2026-07-06 15:57:48
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Chapter 15 : Digital Isolation
CHAPTER 15: Digital IsolationColter’s words were proven right just a few seconds later. The dozen analog monitors lining the fourth-floor walls flickered simultaneously, flashing gray static waves before dying completely one by one. It wasn't just the monitors in the room; the incandescent bulbs on the ceiling went out too, plunging the fourth floor into pitch blackness in an instant."What happened? I didn't shut down the power from the cyber network!" Linus exclaimed, quickly opening his laptop screen, which was still running on backup battery power. His fingers flew across the keyboard, trying to identify the cause of the sudden, total electronic blackout.Ines Mercer switched on a small tactical flashlight from her pocket, sweeping its beam toward the main circuit panel in the corner of the room. "This isn't a short circuit from that gas line explosion, Colter. The power indicator reads absolute zero. They've intentionally cut off all external elect
Chapter 14 : Gas and the Lift Shaft
CHAPTER 14: Gas and the Lift ShaftColter hadn't even had time to turn to the second page of his grandfather's journal when a loud screech of metal rang out from the freight elevator shaft behind them. The solid steel elevator door that had been fully open suddenly shook violently, followed by the sound of drive chains being forced to move from the floor below."Colt! They're climbing up the elevator shaft using steel cables!" Linus's voice cracked sharply over the radio, followed by heavy coughing from the ventilation dust. "The two remaining outside-faction attackers on the third floor realized you went up. They're carrying sticky bombs to blow out the bottom of your elevator car!"Ines Mercer moved quickly back to the edge of the elevator doorway, peering down through the narrow gap between the elevator floor and the concrete wall. The tactical flashlight beam from below cut through the darkness of the shaft, moving upward fast."We can't let them reac
Chapter 13 : His Grandfather's Journal
CHAPTER 13: His Grandfather’s Journal"VX-4 nerve gas," Ines Mercer said, her voice dropping to a low whisper as her hand held Colter back, keeping him from stepping even an inch off the freight elevator’s iron floor. "Your grandfather rigged these gas release canisters behind the gaps in the bookshelf walls. If you breathe in that green smoke just once, your lungs will paralyze before you can even cry for help."Colter stared at the thin cloud of green vapor as it began to crawl slowly across the room’s oak floorboards. The sting on his face from Duncan Briggs’s earlier strike still throbbed, but this new threat of death forced his brain to lock back into focus."There has to be an emergency abort code on this elevator control panel," Colter said, turning around to face the iron buttons inside the cage. Using the tip of his steel tactical pen, he pried open a small circuit cover beneath the floor numbers, exposing a row of colorful analog wires hooked into the fourth floor's main gri
Chapter 12 : The Limit of the Elevator Shaft
CHAPTER 12: The Limit of the Elevator Shaft"Power diverted in three... two... one... now!"Linus’s voice over the comms was instantly followed by a heavy thud echoing from the freight elevator shaft at the end of the third-floor corridor. Every neon light along the hallway ceiling dimmed at once, leaving only the amber emergency lights to cast a grim, eerie glow over the apartment. Simultaneously, a rapid succession of clicks rang out from every room door, signaling that the electronic locking system had been completely deactivated.Colter dashed out of Room 304, gripping the satellite case in his right hand, while Ines walked backward behind him to cover the central corridor. From the main emergency stairwell, shouted orders in a foreign tongue erupted. The foreign faction’s assault team had realized that the iron security gates pinning them down had just lost power."They've breached the outer bars!" Ines shouted as the first silhouettes of tactical flashlights began cutting throug
Chapter 11 : The Map on the Table
CHAPTER 11: The Map on the TableColter Burke set Duncan Briggs’s portable satellite case onto the wooden table in Room 304, which had been propped back on its legs. One of the table legs wobbled slightly, letting out a faint groan that clashed with the howling storm outside. In the corner of the room, the assistant prosecutor’s corpse lay stiff. It was covered by the remnants of a plastic tarp Ines had used to keep the blood from seeping under the corridor door. The darkness of the room masked the deep crimson fluid that had begun to dry, but nothing could mask the pungent, metallic stench of copper filling the air.Ines Mercer stood by the window, staring at a small hole in the outer iron bars. There, the glowing embers left by the second assault team's oxy-fuel torch still flickered, fighting against the driving rain. The heavy scent of burnt metal, ozone, and gunpowder hung thick, choking the air inside the cramped room. Every tick of the clock felt like a countdown to their execu
Chapter 10 : Three Gun Barrels
Chapter 10: THREE GUN BARRELSThe man in black tactical gear stepped into Room 304 with his assault rifle ready to fire. The flashlight under the barrel swept across the room, locking onto Colter Burke near the door and Duncan Briggs standing beside the overturned desk. The gun barrel moved unsteadily between the two of them, trying to decide which was the primary target to take down first.“Don’t move! Hands up above your heads!” the attacker barked, his voice rough behind a black balaclava.Colter slowly raised both hands, dropping the piece of wood to the floor to show he had no firearm. But his eyes stayed on Duncan Briggs, who was slowly moving his left hand toward the torn pocket of his gray suit jacket.“I’m not your enemy, Soldier,” Duncan said in the most professional tone he could manage, trying to control the tactical situation. “I’m the one who sent your faction leader the coordinates for this apartment. The suitcase on that desk contains all of Ines Mercer’s personal data
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