Chapter 26
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The dense pine forests of the Catskills were shrouded in absolute darkness, the heavy cloud cover blocking out the moonlight. Elena and Jax moved through the freezing, rain-soaked underbrush like ghosts, entirely invisible to the naked eye. Two miles away, hidden deep within an abandoned logging road, Chloe sat in the back of the armored mobile command van, guiding their approach via thermal satellite imagery.
"You are fifty meters from the outer perimeter wall," Chloe’s voice crackled softly in Elena’s earpiece. "I’m seeing two hostiles approaching your vector from the north. Armed with thermal optics."
"Hold position," Elena whispered to Jax, dropping silently into the wet ferns.
Two heavily armed mercenaries walked past their position, their flashlights cutting through the mist. The moment they turned the corner, Jax moved. He scaled the ten-foot electrified fence with shocking agility, using insulated climbing grips to bypass the lethal current. Elena followed a second later, dropping into the soft mud on the inside of the compound.
"We are inside the wire," Elena reported. "Heading for the sub-basement access grate."
The compound was a sprawling, ultra-modern mansion built of glass and dark stone, standing out violently against the natural landscape. Armed guards patrolled the balconies, and heavy security cameras swept the manicured lawns.
"I am looping the camera feeds in your sector now," Chloe announced. "You have a sixty-second blind spot to cross the courtyard."
Elena and Jax sprinted across the open lawn, moving as fast and silently as the wind. They reached the side of the mansion, pressing their backs against the cold stone wall. Jax found the heavy steel ventilation grate leading to the sub-basement.
He pulled a specialized crowbar from his harness, silently snapping the industrial bolts. They slipped into the cramped, metallic air duct, crawling on their stomachs until they reached the drop point directly above the server room corridor.
Elena peered through the slats of the vent. The corridor was brightly lit, sterile, and guarded by two elite operatives wearing heavy body armor.
"Two tangos blocking the primary door," Elena whispered.
"I'll take the left. You take the right," Jax replied, drawing a combat knife. "On three."
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With synchronized, brutal efficiency, they kicked the grate open and dropped from the ceiling. Before the guards could even raise their weapons, Elena and Jax neutralized them with silent, lethal close-quarters strikes. The bodies hit the floor without a sound.
"Corridor clear," Elena breathed, stepping up to the massive, biometric steel door of the server room. "Chloe, we are at the vault."
