Chapter 28:The Reckoning

The elevator vibrated upward, footfalls of the guards thudding from downstairs. Time was no longer their ally. It was a countdown, and the stakes grew higher by the second. The files they'd downloaded were now secure, but the escape itself was far from assured.

Lina's fingers trembled a little as she held the hard drive. "We've got what we came for. Now, we need to move fast." Her voice was a steady rhythm, concealing the anxiety below.

With every ascending floor, he felt the pressure rise the numbers lit up above him in frantic succession. "We don't have much time. They'll seal off the exits as soon as they realize what we've got."

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. The lobby, once serene and immaculate, had transformed into a restricted military point. Guards strode purposefully across the marble floor, radios popping with urgent instructions.

Wren flicked her gaze around, assessing the situation. "We have two options," he said, dropping his voice. "We can fight our way out, or we can take the underground tunnel. But whichever way, we're going to be outnumbered."

Hassan scanned the room, eyes narrowing. "I say we take the fight to them. We've got the element of surprise.'"

James weighed the options carefully. The road out was a gamble every time. The underground tunnel was their best shot at escaping a firefight, though it also carried risks. But they may be walking into a trap.

"We'll take the tunnel," said James. "Get ready. Stay sharp."

They slipped through the lobby, entering the crowd at the same time the guards' attention was fixated on the hubbub at the rear of the building. They found the entrance to a service door that went into a maintenance corridor. The door was bolted, but already, Wren was getting to work, all that practice of picking security locks paying dividends.

The door snicked open, and the team slipped through, engulfed by the tunnel's darkness.

In the tunnel, the air was cooler, a not unpleasant change from the warmth of the building above. It reeked just slightly of oil and wet concrete.

Lina glanced over at James. "This is it. Once we reach the end of the tunnel, we're golden. But I will need time to decrypt all data of theirs we pulled from their server. It's going to take time before we can do anything.'"

James nodded. "We'll have to keep moving. The Syndicate isn't going to let us rest."

They walked on through the narrow passage, their footsteps echoing in the quiet. Each twist was met with a another wave of tension. At any second, they could be attacked, the Syndicate's operatives watching for them.

Then, as they got closer to the tunnel exit, a quiet click echoed behind them.

The trap had been set.

"Go!" James shouted.

Before they could respond, a tier of automated doors at the entrance of the tunnel slammed shut with an industrial clank. The team was cornered.

"We need to get out now!" Weapons drawn, Sarah growled.

Hassan went to the front, scanning the perimeter. "There's no way out this way. "We're going to have to battle."

James's mind raced. Not after all they had sacrificed and not one person he could lose here. "We fend them off, and we make another exit. Move!"

The team fanned out, going into squad-wide defensive positions when a group of heavily armed Syndicate enforcers poured through the tunnel. They rattled the walls with the thump of their boots, and James could hear the unmistakable sound of automatic weapons being cocked.

A single ward flickered above them as the first wave of guards arrived. They were quick, not especially friendly, and their movements seemed deliberate and frigid. Their every move had been anticipated by the Syndicate.

A shot punctuated the air with a sickening thud. Thus began a brutal battle, one that would challenge their endurance and determination.

James shot first, his bullets rushing through the air with lethal accuracy. Sarah was next to him, sweeping her rifle from side to side through the tunnel in a single motion. Hassan glided like a ghost, shooting enemies with precisión.

But they were too many in number.

For every Syndicate agent they eliminated, two more took their place. The corridor was turning into a bloodbath.

Lina was at the end, trying to decrypt the files she had on her laptop while the storm she created raged on around her. She was a target, naked, but time was not available to assist her.

"Lina, hurry up!" James shouted.

"I'm trying!" the speaker replied, her voice constricted. "The encryption is"

Before she could finish, a blast shook the tunnel.

A wave of heat and sound hit them. The blast threw James to the floor, his ears ringing. Smoke filled the air, and for a moment everything went dark.

When James regained his bearings he could barely see. Blood trickled from his temple, and his vision swam. The team was scattered, prone and inert.

"Sarah? Hassan?" he croaked, propelling himself into an upright position.

There was no response.

Panic clawed at his chest, his heart pounded. He found his feet, his eyes adjusting to the smoke-filled blackness.

And then he saw them.

Sarah was tilted against the wall, her uniform drenched in blood. Hassan was unconscious and barely breathing.

Lina remained at her laptop, the hard drive held firmly in her fingers. But she was pallid, her face pulled with terror.

James rushed to her side. "Lina! We need to go. Now!"

She trembled as she typed in one last command. "Just… a few more seconds…"

And then it was done.

The files were decrypted. In their hands were the Syndicate's plans.

But at what cost?

Footsteps echoed down the tunnel again. The Syndicate had dispatched reinforcements. They weren't out yet.

Understood from the inside that this game we were all playing James could feel it pressing down on him. They had no choice but to flee with whatever intel they could carry. If they lingered too long, they might not escape with their lives.

"We shall move now," James said, determination hardening his voice.

Sarah, Hassan and Lina each nodded weakly but firmly. They knew this was just the start.

The fight against the Syndicate was far from ending. But they had struck first. And with it, they had unlocked the ability to tear apart the very foundation the Syndicate had formed.

Now, all they had to do was survive long enough to use it.