Chapter 46 - Fire in the Catacombs
Dante Moretti was a whirlwind of calculated violence.
He sprinted through the dense chemical smoke on the glass gantry, his boots leaving bloody tracks on the shattered surface. Two legionnaires lunged out of the haze with combat blades; Dante ducked beneath the first swing, drove his shoulder into the man’s sternum, and hurled him over the railing into the churning reactor depths below. Without breaking momentum, he spun, caught the second operative’s wrist, snapped the bone with an audible crack, and used the dying man as a human shield against a torrent of submachine gun fire echoing from the dais.
Bullets ripped through the armor of Dante’s shield, the concussive impacts rattling Dante’s teeth, but his focus remained absolute. With a roar of exertion, Dante shoved the corpse forward, drew his backup pistol, and cleared the upper landing with double-taps to the exposed neck joints of the remaining guards.
Below, Claire descended the rusted rungs of the maintenance ladder, one arm wrapped securely around Leo. The heat radiating from the reactor pools was suffocating, washing over them in waves of humid, ozone-scented air.
"Hang on, Leo," Claire whispered, her voice fierce and steady despite the chaos. "Mommy’s got you."
She dropped onto the lower platform, her boots ringing on the steel mesh. Before her stood the auxiliary coolant terminal—a heavy, analog console protected by an electro-mechanical cipher lock. Her fingers flew across the keypad, entering the classified decommissioning codes she had memorized years ago as a naval lieutenant.
*ACCESS DENIED — BIOMETRIC VALIDATION REQUIRED.*
Claire swore under her breath. "Of course. She updated the root keys."
Above her, the heavy blast doors at the far end of the platform groaned open. Three more operatives appeared on the catwalk, their laser sights cutting through the darkness, centering squarely on Claire’s chest.
There was no cover. No time to reload.
Claire spun, shielding Leo with her back, preparing to absorb the impacts into her body armor.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
The three operatives jerked backward violently, their helmets exploding in bursts of pulverized ceramic as high-velocity rifle rounds tore through them from above. Dante leaned over the upper railing, holding a captured assault rifle, smoke curling from its barrel. His coat was shredded by bullet grazes, blood dripping from a shrapnel cut along his temple, but his eyes burned like twin suns.
"The cipher requires the key, Claire!" Dante shouted down. "Bring Leo to the scanner!"
Claire turned back to the terminal. In the center of the console was a glowing glass plate designed for an adult handprint. Claire took Leo’s tiny, soft hand, gently unfurled his fingers, and pressed his palm against the cold surface of the scanner.
A pulse of azure light swept beneath the infant’s skin. For a second, the terminal hummed in silence.
Then, a mechanical female voice echoed through the coolant chamber:
*GENETIC SIGNATURE CONFIRMED: HEIR CLASS ALPHA. OVERRIDE AUTHORIZATION GRANTED.*
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Claire slammed her fist down on the manual flood valve.
***
