The Fears Of A Billionaire

Chapter 83: Countdown to Chaos

The hum of the servers around them felt like a ticking clock, counting down to the moment everything would explode. Dominic's heart raced as the heavy footsteps of the guards approached, echoing through the cold, metallic halls of The Nexus.

Alyssa pressed her back against the wall, eyes scanning the doorway. "How many?"

Marcus checked the hallway again, his voice low. "Too many."

Dominic clenched his jaw, glancing at Laura as her fingers danced across the keyboard. "How long?"

"Not long enough," Laura muttered, her face pale under the dim glow of the screen. "Two more minutes, maybe three. The data is massive. But the security system's still working overtime to push me out."

"Then we hold them off," Dominic said, his voice cold with determination.

The footsteps grew louder, and the first guard stepped into the room. His eyes widened at the sight of Dominic and the others, but before he could raise his weapon, Alyssa had already moved. She dashed forward, delivering a swift strike to his throat, sending him crumpling to the floor without a sound.

But more were coming.

"Get ready!" Marcus called out, pulling the pin from an EMP grenade and tossing it down the hallway. The grenade exploded in a silent flash of light, short-circuiting the guards' high-tech visors and communications. For a few precious seconds, chaos ensued among the reinforcements as they struggled to regain their bearings.

Alyssa and Marcus sprang into action, moving like shadows through the disoriented guards. Their movements were fluid, calculated, each strike precise. In the confined space, their training gave them an edge, but it wouldn't last forever. The guards would regroup, and when they did, it would be brutal.

Dominic kept his eyes on the hallway, making sure no one else was coming in, while Laura worked as fast as she could at the console.

"I need a little more time!" Laura said, panic creeping into her voice.

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Eleanor's voice crackled through the comms. "I see movement outside the facility. Reinforcements are inbound dozens of them. We need to move soon, or we're trapped."

Dominic's blood ran cold. They had minutes, maybe seconds, before it all collapsed. "Alyssa! Marcus! Fall back! We're getting out of here!"

Marcus looked back, wiping sweat from his brow. "Laura's still downloading! We need to hold them a bit longer."

Another wave of guards surged into the room, and this time, they weren't disoriented. Automatic gunfire erupted from the hallway, forcing Dominic and the others to take cover behind the server racks.

Dominic cursed, looking to Laura. "Can you speed it up?"

"I'm trying!" she shouted, her hands flying over the keys. "If I rush it, we'll lose half the data!"

The gunfire intensified, bullets ricocheting off the metal walls and racks. Alyssa returned fire, taking down one guard, but more replaced him almost immediately. The guards were well-trained, moving in tight formation, pinning them down from every angle.

Marcus, crouched behind a server, wiped sweat from his brow. "We can't hold them much longer!"

Dominic's mind raced. They couldn't afford to leave without the data, but staying any longer meant certain death. He glanced at Alyssa, who nodded grimly. They had to make a choice.

Suddenly, Laura's voice broke through the chaos. "Got it! The data's downloaded!"

Relief flooded through Dominic, but it was short-lived. More footsteps thundered from the hallway, and this time, the sound was accompanied by the unmistakable whine of a heavy-duty drone a killing machine designed to clear entire rooms.

"We're out of time!" Alyssa shouted, grabbing her gear.

"Go! Now!" Dominic barked, tossing a smoke grenade to cover their retreat.

They moved as one, sprinting toward the elevator, their path obscured by a thick cloud of smoke. The drone's sensors whirred, but the smoke delayed its targeting system just long enough for them to slip through the door. Dominic slammed the button to send them back up to the surface, his heart pounding in his chest.

As the elevator doors slid shut, Dominic caught a glimpse of the drone bursting through the smoke, its deadly weapons primed to fire. The doors closed just in time, and the elevator shot upward.

Everyone was breathing hard, the tension still crackling in the air. Marcus leaned against the wall, his gun still clenched in his hand. "That was way too close."

Alyssa shook her head, wiping the sweat from her brow. "It's not over yet. The moment we hit the surface, they'll be waiting."

Dominic's mind raced. Their only chance was to evade the reinforcements and get out of the facility. They couldn't fight their way through an army. But they had something those reinforcements didn't the data. And with it, they could finally expose The Unseen Hand.

When the elevator reached the surface, the doors opened, revealing a flood of sunlight. The facility was quiet, but Dominic knew better than to trust the silence. Their escape vehicle was waiting nearby a sleek, black helicopter.

"Move!" Dominic ordered, leading the charge out of the building.

As they sprinted toward the helicopter, the ground around them exploded in gunfire. Enemy soldiers appeared from all sides, laying down suppressive fire.

Marcus fired back, dropping to one knee as he provided cover. "Go, go, go!"

Alyssa grabbed Laura by the arm, pulling her toward the chopper as bullets whizzed by. The noise was deafening, but Dominic could hear the dull thud of reinforcements moving in, their footsteps shaking the ground beneath him.

They reached the helicopter, and Marcus was the last one in, firing until the very last second before diving into the cockpit. "Let's get out of here!"

The rotors spun to life, and the helicopter lifted off the ground just as the enemy forces closed in. Dominic looked down at the facility shrinking beneath them. They had the data, but they had made a lot of enemies in the process.

As they flew into the distance, Eleanor's voice came over the comms again, a note of relief in her tone. "You did it. You're clear."

Dominic leaned back in his seat, breathing heavily. "Yeah. But now the hard part begins."

Alyssa looked at him, her expression unreadable. "Now we expose them."

Dominic nodded. They had the evidence. The world was about to change forever.

And The Unseen Hand would soon be visible for all to see.