The metallic door groaned under their combined weight, sweat trickling down their foreheads. The muffled pounding footsteps grew nearer — a relentless storm crashing toward them.
"Almost there!" Lyra's fingers flew across the keyboard, the progress bar inching toward completion.
Alex gritted his teeth, bracing against the closing door. "Come on, come on…"
Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind the group — a bulky figure with a baton raised high.
"Get them!" the voice barked.
Brad shoved Alex hard. "Go! We'll hold them off!"
"No way!" Alex protested.
"Do it!" Brad snapped, eyes blazing. "We don't have a choice."
With a reluctant nod, Alex darted through the narrowing gap, clutching the hard drive. Outside, the cold night air bit into his skin as he sprinted into the dark alleyway.
Behind him, the sounds of scuffling and curses filled the bunker.
Brad and Gaurav turned to face the intruders, weapons improvised — a pipe, a chair leg.
"Stay sharp!" Brad hissed.
Lyra pulled a small pistol from her coat, leveling it with practiced calm. "Let's make this count."
Inside the bunker, fists collided with flesh and bone. The intruders were trained, but Brad and Gaurav fought like cornered wolves.
Outside, Alex's lungs burned, but adrenaline pushed him forward. He glanced back once — the bunker's lights flickered, then went dark.
He clenched the hard drive tighter.
"We're not done yet," he whispered.
—
Back at Gaurav's apartment, the blinking message still glowed ominously on his screen:
FROM: Ashok.Verma@gov-secure.inSUBJECT: Stay away from the Mars Project.MESSAGE: You've been warned once.
Gaurav stared at it a long moment, then slammed the laptop shut.
This wasn't just a warning — it was a declaration of war.
And he was already in the fight.