Chapter 9 - The Lethal Checkmate
The massive guards forced Leo and me onto our knees in the damp concrete basement.
My mother stood holding the silver hard drive with a look of pure absolute triumph.
The lead enforcer raised his suppressed pistol and aimed it directly at Leo's head.
I realized I still had Julian's soda can pull tab hidden securely on my finger.
I slipped the sharp aluminum edge off and sliced quickly through the thick zip ties binding my wrists.
I sprang up and drove my elbow directly into the throat of the guard standing nearest to me.
Leo used the brief distraction to sweep the enforcer's legs completely out from under him.
A chaotic and violent struggle immediately erupted in the dark soundproof room.
I grabbed a fallen weapon from the floor and fired a warning shot directly into the ceiling.
The deafening blast caused the remaining guards to freeze in absolute panic.
Leo and I fought our way desperately to the heavy steel door leading to the building's central mainframe.
We barricaded the heavy door behind us and I ran straight toward the main computer terminal.
I snatched the hard drive back from a table where my mother had dropped it in the chaos.
I jammed the silver drive into the port and rapidly began the upload sequence to the FBI.
The progress bar on the massive screen jumped quickly to ninety-nine percent.
Then the screen flashed bright red and completely froze in place with an error message.
My mother stepped out from a hidden panic room located directly behind the server racks.
She held a silver revolver pointed steadily at the exact center of my forehead.
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She smiled wickedly and explained that the final data transfer required a biometric retinal scan.
She told me I was completely trapped and this dangerous game was finally over.
