Over the years, we’ve had our share of folks sneaking into the base, but no one’s ever been bold enough to try blowing up the entrance. That’s a first.
The head of security, seeing that Santos was alright, dashed off to handle other things. Santos, after popping some pills and gathering his wits, stormed back into the control room, his mood as dark as a thundercloud.
Inside, the place was a total mess. It wasn’t just the explosions outside causing chaos; several main control computers had mysteriously gone kaput.
Santos scanned the room. “Is everyone here?”
“Are you asking about Mr. Hartlee?” someone piped up. “He took off as soon as the explosions started.”
“No,” Santos said, narrowing his eyes. “Is the tech team all present?”
A technician paused, quickly replying, “Yes, everyone’s here.”
He hesitated, glancing at an empty seat nearby before adding, “Jules wasn’t feeling well. He went to the restroom but should be back soon.”
Santos’s gaze was sharp as he looked over the crashed computers. “Running to the restroom now? You sure he’s really Jules?”
The tech guy was caught off guard, “If he’s not Jules, who is he?”
I mean, getting into the base involves a ton of ID checks, and this control room needs a retinal scan. If he’s not Jules, how did he get in? Then again, remembering how Jules had been unusually quiet and different lately, doubt crept in. He shot up from his seat, “I’ll go check the restroom.”
Worry etched on his face, he hurried out.
If Jules was a fake, then the chaos in the control room could very well have been his handiwork.
James, dressed head-to-toe in black, was almost invisible against the night. “Keep going.”
Wyatt winced, glancing at the mountain wall, which had mostly caved in. “If we keep this up, won’t we end up trapping Ms. Mirabella inside?”
They didn’t really know how these ancient mechanisms worked, and one wrong move could be disastrous.
“Continue within two meters to the right of the stone door,” James said calmly.
Taking the cue, Wyatt grabbed another small explosive, placed it where James pointed, and quickly backed away.
Just as he was about to hit the detonator, something clicked. The sound of mechanisms activating made him stop in his tracks, and he looked up to see the massive stone door slowly creaking open.

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