Chapter 6 - The Offensive Strategy
I stared at the explosive device nestled in the foam padding of the briefcase.
I was an accountant, a man who spent his life analyzing spreadsheets, not a soldier.
Daniel coughed painfully and explained that the explosive was not meant for killing people.
It was a specialized electromagnetic pulse device designed to fry computer servers and erase digital footprints.
He told me that the syndicate kept their master ledger on a localized server inside a downtown skyscraper.
If we destroyed that server, the syndicate would lose billions of dollars and turn on Michael out of pure anger.
It was the only way to shift the target off our backs and permanently neutralize the threat.
I looked at Ellen, expecting her to beg me not to do something so incredibly dangerous.
Instead, my fierce, resilient wife nodded her head and told me to burn their empire to the ground.
Daniel handed me a forged security badge and a detailed map of the skyscraper's ventilation system.
He told me I had to plant the device in the server room before the morning shift arrived.
I left Ellen to care for Daniel and drove toward the financial district under the cover of early morning darkness.
The skyscraper loomed over the city like a glass and steel monolith of corruption.
I parked three blocks away and approached the service entrance just as a delivery truck pulled in.
I confidently flashed the forged badge at the tired security guard, and he waved me through without a second glance.
I slipped into the maintenance stairwell and began the agonizing climb to the forty-second floor.
My legs burned with exhaustion, but the thought of Michael’s smug face kept me moving upward.
I finally reached the server floor and carefully picked the lock on the heavy reinforced door.
The room was freezing cold, filled with rows of massive, blinking computer servers holding the syndicate's dirty secrets.
I opened the briefcase, set the EMP timer for exactly ten minutes, and placed it behind a cooling unit.
I turned around to leave, feeling a triumphant sense of victory wash over me.
Suddenly, the heavy server room door clicked shut and electronically locked from the outside.
The bright overhead lights snapped on, blinding me momentarily.
A voice echoed through the room's intercom system, dripping with cruel amusement.
It was David, my business partner of twenty years, laughing softly through the speakers.
May you like
He told me he had been watching me on the security cameras since I entered the building.
He casually revealed that Michael was merely a pawn, and he was the true leader of the international syndicate.
