Chapter 508
Chapter 508:
“Because the digital lock is failing,” Lucian said. “The Moretti hackers are brute-forcing the encryption. I need to manually override the lockdown and secure the physical assets. And since you have a photographic memory p>
He smirked. “I might need you to verify the inventory codes. My head is… aching.” He touched a bandage on his temple where debris had grazed him.
He grabbed her arm.
They took the private elevator down, but Lucian didn’t press the button for Sub-Level 4. He stopped the elevator at the basement level.
“The shaft below is compromised from the explosion,” Lucian explained, prying open the service door. “We take the stairs from here. Try not to faint p>
The descent was grueling. The stairwell was filled with a haze of smoke. As they passed the landing for Sub-Level 3—where Alistair had detonated the charges—the heat radiating through the steel door was intense. The metal was warped and blackened, and the air tasted of melted plastic. Skye held her breath, her heart aching at the thought of Alistair barely escaping this inferno.
They continued down to Sub-Level 4.
The doors opened. The air here was freezing.
It was a bunker. Concrete walls. Steel doors.
Lucian led her down a long corridor.
“Wait here,” he said, pointing to a chair outside a massive circular vault door. “I need to initialize the biometric sequence p>
He swiped his hand over a scanner. The vault hissed open.
He went inside.
Skye sat on the chair. She looked around. There was a camera pointing directly at her.
Suddenly, the light in the hallway flickered.
The camera’s red LED turned off.
A shadow detached itself from the alcove near the ventilation duct.
Skye gasped.
A man in a maintenance jumpsuit stepped out. He pulled down his mask. It was William.
“Quiet,” he whispered. “We don’t have much time p>
N𝘰 𝗉𝘪𝘳а𝗰y 𝗿𝘦а𝘥 𝗈𝗻 𝖻е.сom
He pressed a small device into her hand. “The Morettis are hitting the system hard. It’s creating a blind spot. Take this drive. It’s the extraction protocol p>
“I already have one,” Skye whispered, thinking of the worm drive hidden upstairs in the hairbrush.
“This is different,” William said urgently. “This one kills the cooling system. It forces an evacuation. It’s your way out p>
“William, he’s right inside p>
“Go. Plug it into the terminal in the back. I’ll keep the loop running on the camera p>
William vanished back into the shadows just as Lucian called out.
“Skye? Get in here p>
Skye shoved the device into her bra and walked into the vault.
The vault was a cathedral of wealth. Stacks of cash wrapped in plastic. Bars of gold. Boxes of uncut diamonds.
Lucian was at the far end, his back to her, typing on a keypad.
Skye moved silently, sticking to the shadows of the shelves. She found the terminal William had mentioned. It was a standalone computer sitting on a metal desk near a ventilation unit.
She plugged in the device.
A progress bar appeared on the screen.
System Override… 10 p>