Chapter 58 - The General's Trap
The subterranean vault was bathed in a sterile, white emergency light. Rows of secure data terminals hummed quietly against the granite walls, completely untouched by the carnage raging above.
Elena rushed to the main console, her fingers flying across the keys to initiate the master system purge. "If I lock the vault down from this terminal, the entire sub-level goes into complete electronic isolation. Not even a military-grade EMP can breach these walls."
"Do it," I said, standing guard at the heavy steel vault door with my carbine leveled at the descending staircase.
Footsteps thundered down the concrete steps—heavy, reckless, and aggressive. A flashbang grenade clattered around the corner, bouncing across the polished floor.
"Flashbang!" I yelled, spinning away and slamming my eyes shut just as the magnesium charge detonated with a blinding white flash and a concussive boom that rattled my teeth.
Before my vision fully cleared, a cold, heavy barrel was pressed hard against the side of my helmet.
"Drop the carbine, Commander," a deep, gravelly voice commanded in accented English. "Or the woman watches you die first."
I slowly lowered the weapon, letting it clatter against the concrete floor. Standing before me was a towering man in worn Russian special forces fatigues, his face scarred by old shrapnel wounds and his eyes burning with fanatical coldness. General Viktor Krovos.
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"You're late, General," I said, keeping my voice steady, masking the pain ringing in my ears from the flashbang.
Krovos let out a harsh, humorless laugh, pressing the pistol harder against my temple. "And you, Commander, are remarkably stubborn. You destroy a ship, you burn a network, and yet you walk right back into the lion's den. Where is the core decryption key?"
