Chapter 4 - THE BLACKOUT AMBUSHPanic erupted in the dark. Shouts of confusion echoed off the mahogany walls as the emergency backup generators hummed to life, bathing the room in an eerie, sickly red glow.
“Stay down!” Emily yelled, dropping low to the floor and pulling Lorenzo’s chair behind a heavy marble pillar.
“What’s happening?” Daniel shouted, crouching beside them.
“Someone didn't just want to stop his heart—they wanted to wipe the local server,” Emily said, her eyes scanning the dim room. She pulled a small hardware dongle from her pocket and plugged it directly into the floor-mounted ethernet port beneath the table. “The network traffic just spiked. All data from the merger is being downloaded off-site right now.”
Suddenly, the heavy mahogany double doors of the private dining room burst open.
Four figures in sleek, tactical matte-black gear stepped into the room. They weren't police; they weren't building security. Their faces were obscured by ballistic visors, and each carried suppressed submachine guns pointed directly at the terrified elite diners.
“Nobody move!” the lead operative barked, his voice distorted by a digital modulator. “Hands on the table where we can see them!”
Marcus Vance, shaking uncontrollably, raised his hands. “Take whatever you want! Money, watches, the contracts—just don't shoot!”
The lead operative ignored Vance entirely. His visor swept across the room, his infrared targeting laser cutting through the red emergency light until it locked firmly onto Emily Carter and the hiding billionaire.
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“Target located,” the operative spoke into his comm-link. “The biometric key is secured. Eliminate the witnesses.”
Emily’s heart hammered against her ribs, but her mind raced with ruthless efficiency. She looked down at her phone, where the local server download was nearly complete. She had seconds to execute a counter-measure—or none of them would leave this room alive.
