The Break In
894 Words
The city pulsed with neon light and low, vibrating noise as Gabriel pulled the stolen van into an alley two blocks from Herrera’s headquarters. The building towered in the distance,cold, gleaming, and dangerous.
Elena adjusted the black cap over her hair, her eyes fixed on the towering glass structure.
“We still have a way out, you know,” Gabriel said quietly, checking the gear. “Say the word, and we disappear.”
She shook her head. “We finish this.”
It wasn’t bravado. It was resolve. In the last few days, something in Elena had shifted. She no longer flinched at every sound. She no longer questioned every step. The fear was still there, but now it was layered beneath a burning need for justice.
Gabriel handed her a small earpiece and nodded.
“Stay close. Follow my lead.”
With silent precision, they exited the van and moved through the shadows. Gabriel threw a small gadget towards the east side of the compound, close to the security wall. A second later, the loud blare of alarms was followed by a thunderous explosion that disturbed the night.
“What was that?” Elena hissed, crouching beside a dumpster.
“Distraction. One of Herrera’s cars just ‘accidentally’ caught fire.”
From their vantage point, they watched as guards swarmed toward the flames, radios crackling in panic.
“This is our window,” Gabriel whispered.
They moved quickly along the perimeter, using the blind spot Gabriel had memorized from old building blueprints. At the rear door, he produced a stolen access card and swiped. The lock buzzed. The door creaked open.
Inside, the air was cooler, sterile. The building had that corporate silence expensive carpets, tight hallways, and too many security cameras. But the top floor, where Herrera’s private office sat, had its own biometric scanner.
Gabriel led her through a stairwell, up six flights, then paused outside a maintenance door. He placed a device on the camera above, jamming its feed for sixty seconds.
“We have one minute,” he said.
They reached the office. Gabriel pulled out a small fingerprint patch, a replica copied from a glass Herrera once used in a public event, acquired through a favor from one of Gabriel’s old informants. He pressed it to the scanner. It blinked… then turned green.
They slipped inside.
Herrera’s office was lavish. Priceless paintings, luxurious chairs, and dark wood panels are examples of wealth acquired via years of corruption. The computer they need was behind a black desk and a floor-to-ceiling window provided a view of the city.
Gabriel moved fast, connecting a portable drive to the CPU.
Elena wandered to the shelves. Her eyes caught a framed photo of her father and Herrera smiling, naive, friendly, unaware of the betrayal coming. She clenched her fists.
“Almost done,” Gabriel murmured.
Suddenly, the office door beeped.
They froze.
“Elena, hide. Now.”
She dove behind the curtains as Gabriel ducked behind the desk, gun in hand. The door opened, and two men in security uniforms entered.
“System’s showing a camera error on this floor,” one said.
“Probably a glitch again. Let’s check Herrera’s room and head back down.”
Footsteps. Closer.
One guard moved toward the desk. Gabriel held his breath, ready.
But the man stopped, sighed, and turned around.
“All clear.”
A few more seconds. The door shut again. Silence.
Gabriel exhaled. “Let’s go.”
He pulled the drive from the port and tucked it into a hidden pocket. They made their way back the same route, stairs, hallway, back door. Outside, the smoke from the earlier explosion still hung in the air.
Just as they reached the van, Elena froze. A figure stood at the alley’s edge. Not moving. Watching.
Gabriel spotted him too. “Get in.”
He opened the door and pushed Elena inside. But before he climbed in, the figure stepped into the light.
Elena gasped.
“Is that—?”
It was Miguel. Her father’s former assistant.
He raised a hand, not in greeting but warning.
“I know what you’re doing,” he said flatly.
Gabriel kept his hand near his weapon. “Then you know it’s not your fight.”
“You think you’re the only one trying to stop him?” Miguel said. “I’ve been playing both sides for months. Feeding Marcus information. Watching your moves.”
Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “You’re Viento.”
Miguel nodded. “But now it’s too late. Herrera suspects. He’s cleaning house.”
A cold chill ran through Elena. “So we’re already exposed?”
“Not yet. But you won’t get another chance like this.” Miguel handed Gabriel a slip of paper. “There’s a second drive. In a vault. Hidden inside the wine cellar beneath Herrera’s villa.”
Elena blinked. “You’re helping us?”
“Because I’m tired of watching innocent people die.”
Sirens wailed in the distance.
“Go,” Miguel said. “They’ll check this alley next.”
Gabriel climbed in and peeled away from the curb.
Elena stared at Miguel as he disappeared into the night, uncertain if he’d survive another day.
Inside the van, the drive hummed in Gabriel’s pocket, proof of corruption, murder, and betrayal. But now they needed more.
And time was running out.
- Writer
