Chapter 509
Chapter 509:
20 p>
It was agonizingly slow.
“Seventy-four, seventy-five…” Lucian muttered, counting bearer bonds.
Skye watched the bar. 50 p>
She heard Lucian turn around. His footsteps clicked on the metal floor. He was coming back.
80 p>
Skye looked for a place to hide. There was nowhere. Just rows of money.
90 p>
Lucian stopped. “Skye p>
100%. Upload Complete.
Skye yanked the device out. She shoved it into her robe pocket.
She stepped out from behind the shelf.
“I’m here,” she said.
Lucian stared at her. He held a gold bar in his hand like a weapon.
“What are you doing back here?” he asked, his voice low.
“I was bored,” Skye said, walking toward him. She ran her hand over a stack of cash. “And curious. I’ve never seen a billion dollars in cash before p>
Lucian’s eyes narrowed. He looked at the terminal behind her. The screen was dark.
“You shouldn’t be wandering,” he said. “The air supply in here is limited. If the door closes p>
CLANG.
As if on cue, the massive vault door began to swing shut.
“What did you do?” Lucian roared, dropping the gold bar.
“Nothing!” Skye cried.
Lucian sprinted for the door, but it was too late. The heavy steel slab slammed into place. The locking bolts engaged with a series of deafening thuds.
The lights flickered and died. Emergency red lighting bathed the vault in blood.
“You idiot,” Lucian hissed, grabbing Skye by the shoulders. “You triggered the lockdown p>
𝗖𝗈𝘮p𝗹𝖾𝗍e s𝘁𝘰𝗿іе𝘴 oո 𝖻е.с𝘰𝗆
“I didn’t touch anything!” Skye yelled back. “It must be the Morettis! You said they were hacking the system p>
Lucian let go of her and paced the small space. “They’ve isolated the subnet. They’ve sealed us in. They want to suffocate us and drill the door when we’re dead p>
Skye felt the device burning against her skin. William’s protocol was supposed to force an evacuation, not a lockdown. Had something gone wrong? Or was this part of the plan?
“How much air do we have?” Skye asked.
“Two hours,” Lucian said. “Maybe three. The ventilation is cut p>
He looked at her. In the red light, he looked demonic.
“If we die here,” Lucian said, pulling a gun from his waistband, “I’m going to make sure you go first. I won’t let you suffocate. It’s a bad way to go p>
Skye laughed. It was a hysterical sound. “You’re going to shoot me to save me from bad air? You really are a romantic, Lucian p>
“I’m a pragmatist,” he said, checking the chamber.
“Put the gun away,” Skye said. “I can get us out p>
“How? Do you have a plasma cutter in that robe p>
“No,” Skye said. “But I know the override code p>
Lucian froze. “What p>
“The manual override,” Skye lied. “I saw the schematics on your desk weeks ago. I memorized them p>