Chapter 9 - The Looping Feed
Loasing pointed up toward the dome-shaped security camera mounted in the corner of the sterile hallway. The indicator light, which should have been pulsing green to indicate active recording, remained completely dark while the lens twitched rhythmically every ten seconds, repeating the exact same visual sweep of an empty corridor.
“Someone has physically spliced into the internal security mainframe,” Loasing analyzed, her tactical mind working through the implications with mathematical precision. “They aren't just watching us; they are actively controlling what the base monitoring station sees on their master screens.”
The General stared up at the manipulated camera, a heavy frown creasing his weathered face. “If the master screens are showing an empty hallway, then anyone with root-level access can walk right past our quarters without triggering a single automated log entry.”
“Which means Colonel Henderson and his extraction team are already inside the residential wing,” Loasing concluded. She drew her service pistol once again, racking the slide to chamber a live round with a sharp, metallic clack. “We have less than two minutes before they realize we found the recorder.”
Instead of heading toward the secure elevators, Loasing pivoted toward the emergency service ladder located at the far end of the hallway. The ladder led directly up to the roof access hatch, bypassing the compromised internal transit network entirely.
They ascended the vertical metal rungs in silence, the air growing noticeably cooler as they climbed toward the night sky. When Loasing pushed upward against the heavy steel roof hatch, it gave way with a soft squeak, admitting a rush of cool, rain-washed air from the outside.
May you like
She poked her head through the opening, scanning the flat gravel rooftop of the administration building. The storm had passed, leaving behind slick puddles that reflected the neon glow of the base perimeter lights. Standing near the opposite edge of the roof, silhouetted against the dark sky, was a figure in a dark trench coat, holding a satellite uplink dish toward the horizon.
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