Chapter 17 - THE FINAL UPLOADBEEP. BIOMETRIC CONFIRMED.
The computer terminal flashed a brilliant, blinding green. A progress bar instantly appeared on the main screen, marked with glowing bold numbers:
TRANSMITTING GLOBAL DATA PACKET... 0%... 15%... 30%...
"It's working!" Leo shouted over the rising mechanical hum of the server banks. "Keep the signal stable, Maya!"
"I've got it!" Maya yelled back from across the room, holding the heavy manual toggle switch down with both hands as sparks showered down from the ceiling conduits.
Suddenly, a deafening, thunderous BOOM shook the entire mountain.
Dust and loose gravel rained down from the ceiling. The heavy steel entrance door at the far end of the bunker buckled inward under the force of an exterior explosive charge.
BOOM!
A second explosion ripped through the rock face. The pneumatic locking bolts on the steel door shrieked in protest as a massive gap cracked open along the frame, letting in blinding white smoke and the harsh glare of tactical flashlights.
"They're breaching!" Leo screamed, pulling a small electronic decryption device from his pocket.
"Dad! Hurry!" Lily cried out, clutching Chloe as they cowered near the back storage shelves.
I turned back to the monitor. The progress bar was ticking upward with agonizing slowness.
65%... 78%... 89%...
Through the smoke pouring into the breached doorway, heavy combat boots stepped onto the concrete floor. Three tactical operatives poured into the bunker, assault rifles raised, sweeping their laser sights across the room.
"Target sighted! Secure the children and terminate the data terminal!" the lead operator barked.
"Not yet you don't!" Maya screamed. She ripped a heavy fire extinguisher off the wall and hurled it with all her might directly into the chest of the leading operative, knocking him backward.
Another operative raised his rifle toward Maya.
"NO!" I roared.
Adrenaline surged through my veins. I lunged across the room, tackling the second operative mid-stride just as he pulled the trigger. The gun fired wildly into the concrete ceiling, sending a shower of sparks down onto our heads. We crashed hard onto the floor, trading brutal blows in the dust and smoke.
"Dad!" Leo screamed from the computer console.
I shoved the operative off me, scrambling back toward the desk. I looked up at the monitor.
98%... 99%... 100%. UPLOAD COMPLETE.
SUCCESS.
Across the globe—on news broadcasts in New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney—every encrypted file, financial ledger, and dark corporate secret of Aegis Biotech instantly flashed onto millions of screens simultaneously. The syndicate was laid bare for the entire world to see.
The lead operative, having regained his footing, lunged forward and slammed the butt of his rifle down onto the computer monitor, shattering it into a million sparking plastic pieces.
He grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, yanking me to my feet, pressing the cold, hard barrel of his pistol directly against my temple.
"Game over, Mr. Davis," the operative snarled through his mask.
May you like
Maya was pinned against the wall by another guard. Leo, Lily, and Chloe were huddled together near the back shelf, trapped with nowhere left to run.
Everything we had fought for, everything we had sacrificed, hung by a single, terrifying thread.
