CHAPTER 10: Buried Alive
The explosion shook the mountain like an earthquake.
Stone crashed from the ceiling.
The hidden tunnel groaned as centuries old bricks split apart under the force of the blast.
Father Gabriel grabbed Ethan by the arm.
"Run!"
Behind them, a deafening roar echoed through the underground chamber.
The floor had collapsed.
Dust rushed through the narrow passage, stealing every breath.
Carla stumbled, but Ethan caught her before she fell.
The red folder labeled PROJECT PHOENIX remained clutched tightly against his chest.
He wasn't letting it go.
Not now.
Not after everything Miguel had sacrificed.
The tunnel twisted sharply downward.
Nobody knew where it led.
Only Father Gabriel seemed certain.
"This way!"
He pointed toward a faint light ahead.
"The emergency exit!"
Another violent tremor threw everyone against the wall.
The mountain was still collapsing.
Massive cracks spread across the tunnel ceiling.
Rocks rained down behind them.
The entrance they had used moments earlier disappeared beneath tons of stone.
There was no going back.
Several minutes later they burst through a rusted steel hatch hidden among thick bushes halfway down the hillside.
Fresh air.
Rain.
Thunder.
Everyone collapsed onto the wet ground, gasping for breath.
Ethan immediately turned toward the chapel.
The entire eastern side of the hill had caved in.
Ancient stone walls disappeared beneath clouds of dust.
The bell tower leaned dangerously before crashing into the valley below.
The underground chamber...
...was gone.
"No..."
Ethan whispered.
Miguel.
Victor.
The armed men.
Buried beneath hundreds of tons of rock.
Or so it seemed.
Father Gabriel placed a trembling hand on Ethan's shoulder.
"Pray for the living."
"Not the dead."
Before anyone could speak again...
Headlights illuminated the hillside.
Military trucks.
At least fifteen of them.
Soldiers poured into the area, sealing every road leading to the chapel.
Carla frowned.
"That was fast."
Too fast.
Ethan looked around.
"There wasn't enough time."
"They were already coming."
An officer stepped out of the lead vehicle.
He wore no name tag.
Only the insignia of a special government task force.
He approached calmly.
"Mr. Ethan Santos?"
"Yes."
"I'm Colonel Reyes."
"We'll take custody of the evidence."
His eyes shifted immediately toward the red folder.
PROJECT PHOENIX.
Ethan didn't move.
"How did you know about this?"
The colonel smiled politely.
"We've been monitoring Victor Salazar for years."
Father Gabriel quietly muttered,
"Liar..."
The colonel heard him.
His smile vanished.
"You should be careful, Father."
The old priest stared back.
"I've buried enough honest men."
"I won't help bury the truth."
The atmosphere turned icy.
Several soldiers quietly rested their hands on their rifles.
Ethan's instincts screamed.
Something was wrong.
Again.
Always one step ahead.
He slowly stepped backward.
"I'll hand the evidence directly to the National Bureau."
The colonel's voice hardened.
"No."
"You'll hand it to me."
At that exact moment...
A weak cough echoed behind them.
Everyone turned.
A hand emerged from the collapsed hillside.
Covered in blood.
Then another.
Someone was clawing through the rocks.
Ethan rushed forward with Carla.
Together they pulled away several loose stones.
A battered figure emerged.
Miguel.
Barely alive.
His breathing was shallow.
His suit was torn beyond recognition.
One arm hung unnaturally.
Yet somehow...
He had survived.
The colonel's expression changed.
Just for an instant.
Shock.
Then...
Calculation.
He immediately shouted,
"Arrest him!"
Two soldiers ran toward Miguel.
But before they reached him, Miguel grabbed Ethan's sleeve.
His voice was barely audible.
"Victor..."
"He escaped..."
Ethan froze.
"What?"
Miguel coughed violently.
"The explosion..."
"...was his plan."
Silence.
The colonel slowly lowered his head.
Almost as if disappointed.
Then he sighed.
"So..."
"...you remembered."
Miguel's eyes widened.
"No..."
The colonel removed his cap.
Beneath it...
A small tattoo was visible behind his left ear.
A black phoenix.
The same symbol stamped on the inside cover of the PROJECT PHOENIX folder.
Father Gabriel stepped backward.
"Him..."
The old priest whispered.
"He's in the archive."
The colonel smiled.
"Unfortunately..."
"...everyone in the archive is."
Without warning, he drew his pistol.
Not toward Ethan.
Toward Miguel.
BANG!
The shot echoed across the hillside.
Ethan lunged instinctively.
The bullet struck the folder instead.
Paper exploded into the rain.
Hundreds of classified documents scattered into the wind, drifting across the muddy hillside like snow.
The soldiers rushed forward.
Carla screamed,
"The files!"
Pages filled with names, bank accounts, photographs, and signatures blew in every direction.
Too many to recover at once.
The truth was literally being carried away by the storm.
Miguel grabbed Ethan's wrist with surprising strength.
His eyes locked onto Ethan's.
"There..."
He pointed weakly toward a photograph that had landed several meters away.
"Read..."
"...the back..."
Then his hand went limp.
Ethan crawled through the mud and picked up the rain-soaked photograph.
It showed Victor standing beside a much younger Colonel Reyes.
Both were smiling.
On the back, written in black ink, were seven words:
"The President must never know about us."
Before Ethan could process what it meant...
A military helicopter thundered overhead.
It hovered directly above the hillside.
A rope ladder dropped.
Someone was climbing down.
The soldiers immediately stood at attention.
Even Colonel Reyes saluted.
The figure descended slowly through the rain.
As his polished shoes touched the ground...
He looked at Ethan.
Smiled.
And said calmly:
"Mr. Santos..."
May you like
"I believe you're holding something that belongs to my organization."
End of Chapter 10
