Chapter 10
The midnight air was biting cold as Julian’s unmarked black sedan slid silently through the rain-slicked streets of the financial district, parking in the loading bay beneath Sterling Tower. The fifty-story building loomed above them like a dark monolith against the overcast sky. Inside the car, the digital clock glowed 01:15 AM.
Julian checked the magazine of his sidearm with practiced ease, the metallic click echoing softly in the enclosed cabin. In the passenger seat, Clara adjusted the encrypted terminal plugged into her laptop, her fingers moving steadily despite the residual ache in her bruised ribs. In the back seat, Samuel and Elena maintained constant overwatch from the safehouse twenty miles away.
"We have thirty minutes before the building’s automated guard rotation shifts," Julian said, turning to look at Clara. "Once we step out of this car, there’s no turning back. Are you ready?"
"Ready," Clara replied, offering a brief, resolute nod.
They slipped out of the vehicle and moved toward the service entrance with silent, practiced efficiency. Julian bypassed the electronic keypad using a portable signal jammer, the heavy steel door clicking open with a faint hiss. Inside, the corridors were dimly lit by emergency backup lighting, casting long, eerie shadows down the concrete hallways.
As they descended the concrete staircase toward the basement server room, the distant hum of massive cooling fans grew louder, vibrating through the soles of their shoes. Julian moved in front, his weapon held at a low ready, his eyes scanning every intersection and doorway. Every instinct told him that Marcus Cole was already waiting for them. Marcus knew Julian’s tactics better than anyone else, and a trap of this scale was simply too inviting to pass up.
May you like
They reached the heavy reinforced door of the primary server room. The keypad had been manually disabled, the wires hanging loose from the wall—a clear sign that someone was already inside.
Julian gestured for Clara to stay back against the concrete pillar. He raised his hand, signaling three, two, one—and kicked the reinforced door inward with a resounding crash that echoed down the corridor.
