Chapter 14 - The Trap Closes
The heavy steel vault door was sealed tight, the locking mechanism groaning as internal deadbolts slammed into place. Agent Miller spun around, her service pistol raised, though there was nothing to shoot at inside the enclosed, chilled server room.
"We've been cut off," Miller said, her voice dropping into a calm, professional analysis of a desperate situation. She checked her tactical radio, but the screen displayed a solid line of static interference. "The Faraday shielding in this vault is blocking all outgoing signals. The download to DOJ servers is only at forty percent."
Mark rushed to the reinforced door, slamming his fist against the solid steel surface. "Richard! I know you're out there on the other side! You can't lock us in here forever! The federal marshals are swarming the estate above us right now!"
A muffled voice filtered through the thick steel barrier, distorted by the intercom speaker. It was Richard, breathless and desperate.
“The marshals are busy dealing with the perimeter alarms, Mark. And by the time they clear the upper levels, this entire subterranean wing will be nothing more than a smoking crater. You should have stayed out of family business.”
A sharp, rhythmic clicking sound began to echo from the ventilation ducts above—a sound that made the blood run cold in Mark's veins.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
"A thermal incendiary charge," Miller whispered, her face pale. "They're burning the evidence from the inside out, and they don't care who gets vaporized in the process."
Mark turned back toward the server racks, watching the progress bar on the master screen crawl upward: 58%... 62%... 65%... "We're not going to make it out before the download completes. The heat will melt the circuits."
Lily stepped forward, her blonde braids swaying over her cream-colored party dress. She didn't look panicked. She looked entirely composed, walking calmly up to the main console as if she were inspecting a school project.
"The timer isn't set for three minutes," Lily said, her voice completely devoid of fear. "Grandfather always built redundancy into his systems. If the main door is locked from the outside, the emergency ventilation shaft behind the server racks automatically drops open to vent pressure."
Miller blinked, looking down at the child. "An emergency pressure release? Are you certain, Lily?"
"I watched Daddy test it when I was five," Lily replied simply. She reached behind the primary server rack, her small fingers finding a hidden floor lever, and pulled upward with all her weight.
With a heavy mechanical groan, a section of the concrete floor beneath the back wall tilted downward, revealing a dark, descending steel ladder that smelled of fresh air and damp earth.
The progress bar on the monitor flashed: 99%... 100%.
Download Complete.
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Miller ripped the secure cable from the port, grabbing the flash drive just as a blinding flash of white heat erupted from the ventilation ducts above.
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