PART 11 — Confrontation in the hallway
Thomas lay hunched on the gurney. I rushed inside, wrapped my arms around him, and pulled him upright. He felt as light as a feather, as though he hadn't had a proper meal in months. "Come on, Thomas. We're going home," I said, using all my strength to support him. Van der Meer held the door open, looking anxiously down the corridor. "Hurry! I hear footsteps!
They're coming!" We stumbled out of the cell into the hallway. But we were too late. At the end of the corridor, three heavily armed guards appeared, led by Security Chief De Jong himself. De Jong held a pistol in his hand, his face thunderous. "Freeze!" De Jong roared, aiming the weapon straight at us. "Not another step, or I shoot." Van der Meer raised his hands and stepped forward.
"De Jong, stop this! It's over! The whole project has been exposed, we've already sent all the documents out!" It was a bluff by Van der Meer, but a brilliant one. De Jong froze for a moment, a flicker of panic crossing his face. He knew that if this got out, it wouldn't just be the hospital that fell, but their corporate sponsors as well. "You're not going anywhere," De Jong said with icy calm.
His finger tightened around the trigger. "No one leaves this facility alive. You should have known that, Frank. You should have just kept mopping the toilets." I felt Thomas trembling beside me. His hand clutched my coat desperately. "You took him from me for twenty years," I said, and for the first time in my life, I felt no fear—only a deep, burning rage. "You destroyed my entire life." De Jong laughed grimly. "And now it ends here." He raised his pistol and aimed for my chest. But before he could pull the trigger, something happened that no one expected. With a desperate cry, Van der Meer lunged forward, slamming into De Jong just as the gun fired.
