The hum of the terminal filled the silence in the dimly lit room. Reyes's fingers flew over the keyboard, his face a mix of determination and exhaustion. Grimm stood at his side, arms crossed, watching the numbers and lines of data scroll across the screen. Each one felt like a tick closer to the truth, but the weight of it all pressed heavier on him with every passing second.
"Come on, Reyes," Grimm muttered, his patience thinning. "We need to move. Kessler's not going to wait forever."
Reyes glanced up briefly, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "I'm aware, Captain. But we're not talking about just some encrypted files here. Kessler built this network with layers upon layers of security. If we're going to expose him, we need to do this right."
Tanya leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest. "How much time do we have before Kessler sends his people after us?"
"Not much," Bull growled from the far corner of the room. "We're sitting ducks in here. The second we pop up on any radar, they'll be here in seconds."
Grimm nodded, his mind racing. The trap was closing in. Kessler knew they had his data, and it was only a matter of time before he sent everything he had at them. But what they'd uncovered—this global network—could cripple everything Kessler had built, if they could get it into the right hands.
"We don't have the luxury of time," Grimm said, his voice firm. "We need to move. Reyes, you're sure you can get this to the right channels?"
Reyes didn't hesitate. "I can encrypt it and send it out to a few trusted contacts. They'll be able to push it to the right people. But Kessler's not an idiot. He'll know we're trying to expose him the second we send this."
Grimm's jaw tightened. "Then we make sure they don't trace it back to us. We're ghosts again."
Tanya's lips curved into a slight smile, though it didn't reach her eyes. "What else is new?"
Grimm exchanged a brief look with her. She was a master at moving in the shadows—probably one of the few people Kessler couldn't predict. But this wasn't just about staying hidden; it was about getting the data into the hands of the right people before it all came crashing down.
The tension in the room was palpable as Reyes continued his work, typing rapidly and muttering under his breath. "Got it. The transmission is encrypted, masked, and heading to the right contacts. It's a one-way trip, though. If Kessler catches onto this, he'll scramble every network to track us down."
Grimm gave a curt nod. "Good. Get it out."
As Reyes hit the final command, the terminal's screen flickered briefly. The data transfer had begun.
"Now we wait," Reyes said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes.
"We don't have time to wait," Grimm replied. "We need to move. Kessler's people could be on us right now."
Without missing a beat, Bull grabbed his gear and strapped it into place. "Let's move, then. I'm not about to let those bastards catch us off guard."
Tanya was already checking her sniper rifle, making sure every piece of gear was secure. "Agreed. But we'll need an extraction point. The second we're out in the open, we're sitting ducks."
Grimm's mind worked rapidly. They couldn't risk going back to their old routes. They'd be too predictable. No, they needed somewhere isolated, somewhere Kessler's forces wouldn't expect.
"There's an old military outpost a few clicks from here," Grimm said, already plotting the route in his head. "It's off-grid, abandoned. No comms, no surveillance. We can hunker down there until we get picked up."
Reyes, still staring at the terminal, didn't look up. "And if Kessler's men are already there waiting for us?"
"Then we fight our way through," Grimm answered coldly.
Reyes finally turned, his eyes narrowing. "You're really willing to walk right into the fire just to get away?"
Grimm's gaze was sharp. "You don't get it, Reyes. Kessler has to be stopped. We don't just get to run anymore. We've come this far."
Tanya pushed off from the wall, her voice steady but hard. "Grimm's right. We're all in. No turning back now."
There was no further debate. The decision was made.
Grimm signaled for the team to move, and they gathered their gear quickly, checking their weapons one last time before heading for the exit.
The rain had stopped outside, leaving behind a thick fog that clung to the streets. The city felt like a ghost town, empty and abandoned—just the way they needed it to be. They moved silently, keeping to the shadows, avoiding the main roads and sticking to alleyways and backstreets.
They were halfway to their extraction point when Reyes's voice came over the comms, tight with tension. "Grimm, we've got a problem."
"What is it?" Grimm's voice was low, his senses alert.
"I'm seeing something on the satellite feed. It's Kessler's people—they're closing in on us."
Grimm's stomach dropped. He had expected this, but that didn't make it any easier to swallow. "How much time?"
"Not much," Reyes replied, his voice grim. "Maybe twenty minutes before they have us surrounded."
Grimm's pulse quickened. They needed to move faster.
"Push forward!" he barked. "Keep low and stay quiet. We don't have time for mistakes."
As they continued toward the outpost, Grimm's mind raced. Kessler was coming for them—he knew it, and now the clock was ticking faster than ever.
They could feel the walls closing in.