Chapter 14 - The Forgotten Wing
We followed Rick through corridors that seemed endless.
Every intersection looked identical.
The walls carried faded arrows pointing toward sections labeled only with Greek letters.
ALPHA.
DELTA.
SIGMA.
OMEGA.
Many hallways had collapsed over the years.
Others remained perfectly intact.
Someone had maintained them.
Fresh footprints covered the dusty floor.
Large boots.
Recent.
We rounded a corner and found Rick standing before another security door.
This one had no number.
Only a black emblem.
An eye surrounded by concentric circles.
The elderly woman stepped backward immediately.
"Don't open that."
"You recognize it?"
"They never allowed us inside."
"Who?"
She stared at the symbol.
"The supervisors."
The realtor examined the electronic lock.
Surprisingly, a small display still glowed.
It requested an identification code.
Before any of us touched it, the screen changed by itself.
WELCOME BACK.
R-17.
The lock disengaged with a loud click.
All of us looked at Rick.
He stared at the opening door without moving.
Inside stretched an enormous control center.
Rows of empty desks filled the chamber.
Hundreds of computer terminals gathered dust beneath shattered ceiling lights.
Most equipment had long since failed.
But several monitors still displayed live security feeds.
Not just my neighborhood.
Cities.
Apartment buildings.
Office complexes.
Private homes.
The surveillance network extended far beyond my property.
A giant wall map dominated the far end of the room.
Thousands of colored lights blinked across the country.
Each represented another observation site.
Near the center hung a framed photograph.
Several executives stood smiling beside the original facility.
One face immediately caught my attention.
Victor Hale.
Standing beside him...
Harold Bennett.
Neither looked frightened.
Both looked proud.
Behind them stood a teenage boy.
His face looked hauntingly familiar.
Almost identical to Daniel Cross.
May you like
Yet the photograph had been taken more than fifty years earlier.
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