Chapter 5 - The Red File
The basement was a labyrinth of steam pipes and shadows. Clara and Sarah moved with agonizing caution, their flashlights cutting through the humid darkness. They reached the maintenance corridor just in time to hear the heavy grinding of the HVAC intake fans slowing to a stop.
"He's cutting the circulation," Sarah whispered. "If the hospital doesn't have airflow, the lab sensors will trigger the emergency protocols. It’s a classic move to mask chemical tampering."
They arrived at the control room door—the one with the blue trim—just as the overhead lights flickered and died. A red emergency strobe began to pulse, bathing the corridor in the color of blood. Inside, the terminal was glowing, lines of code scrolling across the screen, deleting patient history.
Mark was there, his back to them, typing furiously.
"Step away from the console, Mark!" Clara commanded, her voice steady despite her fear.
Mark didn't turn around. He laughed, a dry, hollow sound. "You think you’ve uncovered a crime? You’ve uncovered a business model. Do you know how much a cure is worth? Not the cure that saves lives, but the one that ensures a lifetime of dependency."
As Sarah lunged, Mark pulled a small canister from his belt—a portable fire suppressant trigger. He didn't aim it at them; he aimed it at the central server racks. If he triggered it, the room would fill with a chemical foam that would destroy not only the servers but any biological evidence of the tainted blood samples stored in the adjacent cold-room.
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Sarah realized she couldn't fight him physically without risking the evidence. She did the only thing she could: she pulled the phone she had confiscated earlier and began broadcasting the audio feed to the hospital's public intercom system.
"Tell them, Mark," Sarah shouted. "Tell everyone what you did to Aris."
