Chapter 6 - Room B-17
The door handle turned once.
Stopped.
Then turned again.
Roman motioned for everyone to stay silent.
The security chief moved beside the door.
Roman nodded.
The door opened.
Nobody stood outside.
Only an empty corridor.
But on the floor was a small maintenance key.
Roman picked it up.
A label hung from the ring.
B-17.
Trent stared.
"That's impossible."
Roman looked at him.
"You've said that too many times tonight."
We followed the security team through the basement.
The deeper we went, the older the hotel became.
The polished marble disappeared.
The walls became concrete.
Old pipes crossed the ceiling.
Evan stayed close to me.
Finally, we reached a metal door.
There was no room number.
Only a faded mark.
B-17.
Roman inserted the key.
The lock opened.
Inside was a small room filled with old equipment.
A desk.
Several monitors.
Boxes of documents.
And one chair.
Nobody had sat in it for years.
Roman walked toward the desk.
A photograph lay on top.
It showed Daniel Ortega.
Beside him stood a younger Roman.
And beside Roman was a third man.
I didn't recognize him.
Trent did.
He whispered:
"Marcus."
Roman looked at him.
"Marcus who?"
Trent's face tightened.
"Marcus Vale."
Roman stared at the photograph.
"He's dead."
Trent nodded.
"That's what everyone believed."
Evan suddenly pointed at the picture.
"That's him."
I looked at my son.
"Who?"
"The man who gave Mr. Ortega the keys."
Roman turned sharply.
"What keys?"
Evan pointed toward a drawer.
Roman opened it.
Inside was a set of old electronic access cards.
One had Marcus Vale's name.
Another had Roman's.
The third had mine.
I stared at it.
"Why would my name be there?"
Roman didn't answer.
A monitor suddenly turned on.
Daniel Ortega appeared.
He looked older than I remembered.
Tired.
But alive.
He stared directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, Evan has already pressed the button."
I grabbed my son's hand.
Daniel continued.
"That means the system is active again."
Roman stepped closer.
"Daniel."
The recording continued.
"Roman, I couldn't warn you directly. Someone inside your organization monitors every communication."
Roman's face hardened.
"Who?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I never found the entire network."
The video paused.
Then resumed.
"But I found the person who started it."
Roman leaned toward the screen.
Daniel looked directly at the camera.
"The person closest to you."
The screen went black.
Roman stood completely still.
Trent whispered:
"He's alive."
Roman turned.
"You knew."
"I suspected."
"You lied."
"I was trying to stay alive."
Roman stepped toward him.
I moved between them.
"Stop."
Roman looked at me.
"He knew."
"So did you."
Roman's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"You knew someone was watching your employees."
"I suspected."
"And you still let people like Trent work here."
Roman looked at Trent.
Trent lowered his eyes.
Before anyone could speak, one of the monitors displayed a live image.
The hotel lobby.
Then the parking garage.
Then the executive floor.
Someone was switching between cameras.
The security chief moved to the console.
"Someone has remote access."
Roman said:
"Can you trace it?"
"I'm trying."
The screen suddenly changed.
A live camera showed Evan.
He was standing beside me.
But the image wasn't from the room.
It was from somewhere else.
A camera hidden above us was watching.
Then text appeared across the screen.
YOU FOUND B-17.
Another line appeared.
NOW FIND THE MAN WHO BUILT IT.
The monitor went black.
Evan whispered:
"Mr. Ortega."
Roman turned.
"Where?"
Evan pointed at a wall.
"There."
We looked.
Nothing.
He walked toward an old metal panel.
He touched it.
A hidden latch clicked.
The panel opened.
Behind it was a narrow passage.
A light flickered deep inside.
And from somewhere in the darkness came a man's voice.
"Meera."
I froze.
Nobody in that building should have known my name except the hotel staff.
The voice came again.
"Bring Evan."
Roman stepped in front of us.
The voice answered softly.
May you like
"Roman, you have ten seconds."
Then the lights in B-17 went out...
