Chapter 21 - A Chilling Final Warning Left In The Shadows
Deep within the cavernous, rumbling engine room of the massive cargo freighter, the heavy steel door echoed with muffled thuds.
Jack secured the manual locking mechanism, letting out a long, exhausted breath as Leo buried his face in his jacket.
“We’re safe for now... the ship is pulling away from the pier into international waters,” Sarah breathed, checking the navigation screens.
Elena plugged Jack’s encrypted flash drive into the ship’s auxiliary terminal, watching the progress bar climb toward completion.
“The files are uploading directly to the independent global networks; there’s no way the agency can scrub this now,” Elena smiled weakly.
Jack knelt down beside Leo, hugging his brave son tightly while whispering words of comfort and reassurance.
“We won, buddy... your family is finally going to be safe together,” Jack whispered, kissing the top of the boy's head.
Suddenly, the ship’s auxiliary terminal screen flickered violently, interrupting the upload with a sudden, unannounced system override.
May you like
The glowing text cleared to display a single line of cryptic digital characters typed out character by character in real-time:
“You uploaded the files to a dead drop, Jack... and the ship you’re on isn't heading out to international waters.”
