Chapter 24

Agent Cole raised his sidearm, keeping the sights locked squarely on the man's chest.

"Drop the briefcase and step away from her," Cole commanded, his voice echoing loudly in the concrete chamber.

The man offered a polite, utterly chilling smile. He had sharp, aristocratic features and eyes that looked like dead glass. "You must be the agent who arrested Adrian Vale. You operate with commendable efficiency, but a severe lack of vision."

Two mercenaries stepped out from the shadows behind the server racks, their assault rifles raised and pointed directly at us.

"Lower your weapon, Agent," the man instructed softly. "Or we will paint this bunker with your blood."

Cole didn't flinch. "I said drop it, Elias."

I stared at Cole, then at the man. "You know him?"

"Elias Thorne," Cole said, his jaw rigid. "Former Deputy Director of Cyber Intelligence. He vanished two years ago right before the Senate hearings began."

"I didn't vanish," Thorne corrected, gently placing the silver briefcase on the table next to Celeste. "I simply relocated my assets. Vale was a useful idiot who made entirely too much noise. Northstar Meridian was never meant to be a political bludgeon. It is an instrument of absolute, invisible control. And with the Apex Key, I can rebuild it without the flaws your father left behind."

"You won't get out of here," I said, stepping forward. "Federal agents are tracking Cole's vehicle."

"A bluff," Thorne replied dismissively. "My jammers have isolated this entire mountain. Now, kill them."

Before the mercenaries could pull their triggers, Hannah acted. She hurled a small, heavy object directly at the metal floor between the guards.

It was a commercial flashbang grenade she had appropriated from Hale Systems' security armory.

The explosion of blinding white light and deafening sound in the confined bunker was catastrophic. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my ears just in time.

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Cole moved with terrifying speed. Blinded or not, his muscle memory took over. He fired twice, the sharp cracks of his pistol echoing through the ringing in my ears.

When I opened my eyes, the two mercenaries were on the ground. Thorne was staggering backward, clutching his ears, his aristocratic composure shattered. Cole lunged across the room, driving his shoulder into Thorne’s chest, tackling the Architect to the concrete floor.