Chapter 9 - The Relay Station Breach
The iron gates of the mountain communications relay station stood twisted and half-open, sparks showering from a severed electrical conduit dangling from the perimeter fence. Maya killed the engine a hundred yards out, letting the utility vehicle coast silently into the shadow of a concrete outbuilding to avoid drawing the attention of any guards inside the compound.
The wind whipped across the exposed plateau, carrying the freezing mist that clung to their uniforms. Thomas stepped out of the truck first, his rifle raised as he scanned the perimeter fence and the low-slung concrete administration building. The small red cut on his forehead throbbed in the cold air, but he ignored the pain, his focus locked entirely on the mission.
"Power's cut to the main entrance," Thomas whispered, gesturing toward the dark doorway of the facility. "They bypassed the biometric locks manually. Someone is already inside."
Maya crouched beside him, checking her weapon's magazine by feel. "That means Vance's cleanup crew beat us here. They're scrubbing the local servers before we can initiate the upload."
They moved in a synchronized two-person stack toward the service entrance, sliding along the exterior wall with disciplined, silent efficiency. Thomas pushed the heavy metal door open with the barrel of his rifle, clearing the threshold first while Maya covered his six o'clock.
The interior of the relay station was pitch black except for the amber glow of emergency server racks humming softly against the far wall. In the center of the room, a lone technician in a civilian hazmat suit stood hunched over a terminal, frantically purging data drives into a portable incinerator.
Thomas stepped forward, raising his weapon and flicking on the tactical flashlight mounted beneath the barrel. The beam cut through the darkness, illuminating the terrified face of the technician as he spun around with his hands raised in surrender.
"Don't move," Thomas ordered sharply, stepping closer. "Hands where I can see them."
"I'm just following orders!" the technician stammered, trembling as he looked down the barrel of the rifle. "If I don't finish the wipe, Captain Vance will—"
Before the technician could finish his sentence, a muffled gunshot echoed from the stairwell behind the server rack. A 5.56mm round pierced the drywall inches from Thomas’s head, showering him in pulverized plaster.
Maya immediately returned fire toward the stairwell, laying down suppression fire while grabbing the technician by the collar and dragging him behind a reinforced concrete pillar.
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"We've got multiple tangos descending from the roof access!" Maya shouted over the gunfire. "They're trying to trap us in the server room!"
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