Chapter 4 - The Mechanic
Thiago stopped dead in his tracks, staring down at the waitress gripping his expensive suit jacket.
"We use industrial Cummins QSK60 diesel generators," Thiago answered rapidly, confused by her sudden question.
Cassie’s eyes lit up with fierce recognition.
"They didn't sabotage the generators, they probably just tripped the automated fail-safes," Cassie said confidently.
Thiago and his assistant stared at her in utter shock.
"How on earth do you know that?" Thiago demanded.
"I spent three years training to restore industrial embroidery and heavy textile machines before my dad got sick," Cassie explained, her voice steady. "They use the exact same high-torque diesel backup systems to prevent fabric jamming during power outages."
Thiago looked at the clock on his wall.
They had forty-two minutes left before millions of dollars worth of life-saving vaccines were completely destroyed.
He didn't have time to wait for the official union repair crew to navigate through Brooklyn traffic.
He grabbed Cassie's hand without hesitation.
"Come with me," Thiago ordered.
They sprinted to the roof where a sleek, black Bellacort corporate helicopter was already waiting, its rotors spinning loudly.
Cassie had never been in a helicopter before, but she pushed her fear aside as they lifted off over the Manhattan skyline.
Within ten minutes, they landed on the roof of a massive, heavily guarded warehouse complex in Brooklyn.
Thiago led her down into the dark, freezing sub-basement where the massive backup generators sat completely silent.
The temperature in the massive storage rooms above them was already rising dangerously fast.
Cassie didn't wait for permission.
She threw off her cheap jacket and crawled directly under the massive diesel engine.
She pulled a small flashlight from Thiago's security guard and inspected the heavy wiring.
"Just as I thought," Cassie yelled over the echoing silence. "Someone manually severed the main sensor line, telling the computer the engine was overheating. It locked itself down to prevent a fire."
"Can you bypass it?" Thiago asked, kneeling in the dirt beside her in his tailored suit.
"I have to hardwire the ignition directly to the battery, completely bypassing the safety computer," Cassie said, her hands already moving with expert precision.
She asked the security guard for a pocket knife and quickly stripped the heavy rubber coating off two thick wires.
With sparks flying into the dim basement, she twisted the raw copper together and yelled for Thiago to hit the manual start button.
Thiago slammed his hand against the heavy green button on the control panel.
The massive diesel engine coughed once, sputtered, and then roared to life with a deafening, beautiful rumble.
The overhead lights flickered and then blazed brightly, restoring power to the entire massive cooling facility.
Thiago let out a massive breath of relief, looking at the glowing temperature gauges holding steady at perfect freezing levels.
He turned back to look at Cassie, who was wiping grease from her cheek with the back of her hand.
She looked entirely out of place in her cheap clothes, covered in dirt, yet Thiago had never seen a more impressive woman in his entire life.
He realized the arrogant woman from the restaurant would have ran screaming from this basement.
Cassie stood up, brushing off her jeans, completely unfazed by the multi-million dollar crisis she had just averted.
"You owe me a new jacket," Cassie joked weakly, pointing to the oil stain on her sleeve.
Thiago smiled, a genuine, breathtaking smile that completely transformed his intimidating face.
"I owe you considerably more than that, Cassandra," he promised.
Before Thiago could offer her a permanent job on his engineering team, his phone buzzed violently in his pocket.
He answered it, his smile instantly vanishing as he listened to the frantic voice on the other end.
He slowly lowered the phone, his face turning ghostly pale in the harsh fluorescent light.
He looked directly at Cassie, his dark eyes filled with absolute terror.
"The power cut wasn't just corporate sabotage," Thiago whispered, his voice shaking.
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"What is it?" Cassie asked, her heart dropping.
"It was a distraction," Thiago replied grimly. "Someone just breached the private hospital where your father is recovering, and they took him hostage."
