Chapter 6 - The Trap Springs
The blast wave hit like a physical fist, hurling Claire and Gabriel backward across the concrete floor. Dust, smoke, and shattered brick filled the cavernous warehouse in a blinding, suffocating cloud.
Claire coughed violently, pressing herself against the base of a steel support beam as debris rained down around her. Through the haze of gray smoke, she saw Marcus’s chair—and the man himself—engulfed in a wall of fierce, chemical fire.
Gabriel was on his feet in a fraction of a second, his Sig Sauer drawn and scanning the smoke-choked perimeter. He grabbed Claire by the arm, hauling her upward with effortless strength.
“Move! The building is rigged with secondary charges!” Gabriel barked over the roaring flames.
They sprinted toward the front loading bay just as the roof beams began to groan and buckle under the intense heat. Sirens wailed in the distance—police and fire units alerted by the seismic sensors in the industrial park. But Claire knew local law enforcement wouldn't reach them before the whole structure collapsed.
They burst out into the alleyway just as the entire rear half of the warehouse imploded inward in a spectacular cascade of fire and steel.
Gabriel shoved Claire into the back of the armored SUV, diving into the driver's seat and slamming his foot down on the accelerator. The vehicle fishtailed violently on the wet asphalt, tearing out of the alleyway seconds before a second explosion rocked the block.
Inside the cabin, the air was thick with the metallic tang of adrenaline and smoke. Gabriel’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were stark white. He punched a speed-dial button on the console’s encrypted satellite phone.
“Leo,” Gabriel said harshly into the dash speaker. “Status.”
A breathless, distorted voice crackled through the speakers. “They knew we were tracking the Queens relay. The whole network just went dark. Gabriel... they aren't just trying to steal the data anymore. They’re wiping every trace of their existence from the global ledger. If we don't hit their primary server farm in Zurich within the next six hours, we'll lose the trail forever.”
Claire froze. She leaned forward from the backseat, staring at the dashboard speaker with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Leo?” she gasped, her voice cracking. “Leo, is that really you?”
The speaker fell dead silent for three long, agonizing seconds.
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“Claire?” her brother’s voice whispered, thick with sudden emotion. “What is Claire doing with you, Gabriel?”
“She’s the only reason I didn't lose my core database to your former employers last night,” Gabriel said, his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror as a pair of unmarked black sedans pulled out of a side street behind them, picking up speed. “And now she’s coming with us to Zurich.”
