Chapter 7 - The Trap is Sprung
“Drop the weapon, Deputy,” the guard on the left barked, aiming an assault rifle at her chest.
Jenkins slowly raised her hands, calculating her odds. They were terrible. “You’re protecting monsters, Sterling. You know what’s on these servers.”
“I’m protecting order, my dear,” Sterling replied, stepping forward to relieve her of her thigh holster. “This town thrives because of the leverage Arthur holds. It keeps the politicians in line. It keeps the business flowing. You’re just a naive girl playing in a game you don’t understand.”
“Elias,” Jenkins whispered urgently, hoping the mic caught it. “Compromised. Sub-basement.”
Suddenly, the lights in the server room snapped off. Plunged into total darkness, Sterling’s guards shouted in confusion.
Thwack. Thwack.
Two suppressed gunshots echoed in the dark. The guards hit the floor, dead before they realized what happened. The backup emergency lights flickered on, casting the room in a bloody crimson hue.
Elias Thorne stood in the doorway, his weapon smoking. He had bypassed the perimeter entirely.
Sterling stumbled back, falling over a server rack, his smooth facade shattering into raw terror. “Thorne… you’re supposed to be dead.”
“I’ve been dead for thirty years, Harrison,” Elias growled, stepping over the bodies. “Tonight, I resurrect.”
Elias grabbed Sterling by the lapels and threw him against the wall, knocking him unconscious. He tossed a heavy black cable to Jenkins. “Plug it into the primary terminal. We have exactly four minutes before the local police, who Arthur owns, surround this place.”
Jenkins jammed the cable into the server. Elias’s tablet lit up, initiating a massive data upload. The progress bar crawled. 10%... 20%...
“Cho, what’s your status?” Jenkins called out over the radio.
“Pinned down on the second floor!” Cho yelled over the sound of gunfire. “Arthur realized it’s a setup. He’s making a run for his private helipad on the roof! He has a briefcase. He’s taking the remaining drives!”
“He’s escaping,” Jenkins looked at Elias.
May you like
Elias’s eyes hardened. “Finish the upload. Make sure the world sees it. I’ll take care of Arthur.”
Before Jenkins could argue, Elias was gone, sprinting up the stairwell like a hunting dog off the leash.
