Chapter 49 - The Code in the Child’s Blood
Daniel slammed his forearm across Emily’s throat, knocking her unconscious with a single, controlled strike. He scrambled to his knees and lunged toward the chair where Mason was strapped.
"Daddy!" Mason cried, tears streaming down his bruised cheeks. "Daddy, it’s beeping! It’s beeping fast!"
"I’ve got you, buddy. Look at me, look right at Daddy," Daniel said, his hands moving with supernatural speed. He drew his tactical multi-tool from his belt and sliced through the heavy zip-ties binding Mason’s arms and legs.
*00:15*
The collar was constructed of three-quarter-inch case-hardened alloy, flush against the boy’s small throat. There was no keyhole. No visible screws. Only a biometric fingerprint pad and a six-digit digital manual override screen on the back plate.
*00:11*
"Daniel Cross..."
A rasping voice sounded behind him.
Daniel spun around. Emily was dragging herself up against the console, clutching her bleeding throat, her eyes burning with pure malice.
"The override code isn't a number, you fool," she choked out, blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. "It’s the date... the date you and I signed Mason’s birth certificate. But you never knew the real date, did you? You signed a forged hospital record. The real record... died with the doctor."
*00:07*
Mason’s tiny fingers suddenly reached up and grabbed Daniel’s thumb.
"Daddy," the boy whispered, his voice trembling but clear. "The bear. The key inside Mr. Brown."
Daniel’s mind flashed back to the safe house—the teddy bear Mason had clutched for three years, the secret seam in its heart that had held a micro-cylinder. Daniel had removed that cylinder hours ago and shoved it into his inner tactical vest pocket.
*00:04*
Daniel ripped the small cylindrical steel key from his vest. It wasn't a standard key; it was a micro-laser contact pin designed for emergency military ordnance disarming.
He jammed the pin into the microscopic sensor port beneath the collar's blinking digital display.
*00:02*
*00:01*
A sharp *CLICK* echoed through the massive chamber.
The magnetic locks released. The heavy steel collar sprang open, falling from Mason’s neck and clattering heavily against the metal floor.
The digital timer froze at *00:00:01*.
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Daniel pulled Mason into his arms, crushing the child against his chest, shielding him with his entire body as tears finally spilled over his eyes. "I’ve got you, Mason. I’ve got you. Nobody is ever going to touch you again. Nobody."
Mason buried his face into Daniel’s bloodied vest, his little arms locking around Daniel’s neck with all the strength left in his small body.
