Chapter 12: The Final Percentage
“Ninety percent!” Vance’s voice cracked slightly as he slammed his palm onto the enter key, executing the final packet transmission command.
The progress bar surged forward: 95%... 98%... 100%.
“TRANSMISSION COMPLETE. ALL NODES SYNCHRONIZED. DATA DEPLOYMENT SUCCESSFUL.”
A loud, triumphant chime rang out from the terminal speakers. Across the globe, from independent newsrooms to international human rights archives, the encrypted ledger containing Vanguard Bio-Dynamics' darkest secrets burst onto the public web simultaneously, bypassing all firewall blocks and legal suppression orders.
“It’s done,” Vance breathed, leaning back in his chair with his hands trembling slightly on the armrests. “It’s out in the open. They can’t bury it now.”
The lead tactical operator inside the bunker recovered from Maya’s suppressing fire, shouting an order to flank her position. Two operators advanced in tandem, their assault rifles leveled directly at the server racks where she crouched.
Maya didn't try to fight them both. As the first operator cleared the corner of the rack, she dropped flat onto her back, thrusting both feet upward in a textbook martial arts sweep that knocked the man’s legs completely out from under him. He crashed down hard onto the concrete floor, his rifle clattering away across the polished surface.
Before the second operator could pivot his barrel toward her, a sharp, deafening crack echoed through the bunker.
Vance stood by the workbench, holding a heavy-caliber service pistol with both hands, smoke curling from the barrel. The second operator’s tactical helmet cracked as he stumbled backward, losing his balance and collapsing against the wall.
“Leave her!” a voice barked over the encrypted tactical radio clipped to the fallen operator’s vest. “Orders changed! The system is flooded! Fall back, fall back now!”
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The remaining operatives grabbed their wounded comrade and scrambled backward through the twisted wreckage of the security gate, piling into their SUVs and peeling away into the night as fast as they had arrived.
Silence descended upon the bunker, broken only by the hum of the server racks and the steady dripping of a leaky pipe in the corner.
