Chapter 8
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The heavy metallic security shutters slammed down over the windows of the FBI building, sealing the top floor like a high-tech fortress.
Emergency red lights flickered along the corridors, casting long, eerie shadows across the polished linoleum floors.
Sarah stood near Tommy's couch, holding a heavy tactical flashlight given to her by one of the federal marshals.
Her heart pounded in her throat as the sound of distant explosions echoed from the ground floor of the building far below.
"They've breached the main lobby!" a voice screamed over the emergency radio system, followed by the deafening sound of automatic gunfire.
"Backup units are ten minutes away! Hold the upper stairwells at all costs!" Agent Miller shouted into his comms unit, rushing toward the heavy double doors.
Arthur stood beside Sarah, holding a heavy standard-issue pistol he had taken from an injured marshal in the hallway.
His dark suit was torn, but his eyes burned with a fierce, protective fire that no amount of fear could extinguish.
"Sarah, take Tommy into the secure vault behind the main server room," Arthur instructed, pointing toward a heavy steel door at the end of the hall.
"That vault is made of six-inch reinforced titanium; even military explosives can't penetrate it from the outside."
"What about you, Mr. Sterling?" Sarah asked, her hands shaking as she pulled the blanket tighter around the waking boy.
"I'm going to help Miller hold this corridor," Arthur answered, looking down at his son with a mixture of love and heartbreak.
"If Victoria gets past us, she gets everything. I won't let her touch my son ever again."
Tommy rubbed his tired eyes, sitting up on the couch and looking around at the flashing red lights in terror.
"Daddy? What's happening?" Tommy whimpered, reaching out his small arms toward his father.
Arthur knelt down, wrapping his arms tightly around the small boy and kissing his forehead with deep emotion.
"Daddy loves you more than life itself, Tommy," Arthur whispered into his hair. "Go with Sarah now. She's going to keep you safe."
Sarah grabbed Tommy's small hand, pulling him off the couch and sprinting toward the rear server room at the end of the hall.
Behind them, the glass doors of the main elevator bay shattered into thousands of dangerous shards as armed mercenaries burst onto the floor.
Gunfire erupted instantly, filling the enclosed corridor with deafening pops and the sharp smell of burnt gunpowder.
Sarah pushed through the heavy server room door, slamming it shut behind them and throwing the electronic deadbolt into place.
The server room was cold and hummed with the loud fan noise of dozens of massive computer towers running in long metal racks.
At the far end of the room sat the round titanium vault door, its digital keypad glowing a faint blue in the dark.
Sarah rushed over to the keypad, frantically typing in the seven-digit security code Arthur had hastily whispered to her moments before.
The heavy titanium vault door hissed loudly as the hydraulic seal released, slowly swinging open to reveal a small, sterile steel safe room.
"Get inside, Tommy, fast!" Sarah urged, pushing the boy into the safe room ahead of her.
Just as Sarah prepared to step inside behind him, the heavy outer server room door was blown completely off its hinges with a loud bang.
A thick cloud of smoke rolled into the server room, followed by the slow, elegant footsteps of a woman wearing high heels.
Through the haze, Victoria Sterling stepped forward, holding a silver silenced pistol, her red silk dress torn but her cold eyes fixed on Sarah.
"Did you really think a few government agents could protect you from my resources, Sarah?" Victoria purred, raising her weapon with deadly calm.
Sarah froze on the threshold of the vault, her hand resting on the heavy titanium door handle, her body blocking the entrance.
"You're a monster, Victoria," Sarah spat out, her voice filled with absolute disgust. "You destroyed your own family for money!"
"Money is power, my dear, and power is the only thing that truly matters in this cold world," Victoria replied, taking a slow step closer.
"Now step away from that vault door and hand over the microchip, or I will paint these computer servers with your brains."
Sarah looked into Victoria's cold, heartless eyes, knowing that giving up meant instant death for both herself and the boy.
She smiled a dark, defiant smile, her latex-gloved hand gripping the heavy titanium vault door with absolute force.
"Not today, Victoria," Sarah whispered coldly.
May you like
With a lightning-fast motion, Sarah pulled herself inside the vault and slammed the heavy titanium door shut from the inside.
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