Chapter 5 - The Digital Ghost
The red digital timer on the screen ticked down with terrifying speed.
I stared at the burning wreckage of my apartment on the live surveillance feed.
The syndicate had tried to wipe me off the face of the earth without any hesitation.
Suddenly the center monitor flickered and a pre-recorded video began to play.
Julian appeared on the screen looking much healthier than he did in the hospital.
He wore a sharp suit and looked directly into the camera with piercing eyes.
He apologized sincerely for dragging me into this brutal invisible war.
He explained that he was a rogue intelligence broker who dismantled corrupt empires.
My mother had been his brightest protege before the syndicate discovered her true identity.
Julian married me to legally transfer his untraceable wealth and his server access directly to me.
He said the millions of dollars in the backpack were just bait to draw the assassins out.
He warned me that the warehouse was programmed to self-destruct to protect the massive data cache.
Julian told me to take the master encrypted hard drive from the central console and run.
I ran to the desk and ripped a heavy silver drive from the central computer tower.
The digital timer hit the one-minute mark and a deafening siren began blaring loudly.
I turned toward the exit but the heavy steel doors violently slammed shut.
Thick metal barricades dropped over the windows plunging the massive room into complete darkness.
A green toxic gas began pouring heavily from the ventilation shafts in the ceiling.
I coughed violently as the chemical burned my lungs and made my vision blur.
I grabbed a heavy red fire extinguisher from the wall and swung it wildly.
I smashed it against the reinforced glass of a side door hoping it would break.
The thick glass did not even crack under the immense pressure of the heavy blow.
The timer reached ten seconds and the toxic gas grew incredibly thick.
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My knees buckled and I dropped to the floor entirely unable to breathe.
I was completely trapped in a deadly steel cage with no way out.
