Chapter 16
AVA
Ava’s heart hammered against her ribs as she stared at the gauges, all of them pushing toward the limit. They stood in a fire keg, ready to blow at any time. There had to be something they could do.
She twisted toward the plant’s manager. “Is there anything we can do on this end?”
“Everything we’ve tried has been blocked by the computer systems.” The man grabbed his radio, speaking into it. “I’m ordering an immediate evacuation of this plant. All non-essential personnel need to leave immediately.”
The urgency in his voice made her stomach clench.
He twisted to face them. “You two should go, too.”
Ava shook her head. “We’re here to make sure the worst doesn’t happen. Tell us what we can do to help.”
“I’m not sure there’s anything. We’re trying to manually release some of this, but as fast as we do that, it builds back up again.”
“How so we do the manual releases?” Ava asked.
The man’s eyes widened a little, and he tilted his head. “Ms. Myles, I can’t ask you to–”
“You’re not. Look, I have someone working on this problem on the other end, trying to reset whatever is causing this build-up, but until we can stop this program from running, you need someone here to do the manual releases. And you just sent the bulk of your worker’s home.”
“I just don’t want someone else getting hurt in this. These guys have families at home.”
Ava bobbed her head. “I know. That’s why we will help with the manual releases. Just tell us what we need to do.”
The man sucked in a breath before shouting over the relentless blare of the alarm. “You’re going to go down to the lower level.”
He shook his head. “It’s going to be hot down there.”
“Don’t worry about that. What do we do once we get down there?”
“You’ll find a metal door labeled Emergency Pressure release. You may need to use some muscle to open it. It doesn’t get used very often.”
She nodded as he continued to speak.
“These values work like a manual safety net for the power grid. They’re designed to release energy as steam, but–and this important…” He held out a trembling hand as he paused for a second. “You have to turn them in sequence.”
She glanced at Chris, nodding. “Pay attention, you’re my backup on this.”
“Go ahead. I’m an engineer…formerly,” Chris said, clearing his throat.
The man scrubbed his face, wiping at a bead of sweat that trickled down his temple. “Start with Valve A. Turn it counterclockwise until you hear a click. You need to twist it hard–past the initial resistance. That’s a safety feature.”
“Valve A, counterclockwise, hard. Got it,” Ava repeated.
The man licked his lips. “Then Valve B. Same thing, counterclockwise, hard. Then, Valve C. That’s the main pressure valve. It’s going to be really hard to turn. Once you get it turned, hold it for ten seconds.”
“And how long will this last?” Chris asked.
The man’s features twisted, concern etched in every line of his face. “Not long. Maybe fifteen, twenty minutes. You’ll have to keep repeating the process to drop the pressure, so this place doesn’t blow sky high.”
“You’ve got it,” Ava said with a nod as she grabbed his radio. “We’ll be in touch.”
She twisted on a heel, hurrying toward the stairwell at the end of her hall with Chris following behind her.
“Hey, Ms. Myles?” the man called.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
With a nod, she pressed the crash bar, heading into the stairwell and hurrying down the steps to the level below.
Heat smacked them in the faces as they entered the underground control area. She hurried forward toward a metal door, grabbing the knob and yanking. The door screeched in protest before it popped open.
She hurried inside, the heat intensifying. Ava slipped off the blazer she wore, tying it around her waist.
“Valve A,” Ava repeated. “Keep your eyes peeled.”
“Wow, it’s hot down here,” Chris murmured, sweat already beading on his brow.
Ava waved the wobbly antenna at a big red valve with an “A” painted on the wall behind it. “There’s A.”
“Counterclockwise,” Chris said as he grasped it, wincing at the heat from the metal wheel.
“Turn it.”
Chris winced, twisting the wheel. It groaned, resisting him. But he kept going, pushing past the safety lock.
She continued through the room, searching for the next valve. She found it ten feet from where they stood. Chris grabbed hold of it, groaning as he worked to twist it.
“And now the main valve,” Ava said, hurrying down to the large red valve further down the line.
Chris grabbed the wheel, yanking his hands back as he shook them. “Ow, that’s burning hot.”
Ava pulled her jacket from around her waist. “Use this.”
Chris nodded, taking the fabric and wrapping it around the hot metal before he braced himself and started to twist. The wheel barely gave way.
“Come on, Chris, you got this.”
“Please don’t patronize me, Ava.” Chris gritted his teeth, veins bulging in his arms as he forced the stubborn valve to turn. Sweat trickled into his eyes, stinging, but he didn’t stop. ”I’m not Alex. I don’t respond to placating.”
Ava bit her lower lip, stretching her neck as she let the comment roll off her back. His derogatory tone made her want to hit back, but she realized he was using the comments to fuel his efforts.
The wheel squealed before it finally gave way. Ava’s heart thundered with each twist of the valve. If this didn’t work, the entire east coast could be plunged into darkness—or worse.
He spun it as far as it would go.
Across the room, steam hissed from a pressure value, making the room even hotter.
Ava tightened her fingers on the radio, depressing the button to speak. “We finished with the valves. Tell me it worked.”
A second later, the radio crackled. “We’re seeing a slight decrease, but as fast as the pressure releases, it’s ramping right back up.”
