Chapter 9 - The Final Ultimatum
"Command recognized," the mechanized AI voice boomed through the silent room.
Instantly, the ceiling vents slammed open, and massive gusts of fresh, cool oxygen flooded the lobby.
Julian took a huge, desperate breath, filling his starving lungs with life-saving air.
Evelyn glared down at him, realizing he had just tricked her into wasting time.
"You are a very stubborn man," Evelyn said, aiming her pistol directly at Julian's head.
"I don't need you alive to steal the servers; I just need your severed thumb for the scanners."
Before she could pull the trigger, the entire balcony beneath her feet violently shook.
Protocol Icarus was not just an environmental override.
It was the building's ultimate defensive failsafe.
Thick, transparent blast shields aggressively shot up from the floorboards of the balcony.
The thick glass formed a perfect, impenetrable cube around Evelyn and Vance, trapping them instantly.
Evelyn fired three shots at the glass, but the bullets flattened completely upon impact.
She was locked in an unbreakable cage, holding a bomb detonator she could never let go of.
The countdown clock paused automatically at exactly ten seconds.
Julian slowly stood up, dusting off his gray jacket as he walked toward the balcony stairs.
He climbed the steps and stood just inches away from the glass cage.
"The glass is lined with microscopic signal jammers," Julian explained to the trapped assassins.
"That detonator in your hand is completely useless now."
Vance pounded his fists against the glass, screaming in frustrated agony.
Evelyn simply stared at Julian, her cold composure finally breaking into genuine panic.
"You cannot keep us in here forever," Evelyn threatened, her voice barely audible through the thick glass.
"My employers will tear this city apart to find me."
Julian offered her a polite, almost pitying smile.
"I don't plan on keeping you here forever," Julian replied calmly.
"The police have already breached the perimeter and are waiting in the basement."
Julian turned his back on the cage and began walking down the stairs to check on the innocent guests.
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As he reached the bottom step, Ryan the security guard slowly groaned and sat up.
Julian helped the massive man to his feet just as the heavy steel shutters on the doors began to rise.
