Chapter 15 - The Siege of Project Lazarus
"Breach! Breach in Sector Three!" Julian's voice suddenly roared back to life through the comms earpiece, broken by the loud concussions of gunfire overhead. "Oanh, get out of there! Vanguard mercenaries have planted high-explosives on the main structural columns! The entire bunker is coming down!"
I whipped my head back toward the open office door as thick smoke billowed down the corridor. Alarms wailed—a shrill, piercing shriek that drowned out the hum of the server racks.
"Carl!" I yelled, turning back to the desk, but his holographic projection was already flickering wildly, destabilized by the power fluctuations caused by the explosions.
"The physical mainframe is housed in the vault behind this desk," Carl's voice echoed through the room, sounding distant and distorted. "If they destroy the core, the entire Thorne network—and I—will be wiped out permanently."
"I'm not leaving you!" I shouted over the rising roar of fire and falling debris.
"You have to, Oanh," Carl's avatar smiled gently, his form dissolving into shimmering blue pixels. "You are the queen now. Protect the throne. Protect yourself."
With a blinding flash of light, the terminal screen went entirely black.
Before I could process the loss, heavy tactical boots thudded down the hallway outside. Two heavily armed mercenaries wearing the unmarked black armor of a high-tier assassination squad rounded the corner, their assault rifles raised.
Instinct took over. I dove behind the heavy mahogany desk just as a hail of bullets chewed through the wood, sending splinters and paper flying in all directions.
I raised my sidearm, steadied my breathing, and fired twice through the smoke.
Bang! Bang!
The lead mercenary dropped instantly, his armor buckling. The second operative cursed, lunging forward around the desk, but before he could squeeze his trigger, a heavy tactical knife embedded itself deep into his shoulder from behind.
Julian burst through the smoke, slamming the second mercenary into the concrete wall with brutal efficiency before knocking him out cold with the butt of his rifle.
"Are you alright?!" Julian yelled, grabbing my arm and hauling me to my feet.
"The mainframe!" I shouted, pointing toward the secret vault behind the desk. "We have to secure the core data before they blow the building!"
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Julian didn't hesitate. He jammed a master override card into the vault's digital lock panel. The heavy steel door popped open, revealing a glowing array of quantum-encrypted data drives humming with blue light.
"Take the primary drive!" Julian ordered, ripping the central data unit from its housing and shoving it into my hands. "The charges are set to detonate in sixty seconds! We have to run, now!"
