They moved deeper into the old operations wing, the corridors a maze of broken tiles and rusted pipes. Each step echoed like a drumbeat in Ava's skull, punctuated by distant alarms that pulsed red through the darkness. Her blade felt heavier in her hand, slick with the blood of the guards they had already cut down.
Iris moved ahead, swift and silent, checking every corner. Jonas stayed close behind me, breath ragged, clutching a makeshift bandage over the graze wound he'd picked up in the last firefight. His eyes darted around, haunted.
Suddenly, a metallic clang rang out behind them. Ava spun, rifle raised, breath hitching. Shadows shifted, then fell still again. Her heart thundered.
"Iris," she whispered into the comm, "report."
"Clear," came her hushed reply, though the strain in her voice told me she was lying.
They crept forward, passing broken security cameras sparking against the walls. Somewhere above them, machinery groaned to life, shaking the floor under their boots.
Jonas tapped Ava shoulder, pointing to an old map on the wall, faded with age. "This way," he mouthed, leading us toward the Data Core.
At the steel door, Jonas worked quickly, hacking through ancient protocols while Ava watched his back. Iris breathed hard beside her, every muscle in her body coiled tight, eyes flicking toward every sound.
When the door clicked open, a blast of cold air met them. The room beyond glowed with pale green light, server stacks humming like an electronic hive.
Iris shut the door behind them, sliding a metal bar into place. Jonas fell into the chair, fingers flying across the console.
"Hurry," Ava whispered, peering through the glass pane into the hall. "They'll find us soon."
Jonas grimaced, sweat pouring down his temple. "Almost… there… damn it, come on…"
Iris paced behind them, her knife dripping fresh blood. "We should have killed them all," she hissed. "No survivors."
Ava looked back at Iris, trying to steady her breathing. "We're not done yet."
Suddenly, a loudspeaker crackled overhead: "INTRUDERS DETECTED. CONTAINMENT LOCKDOWN INITIATED."
Heavy clunks echoed outside as steel doors slammed into place. Iris slammed her fist into the wall, cursing under her breath.
"Jonas," Ava snarled. "Get us that data. NOW."
The screens flickered, scrolling thousands of files ,lists of names, dates, locations. Jonas jammed a hard drive into the console, copying everything as fast as the ancient system would allow.
Bullets hammered into the door, sparking off the frame. Iris roared, raising her blade as Ava threw myself against the console, yanking Jonas back.
"Download complete!" he shouted.
"Move!" Ava screamed, shoving the hard drive into her pocket.
The door burst open, gunfire filling the room with smoke and fire. Ava fired back, her stolen rifle rattling in her hands as shells clattered to the floor. Iris lunged, cutting down the first soldier through the door, but another slammed her into the wall, pinning her.
Ava fired again, blood spraying across the server stacks, sparks raining from the ceiling. Jonas screamed, dragging Iris away as Ava covered them.
They tore out of the room, alarms blaring, lights flickering overhead. Blood smeared the floor beneath our boots. But they had the Circle's secrets now and they would drown them in their own lies.