Not now, Jen.
A slow warmth spread through her chest as she forced her attention back to the console.
Millions of lives were on the line.
Clamps two and three were secure. Three and four were loading.
The screen flashed.
ERROR: REMOTE OVERRIDE DETECTED
CLAMP RELEASE—OVERRIDE PENDING
Her stomach dropped.
No.
No, no?—
She pulled up the diagnostic tree. System logs scrolled fast—external access attempts, privilege escalation requests, a remote terminal pushing against her commands.
The terrorists were in the system again, and they were fighting her.
“Wyatt.” Her voice came out tight.
He was beside her in seconds, Caro close behind. “What is it?”
“They’ve gained access.” She pointed at the screen. “I don’t know how—but they’re actively trying to override the clamp lockdowns.”
Wyatt scanned the display, absorbing fast. “Can they?”
“Eventually.” She dragged in a breath, rolled her shoulders. “If they reboot the grid and reset the system to factory defaults?—”
She swore under her breath, arms locked on the console, her head hanging.I should have seen this coming.“Yes.” She raised her face to meet his eyes. “And judging by how clean this access is, they know exactly what they’re doing.”
Caro leaned in, eyes wide. “So… we’re not stopping them.”
Jen didn’t look away from the screen. “We’re slowing them down.”
As if to underline it, pressure readings spiked—hydraulics straining as the system tried to reconcile conflicting commands.
And beneath it all, another sound emerged.
Metal grinding against metal.
Wyatt moved to the bay doors, palm flattening against the steel. He listened for a beat. “Plasma cutter. Top hinge. Working their way down.”
An icy shiver crawled up her spine. “How long?”
“They’re not rushing.” He stepped back, already scanning the bay with that quiet predatory focus she’d stopped pretending she didn’t notice. “They know we’re trapped. They’re being methodical.”
He dragged a steel equipment cart in front of the bay doors without a word. Then he shifted position. It wasn’t random. He’d placed himself where he could see the entrance and reach both her and Caro in seconds.
“How long, Wyatt?”
His gaze met hers. “Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty.”
Less time than she needed to complete the lockdown and less than it would take them to undo it, anyway.
