Chapter 9 - Ghost in the Vault
The subterranean level smelled of ozone, liquid nitrogen, and cold concrete. Row after row of server racks stretched into the gloom, lit only by pulsing blue status lights.
"System lock detected," David muttered, sliding under a glass control console and jabbing an optical fiber cable into the master terminal. "Eleanor’s security suite is running an automated purge counter. If I don't mirror the drive within seven minutes, the server room floods with halon gas."
"Five minutes," Sarah corrected, her eyes scanning the reinforced steel doorway behind them. Her hand rested on the grip of a silenced pistol concealed within her coat. "We have company coming."
Through the radio, Marcus’s voice crackled with static. "David, clear the secondary firewalls! Captain Hayes just left the ballroom floor with four armed operators. They know someone bypassed the CFO’s biometric node."
David’s hands moved across the keyless interface in a blur. Code cascaded down his screen like green rain. "She backed up the offshore ledgers behind a double-blind encryption algorithm. It’s tied to her personal passkey."
"What's the passkey?" Sarah asked, stepping closer.
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"It’s an anniversary date," David breathed, realizing the sick reality of Eleanor’s narcissism. "The day she took over Sterling Group from Arthur's father."
He smashed the enter key. A heavy mechanical thud echoed through the chamber as access lights flashed amber, then brilliant green. The ledger began downloading to Arthur’s encrypted black drive at lightning speed. But at that exact moment, the steel blast doors slammed shut, locking them inside as heavy boots echoed from the hallway grid.
