Chapter 4: The Heist of a Lifetime
The night of the operation was silent, blanketed in a heavy Chicago snowstorm that obscured the street cameras. Julian sat in a custom-built van two blocks away, watching the monitors. Mia moved through the facility with the grace of a phantom. She had bypassed the security perimeter Julian had helped her map.
On the screen, Julian watched as she slipped into the Director’s office. His heart hammered in his chest—a feeling he hadn't experienced since he started his company.
Mia grabbed the keycard, but then the screen flickered. A guard had turned the corner early.
"Mia, abort!" Julian whispered into the comms.
"No," her voice came back, steady as a rock. "I have the ledger."
She slipped into the server room. The download bar on the tablet Julian had given her was crawling forward—ten percent, twenty percent... The guard stopped at the door, trying the handle. It was locked.
"Hurry, Mia," Julian urged.
"Fifty percent… sixty…"
The guard kicked the door. The frame splintered. Julian gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white. He was ready to drive the van through the front wall of the building if he had to.
"Eighty percent… done!"
Mia bolted through the vents, emerging on the rooftop just as the guards swarmed the server room. She didn't panic. She jumped to the fire escape, her silhouette stark against the moonlight, and sprinted toward the rendezvous point.
Julian pulled the van up to the alley. Mia jumped in, slamming the door.
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"Go!" she shouted.
As they sped away, Julian looked at the tablet. Every transaction, every name of every trafficker, and every dollar amount was there. The Apex Circle was finished.
