Ashes of Our Flame
Episode 17: "The Tower Heist"
Rain fell hard over the city, turning the streets into mirrors of chaos. Vale Tower loomed ahead, tall, cold, and wrapped in shadow. It wasn't just a building—it was a fortress. A symbol of power. Of everything that had gone wrong in Nova's life.
"Third floor parking garage," Tessa whispered through Nova's earpiece. "Cameras looped for ten minutes. You're go."
Nova slipped from the back of the van, dressed in black. Adrian followed behind her, eyes scanning the perimeter. Ronan brought up the rear, his pistol drawn and nerves tight.
"Ten minutes," he muttered. "Let's not turn this into a suicide pact."
They entered the garage undetected, thanks to Tessa's override of the tower's external surveillance.
"I've infiltrated the mainframe," Tessa said. "But I still can't unlock the lower-level vault from here. You'll need to manually breach it."
"Which means?" Adrian asked.
"Descend to Sublevel Five. Cut power to the southern grid. That'll force the vault open. But once you do—"
"Every alarm in the city goes off," Nova finished.
Tessa's voice dipped lower. "And then you run."
---
The team moved like shadows, darting past silent hallways and patrolling guards. Adrian guided them using his knowledge of the tower's architecture—secret stairwells, maintenance shafts, and bypasses built into the skeleton of the building.
Nova kept close to him, heart pounding.
Every step took her deeper into the lair of the man who ruined her life.
"Stop," Ronan whispered, holding up a fist.
Two guards passed by the hallway, chatting casually.
"…heard the bounty went up," one said. "They really want this girl."
"Vale wants her head on a pike."
Nova clenched her fists.
Adrian gently tugged her back. "Not yet. Not here."
---
They reached Sublevel Five after thirty-two minutes of silent movement.
The door was heavy steel, keycard locked, biometric sealed.
Nova stepped up with her father's journal and the flash drive Tessa prepped.
"This should override the fail-safe," she whispered.
She slid the flash into the access port, then typed a sequence from the journal.
Lights flickered.
Beep. Beep. Beep—
Click.
The vault unlocked.
Adrian pulled the door open.
Inside was a black chamber lit by a single blue light overhead.
And there it was.
Project Ashfall.
A mainframe surrounded by hard drives, tapes, and sealed folders stamped CLASSIFIED.
Ronan closed the door behind them. "You've got five minutes. After that, I'm detonating the security feed."
Nova rushed to the mainframe, fingers flying across the keyboard.
"What is this place?" Adrian muttered.
Nova's voice cracked with disbelief. "This isn't just data. It's a blueprint… for a silent coup."
She pulled up files—video recordings, transaction histories, phone taps.
Her father. His team. All framed.
Tessa's voice buzzed in. "Nova, someone else just accessed the server. You've triggered a ghost protocol—someone's watching."
Nova's hands froze.
And then the mainframe spoke:
> "Welcome back… Kara Voss."
Adrian stepped forward. "What the hell?"
Nova's breath caught. "This system recognizes me."
"Which means it was programmed by someone who knew you'd return," Ronan said.
Suddenly—static exploded in their earpieces.
Tessa screamed.
"Tessa?!"
Nothing.
Then a gunshot.
Then silence.
Nova's eyes went wide. "They found her."
Adrian clenched his fists. "We have to go."
Nova looked at the screen. One last folder blinked.
> "Truth.avi"
She downloaded it to her flash drive, ripped it out, and turned.
"Let's move."
---
They exited into chaos.
Guards filled the upper levels. The alarms had been triggered prematurely.
Adrian grabbed Nova's hand. "This way!"
They sprinted through the emergency stairwell, gunfire echoing as Ronan returned fire.
"Third floor exit," he shouted. "Tessa's last ping was two blocks east."
They burst onto the garage, hearts thundering.
But it was too late.
Their van was in flames.
Smoke curled up into the night sky.
Nova screamed, "TESSA!"
A voice behind her replied:
"She's alive. For now."
They turned.
Talon.
Gun in hand. Smirk cruel.
"I always told Marcus you had a soft spot, Adrian. Turns out, he was right."
Adrian stepped forward, eyes blazing. "Let her go."
Talon tilted his head. "You really don't understand, do you? This isn't about her. It's about the legacy. You either fall in line… or fall in a grave."
Nova raised her weapon.
But Talon was faster.
BANG.
Ronan tackled them just in time. The bullet grazed Nova's shoulder.
Adrian fired twice—Talon ducked behind a pillar.
Nova screamed, blood soaking her sleeve.
"We have to move!" Ronan barked.
They fled into the back exit as reinforcements poured into the garage.
---
They regrouped in a sewer tunnel a mile away.
Nova slumped against the wall, breathing hard.
"I saw him," she whispered. "I saw Talon take her."
Adrian checked her wound. "You'll be okay. Just a graze."
"I should've stayed. Fought."
Ronan paced. "You would've died. And we'd have nothing."
Nova reached into her coat.
Pulled out the flash drive.
"We have this."
Adrian stared at it.
"The truth," she said. "Whatever's on here… it's our only leverage."
---
Later that night, they huddled in a tiny room above an abandoned bakery.
Nova pressed play on the video.
Her father's voice crackled through the static.
> "If you're watching this, Kara, then I'm gone. And you've found the truth."
He appeared onscreen—older, tired, but defiant.
> "They'll paint me a traitor. They already have. But I never betrayed this city. I tried to save it. Marcus Vale… he sold everything. Souls. Secrets. Children. All for power."
Nova's eyes burned.
> "The Vale Empire isn't just a crime syndicate. It's a machine. Connected to foreign interests, trafficking networks, assassination plots. And Ashfall? It was the cover-up."
He paused.
> "You were never supposed to come back. But I knew you would. You were always stronger than me."
Adrian reached out, gripped Nova's hand.
> "There's a key. Hidden in the place your mother loved most. Use it. Burn it all down."
The video ended.
Silence fell.
Nova looked at Adrian.
"We have to go back."
He nodded. "Where?"
"To the garden," she sa
id, her voice trembling. "The one where she planted the white lilies."
Ronan sighed. "And after that?"
Nova's eyes lit with a storm.
"We bring this city to its knees."
---
To be continued in Episode 18…
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