Chapter 18 - The Safe House Breach
"Data is sixty percent decrypted," Silas muttered, his eyes darting across the rapidly scrolling text on his screens. "The internal logs are monstrous. Human experimentation, bribery of federal judges, assassinations... she's going down for multiple lifetimes."
"Focus on the tower access," Julian reminded him, pacing the small room nervously.
"I'm in the Vanguard system," Silas confirmed, hitting a heavy keystroke. "I've disabled the alarms in the underground parking garage. You can take the service elevator directly to the 40th floor. That's the residential tier where your kid is likely hiding."
Elara pulled her phone out as a detailed map materialized on the screen. "Got it. Silas, the moment that data hits 100%, you send it everywhere. Don't wait for us."
"You have my word," the journalist replied softly.
Suddenly, a loud, unnatural metallic snap echoed from the hallway outside the apartment. The three of them froze.
"Did you lock the downstairs grate?" Julian whispered, his face pale.
Silas slowly reached for his shotgun. "Yes. Heavy padlock."
Another crash echoed, this one closer. The sound of heavy, booted footsteps began to ascend the wooden stairs, accompanied by the chilling hum of a tactical drone hovering just outside the window.
"They tracked the decryption ping," Silas realized, pure terror in his voice. "Her cyber team is faster than I thought. They traced the handshake protocol to my IP."
"How much time until the download finishes?" Elara demanded, pulling Julian toward the fire escape window.
"Two minutes!" Silas yelled, racking a shell into the shotgun and aiming it at the apartment door. "Get out of here! I'll hold them off. Ensure the physical drive survives if they fry my servers!"
"We aren't leaving you to die, Silas!" Julian protested.
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"I've been dead for ten years!" Silas roared back, a wild, manic energy taking over his face. "This is my resurrection! Take the stairs to the roof and jump to the next building. Go!"
The apartment door exploded inward in a shower of splinters and plaster. Laser sights cut through the dusty air. Elara grabbed Julian's jacket and violently hauled him out the window into the pouring rain just as the deafening roar of shotgun fire erupted inside the room.
