Chapter 5 - Eleven Minutes in Darkness
Emergency lights flashed red along the walls.
Ethan heard boots running across the concrete, followed by the metallic crash of a tool cart overturning.
“Seal the exits!” Martin shouted.
Security officers raised their flashlights, sweeping the beams between aircraft parts and maintenance platforms.
The silver case remained on the table.
The notebook was gone.
Ethan looked toward the eastern service door and saw it closing slowly.
“Someone went that way!”
Two guards rushed through the doorway.
Director Crane stood beside the control station, shouting at technicians to restore power. He appeared furious, but Ethan noticed something unusual.
Crane had not asked whether Ethan was hurt.
He had only looked at the empty space where the notebook had been.
Martin crouched beside Ethan.
“Did you see who took it?”
“No, but they wore a metal watch.”
“How could you tell?”
“It hit the table when they grabbed the notebook.”
The lights returned.
Security footage showed a masked figure entering through a ventilation corridor during the blackout. The person knew exactly where the cameras were positioned and avoided every visible angle.
The security supervisor checked the electrical system.
“The outage wasn’t caused from inside the hangar. Someone cut power from the underground service tunnel.”
Martin frowned.
“That tunnel requires an airport master key.”
Crane stepped forward.
“So does nearly every restricted maintenance area. Stop pretending this points to one person.”
A guard returned from the eastern door.
“The suspect disappeared near the cargo terminal. We found this.”
He held up a torn identification strap.
The printed card was missing, but the strap displayed the engineering department’s yellow security stripe.
Martin studied the torn fabric.
“Daniel Ross?”
“He could have returned through the tunnel,” Crane suggested quickly.
Ethan shook his head.
“Daniel wasn’t wearing a watch when he ran.”
Crane glared at him.
“You saw him for less than ten seconds.”
“I saw both hands.”
Before Crane could respond, a technician called Martin toward the diagnostic computer.
A new message had appeared on the screen without anyone typing it.
STOP TESTING ENGINE 782.
Beneath the warning was a countdown beginning at twenty minutes.
19:59.
19:58.
19:57.
The engineers stared at one another.
“What happens when it reaches zero?” someone whispered.
Martin immediately disconnected the computer from the airport network.
The countdown continued.
“It’s inside the local system,” he said.
Ethan approached the turbine and listened carefully.
A faint clicking sound came from deep behind the repaired assembly.
He opened his toolbox and removed a long inspection mirror.
The clicking grew louder.
“There’s something else inside the engine.”
Martin ordered the turbine opened again.
Behind the vibration housing, they discovered a small electronic device connected to the fuel-control circuit.
A remote trigger.
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The countdown had not been sent to frighten them.
It was activating something.
