[SPEAKER_00]: Though timekeepers dilemma, true crime tales, workplace crime, passion, and running out of time.
[SPEAKER_00]: At 206 in the morning, the factory floor was almost empty, almost.
[SPEAKER_00]: 30-year-old Marcus Bell was finishing his final shift at Black Ridge Manufacturing.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had worked there for 11 years.
[SPEAKER_00]: He knew every machine, every hallway, every emergency exit,
[SPEAKER_00]: and every secret.
[SPEAKER_00]: That night, Marcus discovered something he wasn't supposed to see.
[SPEAKER_00]: A maintenance report had been falsified.
[SPEAKER_00]: A machine had been declared safe.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Marcus knew it wasn't.
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone had deliberately hidden a dangerous mechanical failure.
[SPEAKER_00]: And tomorrow morning, hundreds of workers were scheduled to enter that factory.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus had until sunrise to expose the truth.
[SPEAKER_00]: He didn't know that someone else was counting down, too.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus Bell loved machines.
[SPEAKER_00]: His father had been a mechanic and Marcus grew up taking apart radio's engines and appliances, just to understand how they worked.
[SPEAKER_00]: At Black Ridge manufacturing, his passion made him valuable.
[SPEAKER_00]: He could hear a machine malfunction before most engineers could see it.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Marcus also had a temper.
[SPEAKER_00]: He couldn't tolerate short cuts.
[SPEAKER_00]: His biggest argument was, with plant manager Gregory Shaw.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gregory believed production came first.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus believed safety came first.
[SPEAKER_00]: Their arguments became legendary.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then one Tuesday morning, a hydraulic press, malfunctioned.
[SPEAKER_00]: Nobody was injured.
[SPEAKER_00]: But Marcus noticed something unusual.
[SPEAKER_00]: The safety sensor had been manually disabled.
[SPEAKER_00]: He reported it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gregory Dismissed him, put it in the maintenance log.
[SPEAKER_00]: I did, then leave it alone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus didn't.
[SPEAKER_00]: He inspected the machine.
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone had deliberately bypassed the sensor.
[SPEAKER_00]: He began checking other equipment.
[SPEAKER_00]: Three more machines had similar modifications.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus realized someone wasn't simply cutting corners.
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone was systematically disabling safety systems.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus began documenting everything.
[SPEAKER_00]: photographs, dates, maintenance records, names.
[SPEAKER_00]: He created a private folder called LastShift.
[SPEAKER_00]: His plan was to take everything to federal safety investigators.
[SPEAKER_00]: But then he discovered another problem.
[SPEAKER_00]: The factory was scheduled for a surprise inspection.
[SPEAKER_00]: If the violations were discovered, production could stop for months.
[SPEAKER_00]: The company would lose millions.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus suspected someone would do anything to prevent that.
[SPEAKER_00]: One night, Marcus stayed late.
[SPEAKER_00]: At 130 AM, he heard footsteps.
[SPEAKER_00]: He hid behind a storage rack.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gregory entered with another employee, Evan Price, the Knight Supervisor.
[SPEAKER_00]: They opened an electrical panel.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus watched as Evan removed a safety component.
[SPEAKER_00]: Inspection is tomorrow, Evan said, Gregory answered, then it needs to look clean.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mark says heart pounded, he had proof.
[SPEAKER_00]: But before he could leave, his phone slipped from his hand.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gregory turned, who's there?
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus ran.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus made it to the security office.
[SPEAKER_00]: He tried to copy the recording.
[SPEAKER_00]: The computer wouldn't turn on, power failure.
[SPEAKER_00]: He checked the time.
[SPEAKER_00]: 206 A.M.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had four hours until the morning shift.
[SPEAKER_00]: He grabbed his evidence and headed for the main exit.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the doors wouldn't open.
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone had locked them remotely.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus called emergency services.
[SPEAKER_00]: No signal.
[SPEAKER_00]: The factory was a steel building surrounded by warehouses.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was trapped.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then he heard machinery start.
[SPEAKER_00]: The hydraulic press.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus ran towards
[SPEAKER_00]: Someone had activated the machine remotely, a warning light flashed, the press began cycling.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus realized what was happening, someone wanted to destroy the evidence, the machine would crush the equipment containing the maintenance records.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus climbed onto the platform, he reached the emergency controls, nothing.
[SPEAKER_00]: The machine stopped inches before crushing him, Marcus collapsed.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then he heard a voice behind him, Gregory.
[SPEAKER_00]: You should have let it go.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus turned.
[SPEAKER_00]: I couldn't.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gregory stepped closer.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's your problem.
[SPEAKER_00]: Before Gregory could reach him, Siren sounded outside.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus had forgotten one thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: His emergency call had finally connected.
[SPEAKER_00]: Police entered the building.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gregory and Evan were arrested.
[SPEAKER_00]: The investigation revealed years of falsified safety reports.
[SPEAKER_00]: The company was fined heavily.
[SPEAKER_00]: Several executives were charged.
[SPEAKER_00]: Marcus became a witness in the case.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he never returned to Black Ridge.
[SPEAKER_00]: When someone later asked him why he risked his life for a factory that had treated him so badly, Marcus gave a simple answer.
[SPEAKER_00]: he paused.
[SPEAKER_00]: I was protecting the people who worked there.
[SPEAKER_00]: His passion for machines never disappeared, but he learned that machines weren't the dangerous part.
[SPEAKER_00]: People were, especially when profit mattered more than time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because sometimes the most frightening countdown isn't the one on a clock.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's the countdown to the moment somebody gets hurt.