Chapter 9 - The Hidden Hard Drive
The sudden cessation of the alarm left a ringing vacuum in the ears of everyone trapped in the basement.
Elena exhaled a long, shaky breath, her fingers still resting on the cold plastic of the terminal keyboard.
Slowly, a small mechanical compartment beneath the screen clicked open, ejecting a heavy, brushed-aluminum hard drive with a soft thud.
Elena picked it up, feeling its surprising weight in her palm.
Victor Vance descended the stairs again, his breathing slightly elevated, though he quickly smoothed his suit jacket to regain his veneer of control.
"You shouldn't have been able to bypass that lockout, Claire," Victor said, his eyes fixed on the silver drive in her hand. "That encryption was designed by the Department of Defense."
"My mother built the architecture for this system before they forced her out," Elena replied coldly, stepping out of the crawlspace and shielding the drive behind her back.
Maya stood nearby, leaning against the damp brick wall, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she stared at the men in suits.
Sheriff Thomas and Deputy Miller were still restrained near the stairs, watching the exchange with wide, terrified eyes.
"Are you going to arrest them?" Maya asked, pointing a trembling finger at the local officers.
"They were just cogs in a much larger machine, kid," Victor said dismissively.
"They locked me in a hole for twenty years," Maya snapped, her voice trembling with repressed rage. "They watched me through a camera every single day."
Victor’s expression hardened. "The containment was authorized for national security."
"National security doesn't excuse torture," Elena stepped forward, her voice ringing with absolute authority. She raised the aluminum hard drive high enough for Victor to see the serial number engraved on its side. "And this drive has every name, every financial transfer, and every agency official who signed off on it."
Sterling, who had been pushed back near the cellar door by the tactical team, suddenly let out a cold, chilling laugh.
"You think that drive is going to save you, Claire?" Sterling mocked, blood trickling from a small cut on his temple where a tactical agent had shoved him. "Look at the serial number again."
Elena frowned, glancing down at the brushed metal.
The engraved numbers weren't a manufacturing batch code. They were coordinates.
And they weren't pointing to a government server in Washington.
May you like
They were pointing directly to the house next door.
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