Chapter 11: The Escape from the Facility
The operative drew back his arm for a devastating strike, but Dr. Vance didn't hesitate. He grabbed a heavy liquid-nitrogen coolant canister resting beside the console, pulled the primary safety pin with his teeth, and shoved the heavy cylinder directly into the operative’s path.
The canister hit the floor and tipped over, releasing a massive plume of supercooled white vapor that instantly billowed across the server room floor, dropping the ambient temperature to sub-zero levels in a matter of seconds. The operative coughed sharply, blinded by the thick fog, his tactical movements slowing as the freezing nitrogen fog enveloped his legs.
"Move!" Arthur yelled, grabbing Vance by the shoulder and pulling him toward a heavy emergency exit door located at the rear of the server room.
The door wasn't locked electronically; it operated on a heavy mechanical panic bar. Arthur threw his entire weight against the metal bar, and the door swung open, revealing the pouring rain and the dark, churning waters of the river below.
Aloud, screeching klaxon began to wail throughout the facility as the automated security system finally registered the intrusion and data breach. Red strobe lights flashed along the exterior walls, cutting through the heavy sheets of rain.
Arthur and Vance plunged out into the stormy night, the cold rain instantly soaking through Arthur’s blue button-up shirt. They scrambled down a steep concrete embankment, slipping slightly on the wet mud before hitting the gravel access road where they had left the municipal van.
Behind them, the emergency exit door banged open, and a figure stepped out into the rain. Evelyn stood on the high concrete ledge, watching them with a cold, expressionless stare as they piled into the van. She didn't raise a weapon; she simply watched them drive away into the dark, knowing that the data they had stolen was already backed up to a broader corporate network that couldn't be silenced so easily.
Arthur slammed the passenger-side door shut, locking it with a sharp click as Vance fired the engine, spinning the van's tires in the mud before roaring back down the access road toward the highway.
May you like
"We have the files," Vance said, gripping the steering wheel tightly as the windshield wipers slapped frantically against the glass. "Every transaction, every medical override code, and Henderson's personal communications network."
"Take me to the hospital," Arthur said, staring straight ahead through the rain-streaked window. "It's time to wake them up."
