Chapter 6 - The Dead Switch
The red button clicked down with a sharp, plastic snap.
We all instinctively braced ourselves for the catastrophic roar of an explosion.
One second passed.
Then two.
Then five.
Nothing happened.
The ambient jazz music still played softly from the kitchen speakers.
The hum of the refrigerator continued undisturbed.
Julian stared down at his remote, his thumb still pressed against the plastic button, his expression twisting into sheer confusion.
“No... that's impossible,” Julian muttered, frantically clicking the button over and over again.
“The valve... the override should have triggered!”
Agent Vance didn't hesitate for another microsecond.
With lightning speed, Vance drew his sidearm and fired a non-lethal taser cartridge directly into Julian’s chest.
The barbed darts struck Julian square in the sternum.
A massive surge of electrical current coursed through his body.
Julian let out a sharp gasp, his eyes rolling back as his muscles locked up completely.
The remote slipped from his paralyzed fingers, clattering harmlessly against the wooden floorboards.
He crashed backward onto the rug, twitching slightly before going completely limp.
Two NCIS agents lunged forward, slapping heavy steel handcuffs onto Julian’s wrists and hauling him to his feet.
Agent Vance lowered his weapon and let out a long, steady breath, looking over at me.
“Nice timing on the counter-intrusion, Admiral,” Vance said, a faint smirk touching the corner of his mouth.
“Standard procedure, Agent Vance,” I replied smoothly, adjusting the cuffs of my navy-blue dress.
“Never trust an amateur hacker who thinks military firewalls don't have secondary trapdoors.”
Dad slumped heavily against the dining table, burying his face in his hands as the full weight of the terrifying ordeal finally crashed down on him.
Mom rushed over to him, rubbing his back while casting fearful, apologetic glances in my direction.
Caroline was still sitting frozen on the bottom step of the staircase, rocking back and forth in shell-shocked silence.
“Take him away,” Agent Vance ordered his team, gesturing toward the unconscious Julian being dragged out the front door.
“And secure that laptop.”
As the agents moved past us, Nathan walked up beside me, his eyes dark and thoughtful.
“That was dangerously close, Evelyn,” Nathan said quietly, his voice carrying a genuine undertone of concern.
“I've seen operators panic in situations with less risk.”
“I don't panic, Nathan,” I replied, turning to look at him.
“I adapt.”
Suddenly, my secure military phone buzzed again in my pocket.
I pulled it out, expecting another status update from the Pentagon or NCIS.
Instead, it was an encrypted text message from an unknown sender with a single attached GPS coordinate.
I opened the attachment, expecting a case file, but instead found a live security camera feed of an empty room.
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In the center of the room sat a single, neatly wrapped black box with a small navy-blue ribbon tied around the lid.
And blinking in the bottom corner of the video feed was a timestamp from three minutes ago.
