Chapter 15 - The Terminal BreachThe elevator doors slid open with a soft, muted chime on the fifteenth floor of Vance Global Financial Tower. The executive floor was eerily quiet, bathed in the cool, clinical glow of overhead fluorescent panels and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Chicago River.
Agent Miller and two tactical officers flanked us as we marched down the carpeted hallway toward Rachel’s former corner office.
“Clear,” one of the tactical agents murmured into his radio, sweeping the executive suite with his tactical flashlight before gesturing for us to enter.
The office was pristine, smelling faintly of expensive leather and polished mahogany. Rachel walked straight past the sleek executive desk, stopping in front of a wall-mounted biometric security panel hidden behind a sliding acoustic art panel.
“Here,” Rachel said, pressing her palm against the glass scanner.
Bzzzt.
A green light flashed, and a hidden wall safe clicked open, revealing a glowing blue optical drive resting on a velvet cushion.
“Got it,” Rachel whispered, reaching inside to grab the drive.
Suddenly, the overhead lights flickered violently and died, plunging the entire floor into pitch darkness. Red emergency backup strobes flashed to life, casting an eerie, arterial glow across the office walls.
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“Ambush!” Agent Miller shouted, spinning around with her service weapon drawn.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway outside the glass double doors. Before the federal agents could form a perimeter, the glass shatter-proof doors imploded inward in a shower of tiny, glittering shards.
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