Chapter 10
The footsteps stopped right outside the heavy wooden door. Clara pressed herself flat against the wall behind the mahogany bookcase, her eyes fixed on the narrow gap between the wood panels. A key jangled in the lock, and the door swung open. Mrs. Gable stepped into the private office, her dark blazer pristine and her shoulder-length brown hair neatly combed. She switched on a small desk lamp, casting a warm, amber glow across the sprawling leather-topped desk and the modern biometric safe built into the cherrywood paneling behind it.
Mrs. Gable walked directly over to the safe, punching in a rapid sequence on the digital keypad before leaning in for the retinal scan. The scanner beeped a sharp, pleasant tone, and the heavy steel door of the safe swung open with a smooth, oiled glide. She reached inside and pulled out a fresh stack of student disciplinary files, muttering to herself about compliance audits and documentation requirements.
Clara’s heart pounded against her ribs like a trapped bird. She was trapped mere feet away from one of the most powerful and ruthless enforcers in the district, with nowhere to run if she was discovered. She kept her breathing slow and measured, drawing on every ounce of restraint she possessed, mirroring the very discipline Mrs. Gable demanded of her students.
After what felt like an eternity, Mrs. Gable gathered the files, closed the safe door with a heavy thud, and turned off the desk lamp. She walked back toward the exit without ever glancing toward the bookcase, stepping out into the hallway and pulling the heavy door shut behind her with a definitive click.
Clara let out a long, shuddering breath, her muscles instantly relaxing from their rigid tension. She stepped out from behind the bookcase and hurried across the plush carpet toward the wall safe. The digital keypad was still active for a few seconds after the last scan. Drawing the modified USB drive from her pocket, she plugged it directly into the auxiliary port located at the base of the safe's metal frame.
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A series of rapid amber flashes illuminated the keypad as the bypass script went to work, translating the legacy encryption protocols into a readable data stream. On the small LCD screen above the port, a text prompt blinked: ACCESS GRANTED — DOWNLOADING MASTER ARCHIVE. A progress bar began to creep slowly across the display, tracking the transfer of David’s confiscated digital drive and the financial ledgers containing the proof of the board's embezzlement scheme.
As the progress bar hit eighty-five percent, a sudden, sharp chime echoed from the hallway outside. The elevator bell rang again, followed immediately by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the office door at a fast, urgent pace. Superintendent Pendelton's voice rang out through the frosted glass, shouting instructions to someone trailing behind him. Clara stared at the screen as the progress bar stalled at ninety-eight percent, the final kilobytes refusing to transfer fast enough.
