CHAPTER 12
1849 Words
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*Chapter 12 - The Partner - Extended*
We didn’t sleep.
The night bus dropped us in Central London at 6 AM.
The city was already awake. News vans. Police. Drones in the sky.
Our faces were still on every screen: `WANTED FOR CYBERTERRORISM`.
Damian kept his hood low. I kept my eyes down.
*Cole and Eliza.* Still ghosts.
“Lila’s event starts at 8 PM,” Damian said as we walked. “VexCorp Tower. ‘Charity Gala for London’s Future.’ The irony is making me sick.”
“How do we get to her before that?”
“She’ll come to us.” He stopped at a corner. Checked over his shoulder. “If she’s really doing this.”
Like on cue, my burner buzzed. New number.
`The Dorchester. Room 1204. 10 minutes. Come alone. -L`
Damian read it over my shoulder. His jaw tightened. “That’s her.”
“Alone?”
“She doesn’t trust me yet.” He gave me a tight, sad smile. “Go. I’ll watch from the lobby. If anything happens, run.”
I nodded. Took a deep breath. “What if she’s not on our side?”
“Then we run again.” He squeezed my hand once before letting go. “Be careful, Eliza.”
The Dorchester was stupid expensive. Marble. Gold. Men in suits everywhere.
I kept my head down and took the lift to 12. Knocked on 1204.
The door opened instantly.
A girl. 17. Black hoodie. Black hair with blue streaks. VexCorp badge clipped to her jeans.
She looked like Damian. Same sharp cheekbones. Same Vex eyes. But angrier. Tired.
“You’re Eliza,” she said. Not a question.
“Lila?”
She pulled me inside and locked 3 locks. “You have 5 minutes before my dad’s security sweeps this floor. They track my card.”
The room was a mess. 3 laptops open. Wires everywhere. Empty energy drinks.
On the main screen: live feed of VexCorp Tower. Floor 48.
Red dot moving. `VICTOR VEX SR`
“You’re hacking them from a hotel room?” I asked, stunned.
“I’ve been hacking them since I was 14,” she said flatly. She didn’t look at me. Her fingers were flying. “He never changed the admin password. Idiot.”
I stared at her. “Damian said you’d help.”
“I’m not helping _him_,” she snapped. Finally looked at me. “I’m helping London. And I’m helping you, because you’re the only reason he grew a spine in the last 10 years.”
The door clicked.
Damian.
Lila’s face went cold. “Took you long enough to show up.”
“Lila—”
“Shut up.” She crossed her arms. “You left. You played CEO while he built Nightfall. You went to galas and smiled for cameras while he bought politicians. You only care now because they’re coming for _you_.”
Damian didn’t flinch. He looked tired. “You’re right. I was a coward.”
That shut her up for a second.
He kept going. Voice low. “I’m not asking you to forgive me. I’m asking you to help me stop him before 2 million people lose power. Before people die.”
Lila looked between us. Then at me. Her eyes were sharp. Assessing. “Is he telling the truth? About Nightfall?”
I nodded. “48 hours. Maybe less now. He’s moving it up. We saw the files.”
She cursed under her breath. “Yeah. I saw too. He moved execution to midnight tonight.”
My blood went cold. “Tonight? That’s 14 hours.”
“Which is why we’re not waiting for the gala,” Lila said. She spun her laptop around.
Floor plan of VexCorp Tower. Red line going up the service elevator to floor 48.
“I got us in,” she said. “Service entrance. 2 PM. Maintenance shift. I cloned two badges. Three, if you count me.”
She tossed us keycards. *MAINTENANCE - LEVEL 2 CLEARANCE.*
Mine said `ELIZA HART`. His said `COLE BENNETT`.
“You’ve been planning this?” Damian asked.
“I’ve been planning this since I found the Nightfall files 3 months ago on his private server.” Lila shrugged. “I just needed someone on the outside to leak the other stuff first and draw his attention. Thanks for that, by the way.”
Damian rubbed his face. “You used me.”
“I used both of you,” she said. No apology. “And I’d do it again.”
Silence. Heavy.
Then Damian laughed. One short, disbelieving laugh. “God. You’re more ruthless than Dad.”
“Took lessons from the best.” Lila met his eyes. “Difference is, I’m using it to burn him down.”
She walked to the window. Looked out over London.
“For 3 years I’ve watched him from Switzerland. Watched him turn this city into his playground. I’m done.”
Damian went to stand next to her. Not touching. “You didn’t have to do this alone.”
“I didn’t have you,” she said quietly. Then she turned. “Now. Here’s the plan.”
For the next 20 minutes she walked us through it. No wasted words.
*Phase 1:* Get into the Tower as maintenance. 2 PM. My badges get us past lobby security.
*Phase 2:* I split off to the server room on 48. You two cause a distraction on 47. Fire alarm.
