pointing an automatic rifle at our faces.
"Thank you for opening the door, folks, it saved me a lot of explosives," the commander laughed cruelly.
But before he could pull the trigger, a loud gunshot echoed through the underground bunker.
The commander's eyes went wide with shock as a blooming red stain appeared on his chest.
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He collapsed to the floor, completely dead.
Standing behind him, holding a smoking revolver with absolute authority, was my grandfather Ernesto.
