Chapter 13 - Into the AbyssWearing heavy oxygen masks and tactical gear, Ethan and Clara descended into the dark, flooded abyss beneath Sterling Tower. The air down on Sub-Level 4 was toxic, smelling of burnt copper, ozone, and stagnant water.

The red emergency lights flickered rhythmically, casting haunting shadows along the metallic walls. Water sloshed around their knees as they waded through the flooded corridor toward the central mainframe room.

"Timer is down to fifteen minutes," Marcus warned over their comms system from the war room above. "Ethan, Clara... if you don't abort the wipe in fifteen minutes, the entire power grid on Sub-Level 4 will short-circuit and explode."

"Understood," Ethan called out through his rebreather mask.

They reached the reinforced double doors of the server room. Ethan used a hydraulic spreader tool to force the warped metal doors open. Inside, thousands of server racks hummed loudly, glowing with bright red warning lights as the Phoenix Protocol executed line after line of destructive code.

In the center of the room stood the main terminal console.

Ethan jumped onto the platform, wiping water off the touch monitor. "It's asking for dual-biometric authorization. Clara, give me your hand."

Clara placed her hand on the scanner while Ethan placed his on the adjacent panel.

BIOMETRIC MATCH CONFIRMED, the computer voice chimed. ENTER MASTER OVERRIDE CODE.

Clara quickly typed in a 32-character alphanumeric code her father had passed down through the family trust.

The screen flashed green: OVERRIDE PENDING. INSERT PHYSICAL ABORT KEY.

Ethan reached into his pocket for the micro-key. But suddenly, the lights in the server room completely cut out, plunging them into pitch blackness.

A mechanical footstep sounded from the far side of the room.

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Ethan flashed his tactical flashlight forward. Standing on the upper catwalk above the flooding servers was Eleanor Sterling—her expensive clothes tattered, her hair wild, holding a detonator in her hand.