Chapter 13 – First Strike
361 Words
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The building was nondescript — the kind of place you’d walk past without noticing. They slipped in through a side door Daniel had already picked. Inside, the air smelled faintly of dust and machine oil.
They moved fast — down a narrow hall, past two small offices, into a storage room stacked with unmarked boxes. Daniel went straight to a metal cabinet in the corner, pulling out a set of lockpicks.
The lock clicked open. Inside were three sleek external hard drives. He stuffed them into his backpack.
Then — footsteps.
Daniel’s hand shot out, pulling Elena behind a stack of crates. Two men entered, talking in low voices. One of them paused, glancing toward the cabinet.
Daniel’s fingers tightened around her wrist. She could feel his heartbeat — fast, but steady.
The men talked for another tense minute, then left. Daniel exhaled slowly. “We need to move. Now.”
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They retraced their steps, but as they reached the side door, a shadow fell across it — another guard, blocking their exit.
Daniel’s mind raced. He turned to Elena, whispering, “Kiss me.”
Her eyes widened. “What—”
“No time. Trust me.”
The guard turned the corner just as she grabbed Daniel’s collar, pressing her lips to his. They staggered against the wall, her hands in his hair, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist.
The guard muttered something about “lovebirds” and walked past without a second glance.
When they pulled away, both were breathless — not entirely from the act.
Daniel smirked faintly. “Effective.”
Elena arched an eyebrow. “You enjoyed that.”
He didn’t deny it. “Let’s go.”
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They made it back to the car without another encounter. As Daniel started the engine, Elena glanced at the backpack between them.
“That’s it? We just… won?”
Daniel’s expression darkened. “No. This was only his backup. The real files are somewhere else. This just makes him angry.”
She met his gaze, the air between them thick with tension and unspoken things. “Then we’d better be ready for whatever comes next.”
- Writer
