Chapter 12 - The Water Tribunal
Silas did not enter the room. He spoke through the tunnel speakers while water began rushing beneath the floor. Nolan pulled Claire away from the pipe.
“The plant is flooding the lower channels.”
“Can you open the door?”
“Not from inside.”
Daniel examined the control box.
“There is a manual release somewhere.”
Rosa pointed toward a narrow passage.
“The water is coming from there.”
They moved quickly. Wren stayed between Claire and Nolan, holding both their hands. Every few steps, the floor shuddered under the pressure.
At the end of the passage, Daniel found a red lever behind a grate.
“It is jammed.”
Nolan took a length of pipe from the wall and wedged it beneath the lever.
“When I say pull, pull.”
The water rose to Claire’s knees. Silas’s voice returned.
“Claire, listen carefully. The custody hearing begins in one hour. If you do not sign, Wren will be declared endangered. Your husband will be returned to the police as a fugitive. Your brother will be charged with attempted murder.”
Claire looked at Nolan.
“They will destroy all of us,” she said.
“They already tried,” Nolan replied.
The lever broke loose. Water exploded through the side passage. Daniel grabbed the gate, but the current tore it from his hands.
It struck his leg and dragged him beneath the surface. Claire reached for him. Nolan caught her waist.
“No!”
Daniel vanished into the dark water. Claire screamed his name. Rosa found a maintenance rope and threw it into the channel.
Daniel surfaced long enough to catch it. Ethan, who had followed them despite his wound, pulled from the other side. They hauled Daniel onto the platform.
His leg was twisted at an impossible angle.
“Leave me,” he gasped.
Claire slapped him.
“Do not make me lose another person because you are ashamed.”
The shutters opened. Silas and two deputies entered with weapons raised. Grant stood behind them.
Nolan stepped in front of Claire and Wren. Grant’s eyes rested on him.
“You should have stayed dead.”
“You should have learned to read your own contracts.”
Grant lifted the substitution deed.
“This gives me control of the Mercer property.”
Rosa held up the original deed.
“This gives the state evidence of fraud.”
Grant laughed.
“The state will believe the family that owns it.”
Nora’s voice came through the tunnel speaker.
“Not anymore.”
Every screen in the passage turned on at once. Nora had connected the Bluebird archive to the town’s public hearing system. The documents, recordings, and water maps appeared on the courthouse projector above them.
People were gathering in the square. The entire town could see the Vale family’s plan. Grant’s smile disappeared.
Silas raised his weapon toward Rosa. Ethan stepped between them. The shot struck Ethan in the chest.
Claire screamed as he fell. Rosa tackled Silas. Nolan seized Grant.
Daniel, unable to stand, pulled a deputy’s ankle and brought him down. The second deputy dropped his weapon. For several seconds, the tunnel held only the sound of water and Ethan’s shallow breathing.
Claire pressed her hands to his wound. Ethan looked at her.
“I finally chose the right thing.”
“Stay with me.”
“Tell Wren I was not brave at first.”
“You tell her yourself.”
May you like
Ethan’s eyes closed. Above them, the courthouse screen changed. A new file appeared, one no one had opened.
Its title was THE FIRST BLUEBIRD. Under it was a photograph of Alice Rios. She was alive.
