Chapter 34
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The midnight air was freezing and completely still as the unmarked tactical van pulled into the subterranean parking garage of the Ashford Tower. The massive concrete structure was deathly quiet, the usual hum of luxury vehicles replaced by an eerie, oppressive silence.
Theodore sat in the back of the van, his fingers flying rapidly across a ruggedized military laptop.
"I am accessing the mainframe now," Theodore whispered into his headset. "The firewall is heavily encrypted, but the backdoor is still viable."
"Status on the lobby patrols?" Richard asked, chambering a round in his assault rifle. He and Samuel were dressed in full tactical gear, prepared to launch a terrifying frontal assault to draw the guards away from the upper floors.
"Two heavy patrols in the main atrium," Theodore reported. "I am killing the camera feeds in three, two, one. You are dark. Go."
Richard and Samuel threw open the rear doors of the van and sprinted toward the main stairwell leading up to the lobby.
Vivienne, Leo, and Laura moved in the opposite direction, slipping silently toward the heavy steel doors of the designated service elevator. Vivienne clutched the Protocol Omega ledger to her chest, her silver locket cold against her skin.
A sudden, deafening explosion echoed from the ceiling above them, shaking dust from the concrete rafters. Richard and Samuel had initiated the diversion. The sound of automatic gunfire and shouting immediately followed.
"The diversion is live," Theodore's voice crackled in their earpieces. "Security teams from floors fifty through seventy are mobilizing down to the lobby. The service elevator is unlocked. You have eight minutes before the system reboots."
Laura hit the call button. The heavy steel doors slid open instantly.
They stepped inside, and Laura swiped a cloned access card Theodore had provided. The elevator lurched violently before shooting upward at a dizzying speed.
Vivienne watched the digital floor counter climb rapidly. Fifty. Sixty. Seventy.
"When those doors open," Leo warned, keeping his shotgun aimed at the floor, "Julian won't hesitate. You have to speak fast, Vivienne. If he doesn't listen, I will put him down."
"He will listen," Vivienne insisted, her voice tight with anxiety. "He has to."
The elevator chimed softly as it reached the eightieth floor. The heavy steel doors began to slide apart.
Laura raised her weapon, stepping out first. "Clear right."
Leo stepped out next. "Clear left."
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Vivienne walked out into a massive, opulent marble hallway. Standing at the far end, directly in front of the ornate oak doors leading to Malcolm's penthouse suite, was Julian Vance.
He held a custom-designed submachine gun, and his eyes were completely devoid of mercy.
