Chapter 7 - The Hostile Rescue
Khloe kept her weapon aimed directly at Liam, who was writhing in the mud and clutching his bleeding shoulder.
Olivia stared at the model in absolute confusion, unable to understand the sudden betrayal.
"I thought you worked for the cartel," Olivia said, her voice shaking from the cold and the adrenaline.
Khloe laughed dryly and kicked Liam’s discarded assault rifle far out of his reach.
"I do work for them, honey," Khloe replied, her eyes cold and calculating.
"And my bosses do not appreciate it when an arrogant tech bro tries to change the terms of a deal."
Khloe explained that Liam had secretly tried to hire his own mercenaries to steal the code before the cartel could get it.
He wanted to sell the patent to a foreign government and disappear with the cash, leaving the cartel empty-handed.
"You are a liability, Liam," Khloe said in disgust, looking down at the bleeding man.
Khloe turned her attention back to Olivia and Alexander, her expression hardening into pure business.
"My bosses want the source code, and they want it right now," she demanded.
"Transfer the ownership to this encrypted drive, and we will leave you both alone forever."
She tossed a small black flash drive onto the ground near Alexander's feet.
Alexander looked at Olivia, silently asking her what she wanted to do.
Olivia knew that if she handed over the code, the cartel would have unlimited power over global communications.
But if she refused, Khloe would undoubtedly execute them both right there in the forest.
"I need a laptop to authorize the transfer," Olivia lied smoothly, keeping her face completely unreadable.
"Liam has one in the truck," Khloe answered, gesturing toward the armored vehicle.
Alexander cautiously retrieved the laptop and handed it to Olivia.
She opened the screen, her fingers flying across the keyboard with practiced precision.
She wasn't transferring the patent; she was accessing the emergency backdoor she had coded into Hayes Vision years ago.
She initiated a total system wipe, permanently deleting the core algorithm from every server on the planet.
The only copy left in existence was stored perfectly inside her own incredible memory.
"It is done," Olivia announced, closing the laptop and throwing the useless flash drive back to Khloe.
Khloe smiled triumphantly and pocketed the drive, completely unaware she had just been played.
"Good doing business with you," Khloe mocked, turning to walk away into the trees.
May you like
But before the model could take three steps, the deafening sound of sirens filled the air.
Dozens of federal tactical vehicles suddenly swarmed the clearing, surrounding them completely.
