Chapter 11
That night, the estate transformed into an invisible military fortress under the cover of darkness.
Unmarked federal surveillance vans parked down the dark suburban street, monitoring every digital frequency in the area.
Inside the study, Thomas inserted the Zurich micro-SD card into an isolated, air-gapped laptop terminal.
The screen flickered to life, displaying a real-time tracking interface connected to the Swiss server network.
Clara stood behind her father, watching the cascading lines of encrypted code scroll across the monitor.
"Look, Dad... someone is attempting to ping the decryption key," Clara pointed out, tapping the glass screen.
The system alert flashed amber as an incoming data connection established contact from an IP address in Arlington.
"They're close," Thomas whispered, his hand resting on the encrypted transmission override button.
"They're right here in Virginia."
Suddenly, the house exterior security lights flickered once and died, plunging the entire estate into pitch blackness.
The emergency backup generator kicked in three seconds later, bathing the study in a dim red glow.
"We have movement along the perimeter fence!" a tactical voice crackled over the secure radio on the desk.
"Intruders approaching the back deck from the tree line!"
Thomas did not flinch; he calmly stood up from the desk, pulling his service sidearm from its leather holster.
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"Lock down the interior doors and hold your positions," Thomas commanded into the radio comms.
"Let them step onto the deck."
