Success didn't look the way people imagined. At least not on Alex Carter. Three weeks earlier, financial news websites had published articles about him.

Julian walked forward slowly, his boots crunching in the fresh snow. His heart was a drum in his chest, but his face remained a mask of calm calculation.

"Let her go first," Julian demanded, stopping twenty feet away.

Silas chuckled—a dry, humorless sound. "Do you think I am an amateur, Julian? Toss the drive."

Julian threw the silver flash drive into the snow between them. Silas didn't take his eyes off Julian, but he gestured with his chin to one of his hidden mercenaries. A man in tactical gear stepped out from behind a shipping container, picked up the drive, and plugged it into a ruggedized tablet to verify the contents.

"Files are there," the mercenary confirmed.

"Excellent," Silas smiled. He raised his pistol, aiming it squarely at Julian's chest. "You were a brilliant coder, Mr. Hayes. But you are a terrible negotiator. Kill him."

Before Silas could pull the trigger, the shipping yard plunged into absolute darkness.

Julian hadn't just built a Trojan Horse; he had hacked the local power grid. With a tap on his Apple Watch, he had severed the power to the entire block.

In the sudden pitch black, Elena struck.

She had flanked them during the exchange. Two suppressed shots rang out, dropping the mercenary with the tablet. Silas roared in frustration and fired blindly into the dark.