“If Ascension falls…”
A pause.
“…then no evidence survives with it.”
The truth slams into me instantly.
Not just evidence.
The children.
Us.
Everyone underground.
Clay steps toward the nearest speaker with murder in his eyes.
“How much time?”
Gabriel checks the terminal.
Then looks up.
And the answer nearly stops my heart.
“Thirty minutes.”
65
Clay
Thirty minutes.
The words slam through the checkpoint harder than the gunfire.
For half a second, nobody moves.
Nobody breathes.
Then everything explodes at once.
“Evacuate the children now!” Russ barks.
Mason immediately starts moving operators toward the upper tunnels while Gabriel works frantically at the terminal trying to stop the reactor countdown.
“It’s encrypted!”
“Can you shut it down or not?” Lucas snaps.
Gabriel’s silence is answer enough.
Not remotely.
Of course not.
Because Wu planned this.
Every second.
