Chapter 9 - The Trojan Horse
The silence in the interrogation room grew so heavy that the hum of the fluorescent lights sounded like a roaring engine. Agent Miller stared at the tech specialist, his hand hovering over the encrypted tablet.
“Are you certain about the location ping?” Miller demanded, his voice dropping an octave.
“Our security protocols here are impenetrable. No one outside federal custody can access the internal subnet.”
The specialist spun the tablet around, displaying a real-time floor plan of the building. A flashing red dot pulsed rhythmically right above the secure data archives on the basement level.
“The signal isn't coming from outside,” the specialist said, his voice trembling.
“It’s coming from the temporary holding cells downstairs where Marcus and Vance’s men were just processed.”
Elena stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly against the linoleum floor.
“Marcus doesn't have the technical expertise to hack a federal subnet. But Vance does.”
Julian stood beside her instantly, his hand resting firmly on the back of her chair.
“Vance allowed himself to be captured,” Julian said, realization dawning across his features with terrifying clarity.
“The entire standoff in the banquet hall was a diversion to get his tactical team inside our security perimeter.”
Agent Miller cursed under his breath, drawing his service weapon from its holster.
“Code Red. Seal all exits and lock down the basement archives immediately!”
As Miller rushed out the door, Julian grabbed Elena’s arm.
“We’re going with them. Your father’s legacy is down in those archives, and if Vance accesses that master server, every green-energy grid in the country goes dark.”
Elena didn't hesitate. She ran down the concrete stairwell behind Julian and the armed agents, her bare feet striking the cold steps with urgent momentum. The metallic scent of ozone and burning circuitry grew stronger with every floor they descended.
When they reached the heavy steel blast door of the basement archive, they found it locked from the inside. A small digital keypad on the wall flashed a bright, blinking red warning light.
“He’s already inside the primary mainframe,” the tech specialist panted, frantically typing commands into a portable override device.
“He’s downloading the core files directly to an external relay.”
Julian stepped up to the keypad, his fingers flying across the buttons with surprising familiarity.
“What are you doing?” Elena asked, watching him closely.
“How do you know the manual bypass code?”
Julian didn't look back as he punched in a final, twelve-digit sequence.
“Because I helped your father write the security architecture five years ago, before Marcus and I ever crossed paths.”
The heavy steel door hissed open, releasing a cloud of white cooling gas into the hallway. Through the mist, they saw Marcus sitting tied to a rolling chair in the center of the server room, while Vance stood calmly in front of the main terminal, downloading the final megabytes of the file.
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Vance turned around slowly, a dark smile playing on his lips as he held up a small flash drive containing the stolen future of Elena’s family.
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