Chapter 49 - The Blueprint of Hell
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By the time we returned to the chateau, the sun was beginning to rise over the French countryside. The sheer exhaustion in my bones was completely eclipsed by the paralyzing terror of Julian’s words. They want to adopt her.
I stormed into the command center, throwing the extracted hard drive onto the table in front of Elias.
"Load it up. Now," I ordered, stripping off my wet tactical jacket.
Elias plugged the drive into the isolated mainframe. The massive screens on the wall flickered to life, displaying incredibly complex, 3D architectural schematics of the Louvre Museum.
"These aren't standard blueprints," Ben noted, standing beside me with a cup of black coffee. "Look at the subterranean levels."
Elias zoomed in on the digital map. Beneath the famous glass pyramid and the public galleries, the blueprints revealed a massive, hidden labyrinth of reinforced bunkers, security gates, and a central chamber situated directly below the museum’s courtyard.
"The Spheres have completely retrofitted the underground levels of the Louvre," Elias muttered in disbelief. "This level of construction... it would take years, and billions of dollars in bribes to keep it quiet from the French government."
"The Spheres are the government," I replied coldly. "They control the politicians, the contractors, the media. They built a fortress right under everyone's noses."
I zoomed in on the central chamber. It was marked with the exact same Phoenix crest that was on the wax seal of my letter.
"This is where they are holding the midnight gala," I deduced, tracing the digital corridors. "And this is where they plan to take Clara."
"It's impenetrable, Mrs. Sterling," Elias warned, shaking his head. "Look at the choke points. They have automated sentry turrets, biometric locks, and a private army stationed at every exit. If we walk in there, it’s a suicide mission."
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"We aren't going to walk in," I said, a dangerous, reckless plan forming in my mind. I looked at Ben. "We are going to let them invite us in. And then, we are going to bring the entire museum down on their heads."
Ben looked at the blueprints, then at me. He didn't argue. He just nodded slowly. "We're going to need a lot of C4."
