Chapter 17 - RETURN TO THE CATHEDRAL
The cathedral was a smoking ruin when their armored convoy arrived back at the scene.
Fires still flickered in the upper archways, casting long dancing shadows across the bell tower.
Ethan loaded a fresh magazine into his tactical rifle, passing a heavy sidearm to Clara.
"Keep the safety on until you need to pull the trigger," Ethan instructed.
They bypassed the compromised main entrance, climbing up the rusted fire escape stairs behind the choir loft.
The air inside the cathedral was thick with the smell of smoke and burning timber.
Below them in the main nave, dozens of wounded civilians were coughing violently behind plastic isolation drapes.
The pathogen was already taking effect.
"We don't have much time," Clara whispered, pointing toward the spiraling stone stairs leading to the bell tower.
They moved silently up the steps, their boots making no sound on the ancient stone.
At the top of the tower, two armed mercenaries guarded a heavy titanium container vault.
Ethan leaned out from the archway and fired two quick, precise shots.
Both guards fell instantly without alerting the rest of the facility.
Clara rushed over to the titanium vault, inspecting the electronic lock keypad.
"It requires a double-biometric authorization key," Clara observed.
"One from a lead physician, and one from a military officer."
"Miller built this vault using high-level military clearance," Ethan realized.
Clara placed her hand on the scanner, and Ethan pressed his thumb against the secondary reader.
The vault light turned from blinking red to solid green.
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The heavy titanium door unlatched with a loud hiss of pressurized hydraulic gas.