Ava hung her head, shaking it. The jangling of her phone interrupted her thoughts as they raced to find another solution.
She pulled it from her purse, hoping it was good news. Kyle’s name appeared on her display. She swiped to accept the call. “Doc, tell me something good.”
“Ava, finally,” Kyle said, his voice nearly panicked. “I’m putting you on speaker.”
Alex’s voice broke as he asked for confirmation that it was her.
Her heart skipped a beat, worry coursing through her. “Alex, are you home?”
“I am. I wish you were,” he answered.
They spoke for a few minutes as Chris twisted the release valves again in the hopes of releasing enough energy to move the needle back into the orange. The Board had started the program running with the intention of blaming Alex.
As Chris finished a third round of pressure releases, he checked in upstairs. No change on the power levels.
Things were getting worse by the minute, and it didn’t sound like Alex was having much luck on his end.
Alex begged her to leave multiple times, but she couldn’t walk away from the crisis, not when there was something they could do to help here.
Chris restarted at the beginning of the protocol, twisting the values again, but with the intense effort it took to move them along with the heat, he was already tiring.
They would have to take turns so each of them got to rest.
“Babe,” Ava said as Chris turned valve B for the fourth time, “just concentrate on stopping this program, okay? That’s where your focus needs to be. If anyone can do this, Alex, it’s you.”
Chris scoffed as he twisted the valve again.
“I really wish you were here to rub my shoulders and tell me that in person.”
“You got this, babe. I’ll rub your shoulders later. Now, come on. At least stop the power build-up. We’ll let Grant’s people help us with the release.”
Alex heaved a sigh. “I’m trying, but so far, no luck. It’s like once it started, there’s no way to stop it from continuing.”
Across the room, as the steam stopped hissing from the latest release, the door banged open. Ava snapped her gaze in its direction, her stomach flip-flopping as she spotted the auburn-haired woman.
Her eyes went wide as she tried to react faster than Vanessa. Time slowed, but it still wasn’t enough for her to stop what happened next.
Vanessa strode closer, raising a weapon in the air.
“Chris!” she shouted. “Get down.”
She flailed an arm, trying to pull him lower but the weapon fired, its boom echoing in the chamber and leaving Ava partially deaf.
She dropped her phone as she raced forward, slamming into Vanessa. The woman tumbled over backward, but didn’t lose hold of the gun.
They rolled across the floor, Ava’s sweaty palms slipping as she tried to grasp hold of the gun or the woman.
Vanessa shrieked as she grabbed hold of Ava’s hair, her grip like a vice. “You’re not going to stop this plan from taking off.”
Ava’s vision blurred from the sudden burst of pain, but she gritted her teeth, twisting sharply to break free. She had to win this fight—for Alex, for the grid, for everything. “Yes, I am. Alex will never let this program run to fruition.”
“Alex? Alex Stone? He can’t stop this. Instead, he’s going to be our scapegoat.”
Fury burned through her, and Ava cocked a fist, slamming it into Vanessa’s jaw. “Not on my watch.”
“Ohh, someone’s a loyal foot soldier. How much is he paying you?”
She wiggled her ring finger in the air. “It has nothing to do with money.”
Ava shoved the woman off of her, rolling on top of her to straddle her. Chris cried out behind her, and she twisted to glance at him.
Blood bloomed on his shirt as he winced.
The momentary distraction was enough to give Vanessa the edge. She tossed Ava to the side and scrambled to her feet.
Seconds later, she was through the door. It slammed shut behind her, and she locked it. “You think you’re so smart. Enjoy the heat. You’ll never stop this program, and now, you’ll never escape. One step out of that room, and I’ll shoot you.”
Ava tightened her fists, but held back from answering, focusing her energy on Chris, instead.
She scurried back to his side, pulling up his shirt. Her stomach clenched as she spotted the bullet wound in his side. A curse escaped her.
Behind her, her phone jangled, skittering across the floor. She grabbed it with trembling hands and answered it. “Doc, tell me I’m not on speaker.”
“Uhhh…” He paused for a moment before he said, “yeah, you’re good. It’s just me. What’s up?”
Ava pressed a hand against her forehead, begging him not to tell Alex the major problem she was about to disclose.
“What’s going on?” Kyle asked.
Ava’s breath caught in her throat as she licked her lips, trying to speak. “It’s Vanessa. She’s here, and she’s got a gun.”
Kyle didn’t answer.
“Unless Alex can do something from his end…we’re sunk.”
“Uhh, okay, ummm…” Kyle said, his voice shaky.
“There’s more,” Ava said, her voice turning breathy. “I’m going to need your help with this.”
“What is it?” Kyle asked.
“We’re trapped in the emergency release room. Chris is shot. I’m going to need your help to keep him alive until we can figure a way out this.”
She clutched her phone tighter, her knuckles turning white. Things looked grim. And she wasn’t sure Chris was going to live through this.
Blood seeped through Chris’s fingers as he tried to press down on the wound, his breaths turning shallow. Ava pressed her phone tighter against her ear, forcing herself to stay calm. “Kyle, I need to keep him alive. Tell me what to do. Now.”