Part 7
The clock in the main lobby of Whitmore Enterprises showed exactly 11:45 PM.
Outside,
the storm had passed,
leaving the city streets quiet and slick with dark water.
A lone figure approached the side entrance of the building,
his hood pulled low over his face to hide from the security cameras.
It was Daniel.
He had used a stolen keycard from a former security guard,
hoping the system update hadn't revoked its access yet.
He swiped the card against the black scanner,
his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs.
The light on the scanner blinked red once,
then twice,
before unexpectedly turning a solid,
welcoming green.
The heavy glass door unlocked with a soft click.
Daniel let out a gasp of relief,
slipping inside the dark building before the door could swing shut.
He thought he had outsmarted Clara's security updates,
unaware that his entry had just triggered a silent alarm directly on Marcus’s phone.
Upstairs in the penthouse,
Clara sat on her couch,
watching a live video feed on her tablet.
She watched as Daniel crept through the dark corridors,
looking like a common thief in the place where he once held immense power.
"He took the bait,"
Marcus said over the phone line,
his voice tinged with a quiet,
satisfied amusement.
"I left that specific keycard active on purpose."
"I knew he would try to access the physical servers tonight to delete the backup files."
"Let him get to the server room,"
Clara instructed,
her voice cold and steady as she watched him enter the elevator.
"Let him think he is winning for just a few more moments."
"The police are already stationed in the basement,
correct?"
"Yes,"
Marcus confirmed.
"They are waiting for my signal."
"The moment he connects his device to the main server frame,"
"the digital trap will lock,
and it will constitute a federal offense caught on camera."
Daniel exited the elevator on the fourteenth floor,
his boots making no sound on the thick,
plush carpet.
He sprinted down the hallway toward the heavy metal door marked 'Server Room Alpha'.
His hands were shaking as he entered the manual bypass code he had memorized months ago.
The lock clicked,
and he pushed the door open,
stepping into the cool,
air-conditioned room filled with the constant hum of servers.
Rows of blinking green and blue lights illuminated the dark space,
casting eerie shadows on the metal walls.
Daniel rushed to the central console,
pulling a high-capacity flash drive from his pocket.
"Just a few minutes,"
he whispered to himself,
his eyes scanning the interface.
"Just let me wipe the backup logs,"
"and she won't have a case."
He plugged the drive into the main port,
his fingers flying across the keyboard to initiate the deletion script.
But the moment he pressed the enter key,
the entire server room suddenly turned a bright,
strobe-like red.
A loud,
piercing alarm began to echo through the space,
shattering the quiet night.
The monitors around him displayed a single message in massive,
bold letters:
"Unauthorized Access Detected. System Lockdown Initiated."
Daniel screamed in frustration,
trying to yank his flash drive out of the port,
but a mechanical metal cover slid over the console,
trapping his hand and the drive inside.
"No! No! No!"
he shrieked,
pulling desperately against the metal restraint.
The heavy door behind him clicked shut,
the automated bolts sliding into place with absolute finality.
He was locked in.
The main monitor in front of him flickered,
and Clara’s face appeared on the screen,
her expression calm,
detached,
and completely victorious.
"Good evening,
Daniel,"
her recorded voice said,
echoing through the red-lit room.
"Thank you for providing the final piece of evidence we needed."
"Attempted destruction of corporate property during a criminal investigation."
"The police are right outside the door."
"Enjoy your stay."
Daniel fell to his knees,
his trapped hand forcing him into an awkward,
humiliating posture against the console.
May you like
He began to sob,
the sound of his desperation completely swallowed by the roaring of the security alarm.
