Chapter 13 - The Bait and Switch
The rain had turned into a torrential downpour as Julian’s black SUV tore through the streets of Brooklyn. In the back, Julian was loading a sleek, matte-black handgun, while Reynolds briefed the tactical team.
Back at the penthouse, Abby sat in the bunker, her fingers hovering over the master terminal. The clock on the wall ticked down.
00:05:00. Five minutes to the deadline.
The monitor flickered to life. Vance’s smug face appeared. "Time's up, Julian. I hope you've made the smart choice."
Abby leaned into the microphone. "Julian isn't here, Elias. It's just me."
Vance’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second. "Ms. Mercer. Playing the loyal secretary to the bitter end. Where is he? Hiding?"
"He's authorizing the final release protocols with the board," Abby lied flawlessly, her voice calm and steady. "I am initiating the transfer of the source code now." She hit a keystroke. A progress bar appeared on the screen, slowly filling with green.
In Brooklyn, Julian and his team kicked down the side door of the warehouse. Flashbangs erupted, lighting the dark interior with blinding white flashes. Julian moved with lethal precision, taking down two armed guards with non-lethal shots to the legs. He sprinted toward the glowing server rack in the center of the room.
00:03:00.
"Transfer at 40%," Abby said, watching the bar. She could hear the faint sound of gunfire through Julian’s open comms channel in her earpiece. Her heart hammered against her ribs, but she kept her face perfectly impassive for Vance on the screen.
"You're a smart girl, Abby," Vance sneered. "But you backed the wrong horse. Julian will discard you when this is over. He only cares about control."
"Julian taught me a lot about control," Abby replied coldly. "He taught me that the person who controls the narrative, wins the war."
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Julian reached the server. He jammed the flash drive into the primary port. "Abby, I'm in. Execute the Trojan."
Abby slammed her finger onto the Enter key.
