Chapter 25
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The tactical preparation took less than six hours. Jax’s safe house was a veritable armory, stocked with untraceable military hardware, stealth suits, and advanced communication gear. Elena suited up in form-fitting black tactical armor, securing ceramic plating over her vital organs. She equipped a suppressed submachine gun, multiple flashbangs, and a specialized thermal-cutting laser.
Chloe sat at the metal table, entirely focused. She had hacked into a commercial satellite feed, giving them a real-time, overhead view of General Thorne’s heavily wooded compound in the Catskill Mountains.
"The perimeter is guarded by highly trained private military contractors, not active-duty soldiers," Chloe reported, her voice steady and professional over the comms system. "Thorne is keeping this off the official books. I’m tracking dual-patrols every fifteen minutes along the outer fence."
"What about the server room?" Elena asked, adjusting her earpiece.
"It's located in the sub-basement of the main estate," Chloe explained, highlighting a specific quadrant on the holographic map. "There are three biometric checkpoints. I can spoof the first two remotely, but the final door requires a manual, hard-wired bypass from the inside."
"I'll handle the hard-wire," Jax grunted, sliding a heavy combat shotgun onto his back. "Elena, you focus on securing the decryption key from the server rack. We have a narrow window before the shift change at 0200 hours."
Elena walked over to Chloe, resting her hands gently on her daughter’s shoulders. The young woman looked pale, but the fire of resilience burned brightly in her eyes.
"You stay in the mobile command van two miles outside the perimeter," Elena instructed firmly. "If our comms go dark for more than ten minutes, or if Thorne’s men compromise the van, you hit the emergency purge protocol, dump the van, and disappear into the woods. Do not wait for us. Do you understand, Chloe?"
Chloe looked up, her jaw set with stubborn determination. "I am not leaving you behind, Mom. Not again."
"Chloe, promise me," Elena demanded, her maternal instinct warring with her tactical command.
"I promise I will keep the comms online," Chloe deflected smoothly, hugging her mother tightly. "Just come back to me."
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Elena kissed the top of her daughter's head, the cold steel of her armor pressing against Chloe’s jacket.
"Let's move out," Elena said, pulling her tactical mask over her face. The hunt for General Thorne had officially begun.
