Chapter 10 - BREACHING THE QUARANTINE
-10-
The interior of the federal holding facility’s medical quarantine wing smelled sharply of industrial bleach, old copper, and the cold, lifeless ozone of heavy medical equipment. The emergency lighting overhead was tinted a sickly, sterile green, casting long, jittery shadows across the reinforced concrete hallways as we moved in a tight, disciplined tactical formation.
Vincent took the point, his sidearm raised and ready, moving with the lethal, silent grace of a seasoned operative. Julian covered our six, his eyes darting down every intersecting corridor to ensure our retreat path remained completely clear.
Mom walked directly behind Vincent, her breathing steady, her hands gripping a small, encrypted override tablet Tommy had programmed to disable the magnetic door locks on Sub-Level 3.
"We're approaching the primary quarantine bulkhead," Tommy whispered through our comm-pieces from the remote command van. "According to the facility schematics, David is being held in Isolation Cell 4—right at the end of the hall. But be advised, thermal sensors show three armed private contractors inside the guard station just outside his cell."
Vincent held up a closed fist, signaling our team to halt. We stopped just around a blind corner, fifty feet away from the reinforced glass doors of the medical quarantine ward.
Through the glass, we could see three men in dark tactical gear wearing Apex Global patches, casually playing cards on a stainless-steel table while assault rifles rested against their chairs.
"Three tangos," Vincent murmured into his comms. "No helmets, distracted. We take them fast and silent. Julian, you take the left flank when I breach. Mom, get ready with the override tablet to pop David's cell door the second the guards are neutralized."
Mom nodded firmly, her fingers hovering over the glass screen of the tablet.
"On my count," Vincent counted down silently with his fingers. Three... Two... One...
He exploded around the corner.
Before the guards could even register the sudden movement, Vincent closed the distance with terrifying speed. He slammed his palm into the face of the nearest contractor, driving him hard against the stainless-steel table, while Julian materialized on the left flank, sweeping the legs out from under the second guard with a brutal, efficient roundhouse kick.
The third guard scrambled for his assault rifle, but Marcus Vance intercepted him mid-motion, driving the butt of his sidearm straight into the contractor’s temple. The guard collapsed onto the linoleum floor without making a sound.
The entire firefight lasted less than four seconds. Zero shots fired. Total silence.
"Clear!" Vincent barked, kicking a fallen rifle out of the way.
Mom didn't waste a second. She sprinted past the unconscious guards, rushing down the short corridor to the reinforced door of Isolation Cell 4. She jammed her override tablet into the digital port beside the door frame.
The screen flashed red, then yellow, and finally turned a brilliant, solid green.
Clack.
The heavy electronic deadbolt disengaged.
Mom grabbed the stainless-steel handle and pulled the door open.
The air inside the dark, windowless cell was suffocatingly hot. Huddled in the corner on a thin, soiled cot was a man with a wild, untamed beard, wearing a tattered gray inmate jumpsuit that hung loosely over a skeletal, emaciated frame. His eyes were wide, blinking painfully against the sterile green light spilling into the cell from the hallway.
He looked up, his lips trembling as he stared at Mom standing in the doorway.
"Elena...?" the man rasped, his voice sounding like dry paper scraping against stone. "Is that... is that really you? Or am I finally dying?"
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Mom let out a broken, tearful gasp. She dropped to her knees, crawling across the cold floor to throw her arms around her older brother, burying her face in his ragged shoulder.
"It's me, David," Mom sobbed, holding him tight. "You're safe. Your family is here. We're taking you home."
