Chapter 18 - The Tower Burns
Water slammed through the channel. Jonah caught the broken lever before it rose all the way, but his injured shoulder buckled.
I threw my weight against the other lever. Mira's voice burst from the radio.
"We're inside the tower. Cora found the main breaker, but Victoria wired the door to lock if we touch it."
"Can you get out?" I asked.
"Yes," Mira answered. "That's not the problem. The breaker is on the wrong side of the fire."
A pop sounded over the radio. Cora coughed.
"Tell June the serum's wearing off."
I felt cold all over. Cora had survived twenty-two years of Victoria. I refused to lose her ten minutes after meeting our mother.
"Don't go toward the fire," I said.
"Then give me another plan."
I saw one on the old system diagram nailed to the wall. The tower had a second power feed through the mill's abandoned conveyor shed. The shed stood beyond the locked gate, outside the laboratory's security loop.
"Marcus," I called, "can you reach the conveyor breaker?"
His voice came back between bursts of static. "Through the old service door. I know the way."
"You're bleeding."
"I noticed."
I heard him push through a door. Behind him, Evelyn kept talking to the county dispatcher, reading June's list of patients and giving the exact route into the mill.
Elena touched my shoulder. "The cassette isn't enough. They need the ledger."
June crawled beneath the control desk and pulled open a locked metal drawer with Elena's key. Inside sat a stack of carbon books and sealed patient files.
"They kept paper backups," she said, grinning despite everything. "Rich people don't trust computers."
I stuffed the books into a waterproof case.
Marcus came back on the radio. "I found the breaker. There's a chain holding the handle up."
From the tower, Victoria shouted, "Marcus, walk away. I'll make you rich."
May you like
A loud metallic snap followed. Then Marcus screamed.
The radio went silent, and every light in the laboratory went out.
