Chapter 13 - The Digital Counter-Strike
A sharp, high-pitched screech suddenly echoed from the speaker of the tablet in the man's hand. The screen flickered violently, displaying lines of corrupted code before going completely black as Sarah's custom-built signal jammer short-circuited the local Wi-Fi router relaying the live feed.
The man in the charcoal overcoat cursed under his breath, dropping the useless tablet into a puddle as his communication link was severed.
"Now, Arthur! Run!" Sarah yelled, shoving him toward a narrow utility staircase leading up to the fire escape of the adjacent office building.
Arthur didn't hesitate. He scrambled up the metal stairs two at a time, the rain slicking his dress shoes as he pulled himself onto the upper landing just as the heavy boots of the second henchman clattered against the lower steps. Sarah was right behind him, her backpack slung securely over one shoulder as she kicked the rooftop access door open. They burst onto the gravel-strewn roof of the four-story building, the wind howling around them in the dark, stormy night.
"Where are we going?" Arthur panted, gripping the chain-link perimeter fence as he looked down at the street far below. "There's nowhere else to run!"
"We aren't running," Sarah said firmly, pulling a portable satellite uplink from her bag and setting it up near a concrete vent. "We're counter-attacking. While their local relay was locked onto my jammer, my automated script downloaded the entire encrypted server backup from their primary base of operations."
She spun the laptop screen around, revealing a complete, unalterable digital ledger showing every single fraudulent transaction, every offshore shell company, and, most importantly, the exact GPS coordinates of the warehouse where Elena was being held captive.
"The warehouse is at the old shipping yards by the harbor," Sarah said, typing furiously. "And Victor Ross is scheduled to be there at eight o'clock tomorrow morning to finalize the transfer."
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Arthur stared at the screen, the fatigue and fear washing away, replaced by a cold, hardened resolve. "Then that's where we'll be waiting."
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