*Phase 3:* I lock the doors to 48 from the inside and pull the plug on Nightfall before he can hit execute. Wipe the servers.
*Phase 4:* We leak everything. Live. To every news outlet. To the police. To the public.
“It won’t be easy,” she said. “There’s Vant on every floor. And Director Hayes will be there. He’s my dad’s dog.”
“The corrupt cop,” I said.
“The same.” Lila looked at me. Really looked. “Which is why you can’t get caught, Eliza. If they grab you, this all falls apart. And he’ll use you to get to him.”
“I won’t.”
Lila studied me for a long time. Then she did something I didn’t expect.
She reached out and squeezed my hand. Quick. Firm.
“Good,” she said softly. “Because he likes you. And I haven’t seen him care about anyone since Mum died. So don’t get him killed, okay?”
My face went hot. “Lila—I—”
“Don’t ‘Lila’ me.” She let go. “Just be smart.”
Damian cleared his throat. He looked away. “We should go. 2 PM is in 4 hours. We need to prep.”
We left the hotel separately. Me first. Then Damian. Then Lila 10 minutes later.
I waited in a cafe across the street. Rain on the windows.
At 1:45 PM, we met in the alley behind VexCorp Tower.
All of us in gray maintenance jumpsuits. Hair tucked up. Faces down.
We looked like we belonged.
Lila handed us radios and earpieces. “Stay on channel 2. If anything goes wrong, say ‘blackout’ and run. Don’t wait for me.”
Damian looked at her. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “Thank me when we’re not in prison. Or dead.”
We walked to the service entrance.
My heart was hammering.
Scanned the badges.
Green light.
_Beep._
We were in.
The Tower was cold. Sterile. Smelled like bleach and money. Full of people who didn’t know the world was about to end.
We took the service elevator. No cameras here. Lila disabled them 5 minutes ago.
Floor 47. Doors opened.
Vant. 2 of them. Right in front of us.
“ID,” one said. Hand near his gun.
Lila stepped forward first. Held up her badge. Confident. Bored. “Maintenance. HVAC leak on 48. We were called. Took you long enough to buzz us in.”
The Vant looked at us. Then at her. Then at his tablet.
“Go,” he said finally.
We moved.
Floor 48.
The doors opened to the server room. Rows and rows of machines. Blue lights. Hum. Cold.
It felt like the heart of the building.
And at the end, behind glass:
Victor Vex Sr.
With Director Hayes.
And a big red button on a pedestal.
`NIGHTFALL: EXECUTE`
He hadn’t started it yet. He was on the phone. Laughing.
“...yes. Midnight. Make sure the news is ready to blame the terrorists. Make it look good.”
He hung up. Turned.
Saw us.
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Damian,” he said. “And the little thief. How nice. And Lila. Didn’t expect you home early.”
Damian stepped in front of me. “Don’t touch her.”
“Or what? You’ll shoot me?” Victor laughed. “Put the guns down. Both of you.”
We didn’t have guns.
Lila’s voice crackled in the radio. `“Blackout. Blackout. Vant coming up the stairs. 30 seconds.”`
Victor heard it too. He frowned. “What was that?”
Director Hayes drew his gun. Pointed it at us. “Hands up. Now. On the ground.”
Damian grabbed my wrist. “Run.”
We ran.
Alarms started. Red lights. Klaxons.
Behind us, Victor yelled: “Stop them! Don’t let them touch the server! Shoot if you have to!”
We made it to the stairwell.
Gunshots. Echoing. Not at us. Warning shots.
Lila’s voice: `“I’m in! I’m locking the doors! 2 minutes to override!”`
“Keep them off me!” Damian yelled into the radio.
We burst onto floor 47.
More Vant. 4 of them. Blocking the hall.
Damian shoved me behind a pillar. “Stay here.”
“What are you—”
He kissed me. Fast. Hard. Desperate.
“For luck,” he whispered against my lips. Then he stepped out with his hands up.
“Lila needs 90 seconds!” he yelled. “You want to shoot the CEO’s son on camera? Go ahead. Explain that to the board.”
They hesitated.
That was all we needed.
Lila: `“Done! Nightfall is down! Server is wiped! I’m looping the cameras! Go! Go! Go!”`
Sirens. Everywhere.
Damian grabbed me. “Now!”
We ran for the roof.
Helicopter waiting. Lila’s. She’d stolen it from the company hangar.
We jumped in as bullets hit the side. _Ping ping ping._
As we lifted off, I looked down through the glass.
Victor Vex Sr. in the window of floor 48. Watching.
And for the first time in his life, he looked scared.
Lila whooped from the pilot seat. “We did it! We actually did it! Dad’s gonna have a stroke!”
Damian collapsed next to me. Breathing hard. Sweat on his forehead.
He took my hand. Squeezed.
“We did it,” he whispered. “We stopped him.”
I nodded. Couldn’t speak.
14 hours to spare.
London was safe.
For Now
...
- Writer
