Chapter 13: The Final Upload
The sharp report of Maya’s sidearm shattered the cavernous acoustics of the grain elevator. The leading operative caught a round directly in his tactical chest plate, stumbling backward against the shattered doorframe with a grunt of shock.
"Cover fire!" Williams roared from behind his concrete pillar, emptying his service pistol in a rapid series of deafening shots that forced the second operative to dive behind a rusted grain hopper.
"Maya! The upload's stalling!" Clara screamed over the roar of gunfire, her hands hovering desperately over the laptop keyboard as the progress bar froze dead at 94%.
"A firewall intercept!" Maya yelled back, firing another suppressing round toward the hopper while maintaining her tactical position. "They're pinging our IP address from the drone uplink! Disconnect the satellite dish before they trace the physical location!"
"No! If I disconnect it, the upload fails!" Clara cried, tears streaming down her face as she hammered the enter key.
Across the room, Jesse struggled to his feet, pressing his good hand hard against his bleeding shoulder. With a grimace of absolute agony, he grabbed a heavy iron wrench off a nearby workbench and hurled it across the room with all his remaining strength.
The wrench struck the open window frame right where the satellite cable was fed through, snapping the coaxial cord cleanly in half.
The laptop screen flashed a brilliant, blinding emerald green: UPLOAD COMPLETE. GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION VERIFIED.
Instantly, every burner phone, radio, and comms unit in the possession of the tactical operatives outside began to ring simultaneously with an unyielding, high-pitched alarm tone.
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The second operative froze, lowering his rifle in stunned disbelief as his headset broadcasted an automated override command from the international tribunal.
Before the operative could react, Maya stepped out from behind her cover, leveled her weapon directly at his chest, and pulled the trigger.
