Chapter 7
The sub-level terminal room hummed with the deafening roar of industrial cooling fans. Rows of server racks stretched into the dim, fluorescent-lit distance, blinking with erratic green and amber lights. Evelyn reached the primary master console first, her fingers flying across the mechanical keyboard with practiced speed. The screen was already flashing a warning prompt: Remote System Wipe Initiated.
"Damn it," Evelyn muttered under her breath, her jaw tightening as she bypassed the primary login prompt using her root administrator credentials.
Marcus Vance—no relation to the Captain, but a distant cousin of Clara Morgan who had managed the Chicago facility for a decade—had clearly received an automated alert the moment the federal task force entered the front gates. The wipe sequence was counting down from sixty seconds. If the data blocks were scrubbed before the forensic mirror drive could capture them, millions of dollars in illicit transactions and incriminating communications with overseas shell companies would vanish permanently into the digital ether.
Captain Vance stepped up beside her, his hand resting on his holster as he scanned the shadowy aisles between the server racks. "Can you stop it?"
"Not from the standard user interface," Evelyn replied rapidly, sweat beading on her forehead as the pain from her head injury flared up with her intense concentration. "He's using a hard-wired physical override switch located in the secondary diagnostic closet behind rack fourteen. Someone has to manually disconnect the master bus."
Without a word of hesitation, Captain Vance motioned to two of his officers. "Secure the diagnostic closet. Use non-lethal force if possible, but do not let anyone touch that manual switch."
The officers moved out instantly, their boots pounding against the metal grating of the floor. Evelyn watched the countdown timer on her screen: 0:38... 0:37... 0:36... She bypassed the software lockout by initiating a hard kernel debug command, a rare administrative backdoor she had coded into the system years ago as a fail-safe against internal sabotage. Code lines cascaded down the black monitor in neon green text, slowing the countdown process by throttling the system's processing speed.
From the dark recesses of the server room came the sharp sound of a scuffle, followed by a muffled shout and the heavy thud of a body hitting the floor. A moment later, one of the officers emerged from the aisle, dragging a heavy-set man in a rumpled corporate suit by the arms. It was Marcus Vance, struggling weakly against the tactical restraint.
"Let me go! You have no jurisdiction here! This is private corporate property!" Marcus yelled, his face red with panic and exertion as he was shoved roughly against a blank wall near the master console.
"Federal statute 104-B grants absolute jurisdiction over any facility compromising national defense logistics," Captain Vance stated coldly, stepping forward to loom over the panicked manager. He looked at Evelyn. "Is the wipe contained?"
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Evelyn hit the final enter key. The countdown timer froze at 0:04, hovered for a terrifying second, and then dissolved into a steady, solid green confirmation screen. Data Mirror Complete. All archives secured.
Evelyn let out a long, slow breath, releasing the tension that had gripped her chest since the moment she woke up on the hardwood floor of the estate parlor. She stood up, looking directly at Marcus, who stared back at her with a mixture of hatred and absolute terror. The house of cards built by Clara, Leo, and their corrupt extended network was finally, irrevocably collapsing.
