Chapter 25 - LEVEL C
No one reached for the new button.
The illuminated letter C glowed softly beneath B2, as though it had always existed and had only been waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.
Daniel looked at Detective Bennett.
"This wasn't on the panel before."
"It wasn't," she replied. "I checked every button when we came down."
The maintenance employee took two uneasy steps backward.
"I'm not going any farther."
No one blamed him.
Daniel nodded. "Then stay here. Lock D-17 if anyone approaches. If we don't come back..."
He stopped before finishing the sentence.
The man swallowed hard.
"I understand."
Alex looked once more at the envelope.
You arrived six minutes earlier than predicted.
That sentence disturbed him more than anything else they had discovered.
Someone had calculated not only where he would be...
...but exactly when.
Bennett pressed the C button.
The elevator doors closed almost silently.
Instead of descending immediately, a calm female voice filled the cabin.
"Identity verification in progress."
A thin blue light swept across each of them.
Daniel Reed.
Verified.
Laura Bennett.
Verified.
Alex Carter.
Primary Subject Confirmed.
The elevator remained silent for several seconds.
Then another message appeared on the display.
One unauthorized passenger detected.
Everyone turned toward the maintenance employee.
But he wasn't inside.
Only Daniel, Bennett, and Alex stood in the elevator.
"So who's the fourth passenger?" Alex whispered.
Before anyone answered, the cabin jolted gently.
The descent began.
This time it lasted far longer than before.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty.
Forty.
The air pressure changed noticeably.
Daniel frowned.
"We're much deeper than the building foundation."
Finally the elevator slowed.
The doors opened.
A long corridor stretched ahead, brighter than Level B2.
The walls were spotless white.
The lighting was modern.
Nothing resembled the abandoned archive above.
Someone had maintained this place continuously.
On the wall opposite the elevator hung a large metal emblem.
Beneath it were engraved four words.
ORION BEGINS WITH CHOICE.
Alex stared at the inscription.
Choice.
His thoughts returned instantly to Lily.
The airport.
The missed flight.
Everything had begun with a single decision.
Before they could move farther, footsteps echoed somewhere ahead.
Not running.
Walking.
Slow.
Deliberate.
May you like
Someone else was already on Level C.
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