Chapter 47
“I’ve created a clone of Sentinel’s AI in a sandboxed, air-gapped environment for testing,” Adam said.
“I’ve run the worm several times. It works.
But the clone is not quite the same. It hasn’t been running long enough to evolve like Sentinel has.
There’s a chance the worm might not work in a live environment, and we only have one shot at this. It’s not perfect yet.”
“It’s now or never,” I said. “Perfect is the enemy of progress.”
Adam frowned and contemplated it.
I pointed to the screen. “You see those helicopters? They’re not coming here for good conversation.”
With a reluctant sigh, Adam tapped a few keys, then uploaded the worm. A progress bar appeared, and it zipped across the screen.
Upload complete.
Adam took a deep breath and leaned back. “I guess, now we wait."
We watched the screen as the black helicopters approached and circled the bunker. With FLIR cameras, they could spot the thermal signature of the underground shelter. With the AC blasting, it was a lot cooler than the surrounding desert.
I grimaced when I realized how they found us. "The truck. There's a tracker on the truck. They followed us here.”
Once they found the truck, it wouldn't be hard to spot us on infrared.
The helicopters landed, kicking up dust. A squad of goons deployed from each craft, wearing desert camo, shouldering M4 automatic rifles. These guys were well-funded private contractors. It didn't take them long to find the camouflaged main entrance to the bunker.
The locked heavy metal hatch gave them a hard time. After a few minutes of fiddling with it, they broke out the C4. Once they rigged it up, the squad cleared the area.
"Fire in the hole!" one of them shouted when they were all a safe distance.
KABOOM!
The explosion rocked the bunker.
When the smoke cleared, bits of the hatch lay shredded in the desert. The goons cleared the debris out of the way, then filed down the steps to the steel blast door.
My phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number. I was surprised I got reception through the thick concrete. I answered, knowing who it was.
Scott's voice filtered through the speaker. "You've become quite the nuisance. You killed two of my best men.”
“If those were your best men, you’re in trouble.”
Scott laughed. "You're the one who's in trouble.
You're surrounded by a superior force. It's only a matter of time before we get through that door.
I can assure you, once we do, it won't end well for anyone inside.
I'm sure you're smart enough to see that.
I think you might be smart enough to negotiate.
I would like to offer you a deal. I want that hardware security module.
I'm willing to pay handsomely to get it. I want you to eliminate Brooke and Adam. Acquire the HSM and come out of the bunker.” It was clear Scott only knew about one key.
“I will assure you safe passage, and $1 billion. That's not a small number. On a Florida cop’s salary, I think that would be an opportunity too good to pass up.”
It was a lot of money, no doubt.
I laughed. “Now might be a good time to tell you I volunteer for the county. I don’t need your money. You want the HSM? Come and take it,” I dared.
“As you wish.”
I ended the call and said to Adam, “Tell me the worm worked.”
Panic filled his eyes.
CLANK!
CLANK!
CLANK!
The goons hammered at the steel with a ram. It wasn’t going to do squat against the vault door.
They figured that out pretty quickly and started rigging it with C4 and blasting caps.
“I told you,” Adam said. “It wasn’t ready.” His frantic fingers raced across the keys. Then he grumbled a few obscenities and smashed his fists against the desk.
The keyboard bounced.
Adam closed his eyes and exhaled a frustrated breath, trying to calm himself down. "The system patched the vulnerabilities the worm was designed to exploit. It disabled the worm. Now it’s learned from that attack, and any further exploits will be impossible. We’re dead in the water."
My jaw tightened. "There has to be something you can do."
I kept an eye on the monitor as the goons prepared to blow the blast door. It wouldn't be long now.
"We should move to a more secure location," I said.
"This is about as secure as it gets," Adam said.
I ushered Brooke down the hallway to the far end of the bunker. We stepped into one of the rooms. Adam grabbed his laptop and joined us.
Jack stepped into the room across the hall from us and hovered in the doorframe. We readied our weapons and prepared for the blast.
A microphone outside the bunker captured the audio. It played through the speakers on the security system.
"You better come up with a solution, fast," I told Adam.
“You know, I was working on one until you showed up and rushed the process,” he snapped.
"Can you control the drone swarm from this location?”
"As far as the system is concerned, it thinks I am on an authorized terminal at Meridian. I can input specific targets with my authentication code.”
"So you can target any location in the world?"
He nodded. It only took him a few seconds to catch on.
“You want me to target the bunker.”
"The directed energy weapon will vaporize anything in the area, yes?"
He nodded. After a moment’s hesitation, his fingers blazed across the keyboard.
"Fire in the hole," one of the goons outside shouted.
We plugged our ears and took cover.
KABOOM!
The blast rumbled the bunker, slicing through the locking pins, blowing the door clean off. It thundered to the ground with a clank. The overpressure in the bunker from the blast was enough to make your ears bleed. Debris showered in all directions, and a thick haze filled the air.
JD and I angled our weapons down the hallway and opened fire. Muzzle flash flickered, and bullets spewed into the mist.
Visibility was zero.
I put as many bullets downrange as I could.
A flurry of molten copper came back at me, rocketing down the corridor.
I ducked for cover, and so did JD.
The clatter of gunfire was deafening. Bullets bounced off the concrete walls.
Then came the flash bang grenades. They bounced and clanked down the hallway.
I closed my eyes and plugged my ears again and told everyone to do the same.
BANG!
BANG!
The tangy scent of combat filled the air. I angled my rifle around the corner again and opened fire. Brass shell casings ejected from the port and danced on the concrete.
I emptied the magazine.
Jack took over while I hit the mag release button, dropped the magazine out, and jammed another one in. I slapped the bolt catch, then fired at the goon squad. The rifle hammered my shoulder.
The air was still thick with haze.
This was my last magazine, then the show would be over.
"Targeting sequence complete,” Adam shouted over the gunfire. “Hang on. This could be a doozy."
I hoped we’d be safe in the bunker, but there was no guarantee.