Chapter 15: The Wire
The drive back into Oak Creek was a nerve-wracking game of cat and mouse. Julian kept the catering van off the main highways, navigating the labyrinth of back logging roads and residential alleys. The town felt like a war zone; police cruisers prowled the streets with their spotlights sweeping the storefronts.
They parked in the alley behind Pendelton & Associates Architecture, a sleek, modern glass building that stood in stark contrast to the historic brick of Main Street.
"The alley is clear," Julian whispered, unlocking the back door with his key fob. "Hurry."
They slipped into the dark, quiet office. The glow of the streetlights outside cast long shadows across the drafting tables and rolled-up blueprints. Julian led them straight to the server room in the center of the floor, a glass-walled box humming with heavy-duty cooling fans.
Arthur set the laptop down, connecting it via an ethernet cable directly to the firm’s main fiber-optic switch. He booted it up, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
"Decryption resuming," Arthur announced, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. "Ninety percent. Ninety-five."
Clara stood guard by the front windows, peering through the vertical blinds. Her heart leaped into her throat. "Julian," she warned, her voice tight.
Two Oak Creek sheriff's cruisers had just pulled to a screeching halt directly in front of the building. Their light bars bathed the office in aggressive flashes of red and blue.
"They tracked the van," Julian realized, pulling Clara away from the window.
The heavy glass doors at the front of the lobby rattled violently. Through the glass, Clara could see Sheriff Brody himself, a tactical shotgun resting against his hip. He lifted a heavy steel breaching ram and slammed it into the reinforced glass. A spiderweb of cracks exploded across the door.
"Upload it, Arthur!" Julian yelled over the sound of breaking glass.
"Decryption complete!" Arthur shouted back, furiously hitting the final keystrokes. "Targeting the DOJ secure server... initiating file transfer."
A massive green progress bar appeared on the laptop screen.
10%... 25%...
CRASH. The front doors gave way entirely, shattering into thousands of pieces across the lobby floor. Brody stepped over the threshold, followed by three deputies with their weapons drawn.
"Spread out!" Brody barked, his voice echoing through the open-plan office. "If they run, take them down."
40%... 55%...
"They're coming," Clara whispered, grabbing a heavy metal T-square from a nearby drafting table. It was a pathetic weapon against firearms, but she wasn't going down without a fight.
"Stay behind the server racks," Julian instructed, pushing her gently behind the thick steel towers of his firm's mainframes.
75%... 85%...
Brody rounded the corner, his shotgun raised. He locked eyes with Arthur through the glass wall of the server room. The sheriff’s face twisted into an ugly, desperate sneer.
"Step away from the keyboard, Arthur!" Brody yelled, racking the shotgun with a terrifying, metallic clack. "It's over!"
Arthur didn't flinch. He stood tall, staring down the barrel of the gun, and looked back at the screen.
99%... 100%.
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Transfer Complete.
Arthur hit the enter key one last time, instantly wiping the local drive, then looked up at Brody with a cold, triumphant smile. "You're right, Brody. It is over."
