A Shocking Finale and a Race Against Time
Before they could process the horrifying implication, a noise echoed from the kitchen area.
Smith and Peterson moved silently, weapons raised. There, lying on a filthy, stained mattress surrounded by empty fuel canisters and wires, was a man. It was Elias Thorne. He looked terrible—emaciated, his eyes wild and sunken, his clothes covered in dirt and grease.
“Police! Don’t move! Show me your hands!” Smith roared, stepping into the light.
Elias didn’t flinch. He just smiled a terrifying, serene smile. He muttered something about a “great cleansing of the earth” and the “purification of the rivers.”
Then, Smith saw it. In Elias’s right hand was a heavy, modified radio transmitter. A detonator. And the small LCD screen on the device was actively counting down from two minutes.
“The river will flow,” Elias whispered, his thumb hovering over the transmission button.
In a split second of pure instinct, Smith lunged forward. He tackled the emaciated engineer to the concrete floor, wrestling for control of the device. Elias fought with the desperate, frantic strength of a fanatic, clawing at Smith’s face. Peterson rushed in, pinning the man’s legs and snapping heavy steel handcuffs onto his wrists.
With a sickening crunch, Smith managed to wrench the detonator from Elias’s grip. He smashed the device against the concrete floor with the butt of his heavy flashlight until the circuit board shattered and the red numbers went dark.
The signal was stopped. The Grand Valley plant was saved.
