Chapter 6
The red indicator lights above the elevator banks blinked simultaneously, accompanied by the mechanical whir of heavy cables moving upward at high speed. They were coming.
“Daniel, the elevator!” Rachel yelled, grabbing his arm with desperate strength.
“They’ve overridden the lift lockout from the security hub,” Daniel said, his fingers flying across the terminal keyboard as the small status bar on the screen crawled agonizingly toward completion: Decryption 45%... 50%...
“We don’t have time to finish the download!” Rachel insisted, scanning the room for alternative exits. Her eyes landed on the private exterior balcony doors overlooking the city skyline twelve stories down.
“If I pull the drive now, the file corrupts, and everything Vance did—everything we risked—becomes worthless,” Daniel argued back, his voice rising in intensity. He refused to look away from the monitor, his jaw set in stubborn defiance.
Toby whimpered, tugging on the hem of Rachel’s sweater. “Aunt Rachel, I heard something in the hall.”
Rachel whipped her head around toward the partially open double doors. Heavy, synchronized footsteps were approaching down the carpeted corridor—not the hurried pace of panicked guards, but the calm, measured march of professional extraction operatives. They were clearing the floor systematically, checking every office one by one.
“Daniel, they are at the next office,” Rachel whispered, her voice tight with terror as she backed toward the desk. “We have to move right now. Leave the drive!”
“Fifty-eight percent... sixty percent...” the terminal flashed.
Suddenly, the heavy oak doors of the office swung violently inward. A figure in dark tactical gear stood in the frame, holding a suppressed carbine leveled at the center of the room. The operator’s face was obscured by a tinted visor, but the weapon’s laser sight painted a sharp red dot directly onto the chest of Daniel’s shirt.
“Step away from the terminal, hands where I can see them,” a cold, metallic voice commanded through the comms unit on the operative’s shoulder.
Daniel froze for a fraction of a second, his hand hovering inches from the USB port. The download progress bar blinked: 72%.
With a sudden, explosive movement, Daniel slammed his fist onto the escape key, yanked the metal flash drive free from the port, and shoved it deep into his pocket. Simultaneously, he grabbed the heavy glass water pitcher from Vance’s desk and hurled it with all his might straight at the overhead lighting fixture.
The glass shattered against the bulb, plunging the office into sudden, absolute darkness.
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“Run!” Daniel roared, grabbing Toby by one hand and yanking Rachel forward with the other as a burst of suppressed gunfire chewed through the drywall above their heads.
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