Chapter 10 - Loyalty Divided
The young security officer removed his cap.
"My grandfather was Samuel Brooks."
Richard searched his memory.
Then smiled faintly.
"The elevator mechanic."
The officer nodded.
"He always said if you ever came back..."
His voice faltered.
"...we were supposed to protect you."
Several older guards exchanged uncertain glances.
Edward remained silent.
Richard realized something important.
The security division itself had been split.
Some followed the current administration.
Others had quietly remained loyal to promises made decades earlier.
Edward stepped forward.
"No one needs to choose today."
Richard looked directly at him.
"Yet everyone already has."
Daniel watched the guards carefully.
Their hands remained near their radios rather than their belts.
Nobody wanted violence.
Edward sighed.
"I hoped this moment could be delayed."
"So did I."
Richard folded Jonathan's documents.
"You knew my son."
"Very well."
"You knew what happened."
Edward did not answer.
Instead he looked toward the hidden camera above them.
"We're running out of time."
Before anyone could react, every radio activated simultaneously.
An unfamiliar voice spoke.
"Protocol Crown initiated."
The words echoed from every speaker.
"All security personnel report to Level Negative Two."
Half the guards immediately turned toward the lower tunnel.
The remaining officers stayed where they were.
Confused.
Unsure whom to obey.
Daniel whispered,
"There are two chains of command."
Richard nodded.
"And only one of them is visible."
Edward handed Richard a small brass key.
"I've protected this for nineteen years."
Richard accepted it.
The key carried an engraved number.
17
"What does it open?"
Edward answered softly.
"The room Jonathan never escaped."
Daniel looked at him sharply.
"What do you mean... never escaped?"
Edward closed his eyes.
"I said too much."
Suddenly the corridor shook violently.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Somewhere deeper underground, an enormous metal door slowly began opening.
A deep mechanical vibration rolled beneath their feet.
One of the older guards whispered fearfully,
"No..."
Another guard stepped backward.
"It isn't supposed to activate."
Richard looked toward the darkness.
"What is opening?"
Nobody answered.
May you like
Because everyone already knew...
Whatever waited behind that enormous door had remained sealed for almost twenty years.
