Chapter 4 - The Newark Infiltration
The rain fell in relentless, heavy sheets over the industrial district of Newark on Saturday night. The sky was a bruised, dark purple, lit only by the occasional flash of distant lightning.
Jackson stood on the rooftop of an abandoned warehouse opposite the Vance Enterprises data facility, binoculars pressed to his eyes. He wore a dark, form-fitting tactical suit, the collar pulled up against the cold wind. Beside him, Marcus was adjusting his earpiece, while Jasmine sat in the back of a surveillance van parked three blocks away, monitoring the building’s security feeds.
"The security is tight, Jackson," Jasmine’s voice came through their earpieces, clear and calm. "They have thermal imaging on the perimeter and a state-of-the-art quantum-encrypted mainframe on the fourth floor. If you trigger the alarm, the local police will be there in under four minutes. And because of the federal investigation, they’ll be looking for any excuse to shoot."
"Copy that, sweetheart," Jackson replied, his voice a low, steady murmur. "Are the cameras looped?"
"Give me thirty seconds... now. You have a two-minute window on the eastern blind spot. Go."
Jackson and Marcus moved with lethal efficiency. They rappelled down the side of the warehouse, crossed the narrow alley, and scaled the secure fence of the data facility. Utilizing a high-frequency glass cutter, Marcus created an opening in a second-story window, and they slipped inside like shadows.
The interior of the building was sterile and silent, illuminated only by the blinking blue and green lights of server racks.
"We’re in," Jackson whispered. "Navigating to the fourth floor."
"Be careful, Jackson," Jasmine’s voice held a tremor of fear that she tried desperately to hide. "My monitors are showing an anomaly. There’s a secondary security team on site that wasn't on the official roster. They’re heavily armed. This isn't a normal corporate facility. It’s a military-grade outpost."
"Victoria knew we would come," Jackson realized, his jaw tightening. "It’s a trap."
"Get out of there, Jackson!" Jasmine urged. "Abort the mission!"
"No," Jackson said, his gray eyes flashing with unyielding resolve as they reached the heavy steel doors of the mainframe room. "We don't run. If we leave empty-handed, we lose everything. Marcus, prep the bypass device."
As Marcus began connecting the hacking device to the mainframe’s terminal, the red emergency lights of the facility suddenly began to spin, and a deafening siren pierced the air. The heavy steel fire doors at both ends of the hallway slammed shut with a thunderous bang, locking them inside.
From the overhead speakers, Victoria Vance’s voice echoed, dripping with poisonous amusement.
May you like
"Did you really think it would be that easy, Jackson? You’ve spent so long pretending to be a saint that you’ve forgotten how to be a devil. Welcome to your tomb."
Suddenly, the glass windows of the mainframe room shattered as tear gas canisters sailed inside, filling the room with blinding, choking smoke.
