Chapter 5 - The Devil's Bargain
Ethan kicked the heavy door open, grabbed Chloe by the collar of her torn dress, and dragged her violently inside.
Bullets shattered the thick security glass, sending jagged shards flying across the dark cyber cafe.
Ethan pushed Chloe to the floor, grabbing his wrench and a heavy fire extinguisher from the wall.
As the first armed mercenary breached the doorway, Ethan smashed the extinguisher into the man's face, instantly knocking him unconscious.
Maya triggered a localized EMP device from her desk, shutting down the entire block's power grid and plunging the cafe into total darkness.
Under the cover of pitch black, the three of them escaped through a hidden ventilation shaft that led to the subway tunnels.
They retreated to an abandoned subway maintenance room, where Chloe sat shivering on the damp concrete floor.
She confessed that Silas had promised to make her a Hollywood star if she destroyed Ethan's public image.
However, once the media circus peaked, Silas decided she was too much of a liability and ordered his men to eliminate her.
She begged Ethan for forgiveness, offering to help him infiltrate Silas's high-security gala in exchange for his protection.
Ethan looked at her with pure disgust, refusing to trust a single word that came out of her manipulative mouth.
Maya, however, pragmatically pointed out that Chloe's biometric data was still registered in Silas's guest system, making her the perfect Trojan horse.
Ethan reluctantly agreed to use Chloe as bait, devising a plan where she would distract Silas while Maya hacked the security grid.
They spent the next twelve hours preparing specialized equipment, knowing that this infiltration was a suicide mission if they failed.
As the time approached to leave, Ethan walked into the adjacent tunnel to retrieve their stashed weapons.
He heard a muffled struggle, followed by the sickening thud of a body hitting the concrete.
May you like
Ethan sprinted back into the maintenance room, his heart hammering against his ribs in absolute panic.
Chloe was standing over Maya's unconscious body, holding a heavy steel pipe and smiling maliciously.
