Page 82 of Peak’s Code

Maeve followed his finger to three red moving dots. “Mercenaries."

Peak nodded. "Eight-man patrol."

"They're heading toward us,” Maeve breathed.

Warden smiled. "Finally, I get to crush some skulls.”

Peak ignored him. "They’re in the second corridor."

"There are another six red dots," Maeve said.

His stomach tightened as he looked at a large cluster of red dots that were deeper underground—nearly thirty of them. "They know we're here."

Maeve looked at him. "Can you lock them out of here?"

Peak's fingers flew. "I can do better." He highlighted the entire east wing, and then smiled.

"What're you doing?" Maeve asked.

"Making friends." He shut down the lights—every one of them across half the facility. The underground complex disappeared into darkness. Emergency alarms immediately began screaming, and red backup lights flashed to life. Security protocols activated as the door slammed shut. Confused voices echoed through the tunnels, and he knew that it was now or never.

Peak stood. "Move,” he shouted to Maeve and Warden. Years of training took over as they made their way through the maintenance corridor. Warden led the way, and Ruin covered the rear. Peak stayed beside Maeve, not because she needed protecting, but because if they got separated, their entire plan would fall apart.

The first mercenary rounded the corner. He never saw Warden as the shotgun blast echoed through the tunnel. The second man dropped before he could raise his rifle. Bodies hit the floor around him, but Peak kept moving.

"This way.” Maeve pointed toward a narrow service passage.

"How do you know?" Peak asked.

"Because it’s where Wren would've hidden." Peak trusted her without question. They broke away from the main group.

Warden shouted after them. "We've got you covered!"

Peak raised one hand. "Give us five minutes." There was no answer, only gunfire, and he took that as his signal to get his ass moving.

The service corridor narrowed, and electrical conduit lined both walls. The hum grew louder around them, and Peak smiled. "We're close."

Maeve suddenly stopped and pointed upward to a tiny camera. It was nearly invisible. Peak crouched beneath it. "Watch this." He connected to it directly through the maintenance panel, and with three keystrokes, the feed froze and then played on a loop.

"How long do we have?" Maeve asked.

"Twenty-seven minutes,” Peak guessed.

She looked impressed again as she smiled at him. "I was aiming for thirty." He chuckled and shoved his laptop into the backpack again. He took Maeve’s hand, and they walked further into the tunnels. Another explosion rocked the facility and dust fell from the ceiling. Peak knew that had to be Warden because nobody else enjoyed explosives as much as he did.

Maeve rolled her eyes. "I think he blew something up."

Peak shrugged. "He seems to be happier when he gets to blow things up, so we appease him." Maeve giggled.

They reached a reinforced steel door, and he cursed when he noticed that there was no handle—only a biometric scanner.

Peak's smile widened. “I guess that I finally get to use my military-grade encryption equipment."

Maeve crossed her arms over her chest. "You actually enjoy this."

"Oh, absolutely." He connected the tablet. The door was encrypted with adaptive authentication and live heartbeat verification. Peak laughed. "They're showing off."

Maeve leaned closer. "Can you get in?"