Chapter 23 - THE THREE HUNDRED METERSThe descent into the bunker felt like dropping into the center of a subterranean mausoleum. The emergency stairwell was cast in an eerie, pulsing amber glow from backup emergency strips running along the base of the corrugated concrete walls.
At the bottom of the stairwell, we hit the primary security checkpoint—a reinforced glass control booth flanked by a pair of inactive automated sentry mounts.
"They know we're coming," Miller whispered, freezing halfway down the final flight of steps and raising her suppressed submachine gun.
Across the cavernous subterranean corridor, the heavy steel doors leading to the main server core were already sealed tight, their digital status rings pulsing a hostile, burning crimson. A harsh synthetic voice echoed from the overhead intercom speakers:
“Intruders detected in Sector Four. Facility lockdown initiated. Terminal purge in three minutes.”
"They're scrubbing the drives!" my father hissed, breaking into a hard sprint across the polished concrete floor toward the blast doors. "If they wipe those nodes, we lose every financial routing address for the syndicate!"
I slammed my shoulder into the emergency override console beside the sealed doors, ripping the metal service panel away with my bare hands and exposing a tangled nest of fiber-optic cables and high-voltage relays.
"Miller, cover the rear stairwell! Dad, give me the titanium drive!" I barked over the shrieking lockdown klaxons.
My father jammed the titanium drive into the auxiliary data port of the override console while I jammed my combat knife into the main mechanical linkage, using the heavy steel blade as a desperate physical wedge to stop the locking bolts from seating.
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Bullets suddenly ricocheted off the concrete wall behind us in a blinding shower of yellow sparks.
I spun around, leveling my carbine down the long, echoing corridor as three heavily armored private security contractors rounded the corner, their visors down and automatic rifles blazing.
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