Chapter 13 - The Unlikely AllianceWhen the federal government is weaponized against you, you cannot rely on the law. You must rely on leverage.
I needed physical access to the Apex Logistics servers in the Seaport District to pull the data that would exonerate Jack and destroy Victor Thorne. But the building was a biometric fortress. I couldn't hack it remotely, and I couldn't walk through the front door.
I needed a ghost. I needed someone who had unrestricted, unquestioned physical access to the building's infrastructure.
At 6:00 A.M., I pulled my Range Rover onto a muddy, active construction site on the edge of the city. I stepped out of the car wearing a sharp, tailored black trench coat and designer boots, looking entirely out of place among the scaffolding and heavy machinery.
I walked directly toward the foreman's trailer.
Daniel was standing over a set of blueprints, wearing a hardhat and a faded canvas jacket. When he saw me, he froze, dropping his pen. He knew I never sought him out unless it was an absolute emergency regarding Noah.
"Claire? Is Noah okay?" Daniel asked instantly, his voice laced with genuine panic.
"Noah is safe," I said, stepping into the trailer and closing the door. "But Jack was arrested last night by a corrupt federal task force. He’s being framed by a billionaire named Victor Thorne. If I don't get the evidence to clear his name by tonight, Thorne is going to have him killed in federal lockup."
Daniel stared at me, the sheer magnitude of the situation washing over him. The man who had once lied to protect his own ego was now staring at the woman he had broken, who was fighting to save the man who had replaced him.
"Why are you here, Claire?" Daniel asked softly.
"Because your regional construction non-profit just won the contract to retrofit the HVAC systems for the Apex Logistics high-rise in the Seaport," I stated, pulling a blueprint from my briefcase. "You have physical access to the subterranean server rooms. Your crew is scheduled to run ventilation ducts through the IT department today."
Daniel looked at the blueprints, then up at me. "You want me to sneak you into a highly secure corporate building so you can hack a billionaire’s servers?"
"Yes," I said, my voice leaving no room for debate. "I need to plug a decryption drive directly into their mainframe. It will take exactly three minutes. I wouldn't ask you, Daniel. But Thorne threatened Noah. He threatened our son."
The moment I said the words, Daniel’s posture changed. The guilt and the shame that usually haunted his eyes evaporated, replaced by a fierce, primal, protective fire. He was a flawed man, but he was still a father.
"Get a hardhat," Daniel said, grabbing his keys. "We’re going to the Seaport."
Two hours later, I was dressed in a baggy neon-yellow safety vest, a hardhat pulled low over my face, carrying a clipboard. I walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Daniel and his crew past the heavily armed corporate security desk in the Apex lobby. Daniel smoothly presented the work orders. The guards barely glanced at me, dismissing me as just another city inspector.
We took the service elevator down to the sub-basement.
"The server room is at the end of the hall," Daniel whispered as we stepped out. "You have three minutes before the biometric cameras do a localized sweep. I’ll cut the power to the hallway lights to cover you."
"Thank you, Daniel," I said sincerely.
He nodded, a sad, respectful smile touching his lips. "Go save him, Claire."
I sprinted down the dark hallway, pulling the encrypted bypass drive from my pocket. I reached the glass door of the server room, slapped a localized EMP jammer on the electronic lock, and slipped inside.
The room was freezing, humming with the sound of a hundred massive data servers.
I found the primary terminal, plugged the drive in, and executed the payload. The progress bar flashed onto the screen.
10%... 40%... 80%...
Suddenly, the heavy door behind me swung open.
"Hey! You aren't supposed to be in here!" a massive private security contractor barked, reaching for his radio.
Before he could press the button, a heavy steel wrench connected squarely with the back of his head with a sickening crunch. The guard collapsed to the floor unconscious.
Daniel stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, gripping the wrench. "Hurry!"
100%. DOWNLOAD COMPLETE.
I yanked the drive from the terminal, slipping it into my pocket.
May you like
"I have it," I said, stepping over the guard.
We walked out of the building completely undetected. I had the ledger. I had the proof of Thorne’s terrorism financing. Now, it was time to burn the monster alive.
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