Chapter 8 - Race Against the Clock
The black SUV tore through the morning traffic of lower Manhattan, running red lights with the impunity of a vehicle backed by Vale Holdings' political immunity.
Inside the back seat, Claire’s fingers flew across her encrypted laptop keyboard, trying to ping the municipal server firewall.
"He’s using an analog bypass," Claire muttered, sweat beading on her forehead. "He’s physically plugged into the terminal room in the basement of City Hall. My firewall can't block a direct hardware connection!"
"We’re two minutes out," Adrian said, staring straight ahead through the windshield, his jaw clenched so tight muscles ticked in his cheek. He tapped his earpiece. "Marcus, position our teams at all four exits of City Hall. Nobody leaves with a hard drive or a flash memory unit."
The SUV screeched to a halt in front of the grand granite steps of City Hall.
Adrian and Claire leaped out of the vehicle before it had even fully stopped. Two of Adrian’s security operatives fell in behind them as they flashed badges and pushed past municipal guards who recognized Adrian’s terrifying reputation instantly and stood aside.
They raced down the subterranean concrete corridors of City Hall, down to the legacy server room where the city’s older digital architecture was maintained.
The heavy metal door of the server room was ajar.
Inside, a middle-aged man in a tailored grey suit was frantically hammering away at a mainframe console, a red progress bar on the screen reading: **UPLOAD 92% COMPLETE.**
"Stop right there!" Claire shouted, bursting into the room.
The man spun around, panic twisting his features. He grabbed a heavy metal wrench from the tool tray and lunged toward the main circuit breaker lever.
"If I can't have the contract, nobody does!" he screamed, preparing to slam the breaker and fry the entire municipal archive, destroying Bennett Strategic’s digital records forever.
Before his hand hit the lever, Adrian moved with blinding, unnatural speed.
He crossed the room in two strides, tackled the man mid-air, and slammed him into the concrete floor with a bone-rattling thud. The wrench clattered harmlessly across the tiles.
Claire didn't hesitate. She threw herself onto the console, grabbing the keyboard.
*UPLOAD: 96%... 98%...*
"Abort! Abort!" she screamed internally, her fingers flying over the command line.
She slammed the master override key just as the bar hit 99%.
**UPLOAD CANCELLED. SYSTEM SECURED.**
Claire collapsed against the console, gasping for air as the tension drained out of her body, leaving her shaking from head to toe.
Adrian stood up, dusting off his suit jacket, while his security guards hauled the groaning CFO to his feet and slapped cuffs on his wrists.
Adrian walked over to Claire, placed his hands gently on her shoulders, and turned her around to face him.
"Is it done?" he asked softly.
"It's done," Claire whispered, a tear of pure relief slipping down her cheek. "The firewall held. The records are clean."
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Adrian pulled her tightly against his chest, burying his face in her hair as the sirens of the municipal police echoed down the corridor, coming to arrest the final piece of Grant Mercer’s empire.
***
