Chapter 9 - The Dead End
The stolen company car coasted silently to a halt, stopping directly in the middle of a heavily rusted railroad crossing.
Evelyn frantically punched the electronic locks and aggressively pulled the door handles, but the security system had completely trapped them inside.
In the distance, the blaring, high-pitched horn of an approaching freight train shattered the quiet, rainy night air.
The bright, blinding headlight of the massive locomotive cut through the darkness, rushing rapidly toward their immobilized vehicle.
Lucas ignored the agonizing pain in his shoulder and kicked violently at the reinforced passenger window with his heavy combat boots.
The glass spiderwebbed extensively but refused to shatter, specifically designed to withstand intense blunt force trauma.
Evelyn reached deeply into the center console, grabbed a heavy emergency flashlight, and smashed it repeatedly against the weakened glass.
The window finally broke inward, showering them in sharp, dangerous fragments just seconds before the train reached the crossing.
They scrambled desperately out of the window, diving face-first into the muddy gravel just as the train obliterated the black car in a spectacular explosion of twisted metal.
They lay quietly in the freezing rain, watching the burning wreckage, realizing that Julian was actively hunting them through the city's vast digital infrastructure.
Lucas stated grimly that their only remaining option was to upload the stolen blueprints directly into the FBI's secure database.
However, the file size was far too massive for a mobile transfer, requiring a direct hardline connection to a major commercial server.
Evelyn realized the only server powerful enough was located in the basement of the Blackwood Tower, which was currently hosting the annual shareholder gala.
They managed to sneak back into the heavily guarded building through the subterranean, flooded maintenance tunnels.
Evelyn successfully infiltrated the main server room, plugging her terminal into the core mainframe and initiating the massive data transfer.
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As the progress bar reached fifty percent, she heard the slow, agonizing sound of a suppressed pistol cocking directly behind her.
She turned around slowly to find Julian standing in the doorway, aiming his weapon perfectly at the center of her chest.
