Chapter 3 - The Midnight Breach
The heavy silence of the study was shattered by the sound of the failing alarms.
Daniel immediately pulled his firearm and moved to guard the main doorway.
I asked Annie if she could isolate the exact location of the security override.
She connected her laptop to the radio scanner and began typing furiously.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard as lines of code reflected in her eyes.
She confirmed that the override signal was originating from the west wing servant quarters.
That specific wing housed the most trusted members of my personal staff.
I refused to believe that someone I had known for years was betraying me.
We turned off the lights and moved silently through the dark corridors.
Annie walked flawlessly on her new leg without making a single sound.
We reached the west wing and traced the signal to a locked bedroom door.
Daniel kicked the door open with a massive surge of strength.
The room was completely empty of any human presence.
A small computer terminal was running an automated hacking script on the desk.
Annie rushed over to the keyboard and attempted to abort the program.
She successfully stopped the hack just before the front gates were completely unlocked.
Daniel searched the closet and suddenly let out a sharp gasp.
I walked over and saw a young woman bound and gagged on the floor.
She was trembling violently and crying out through the thick duct tape.
Daniel dropped to his knees and quickly untied the terrified woman.
He pulled the tape from her mouth and held her tightly against his chest.
He looked up at me with tears streaming down his hardened face.
He explained that this was his younger sister who had been missing for weeks.
I realized instantly that Daniel was the one who had planted the listening devices.
He had been blackmailed into betraying me to keep his sister alive.
Daniel placed his gun on the floor and begged for my forgiveness.
I told him to stand up and keep his weapon because we had a larger problem.
The computer terminal suddenly sparked and began to smoke heavily.
Annie shouted that the program was a decoy designed to distract us.
May you like
She pointed toward the large window overlooking the expansive front lawn.
Three black armored vehicles had just crashed violently through the reinforced steel gates.
