We continued through the corridors, encountering surprisingly little resistance. Either our diversion was working better than expected, or we were walking into a trap. The lack of guards made my skin prickle with unease.
"This is too easy," I murmured.
Yuri grunted in agreement, his posture tensing as we approached the stairwell. He pushed the door open cautiously, checking for threats before gesturing me forward.
As we descended the stairs, I felt my abilities growing stronger, more focused. It always happened this way when my emotions ran high—fear, anger, and determination amplifying my connection to the electronic world around me.
I could feel the security cameras tracking movement throughout the facility, the electronic locks engaging and disengaging as personnel rushed to respond to the breach.
And beneath it all, a familiar electronic signature—the specialized restraints I'd disabled when I had escaped O’Rourke the day I met Nicolai. They were still active somewhere in the building. The realization sent a chill down my spine. O'Rourke was ready for us, had prepared for the possibility of recapturing not just me, but Nicolai as well.
We reached the lower level, the corridor stretching before us illuminated by harsh fluorescent lighting. The control room door was visible at the end, guarded by two men with weapons drawn.
"I can disable their comms," I whispered, my fingertips already glowing faintly with blue energy. "Give you about thirty seconds before anyone realizes something's wrong."
Yuri nodded, unholstering his weapon. "Do it."
I closed my eyes, reaching out with my ability, feeling for the radio frequencies used by the guards. Finding them was like plucking specific threads from a tapestry of signals. With a gentle mental tug, I severed their connection to the rest of the security team.
"Now," I whispered.
Yuri moved with deadly precision, crossing the distance to the guards before they could react. I followed close behind, averting my eyes from the violence, but unable to block out the sounds of conflict—brief and decisive as it was.
When I looked up again, Yuri was dragging the unconscious guards aside, their weapons added to his own arsenal.
"Control room's clear," he said after a quick check. "Get in there and work your magic, kid."
I approached the door, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. I knew that once I entered that room, once I connected with the facility's main systems, there would be no going back. I would either save Nicolai or burn trying.
My eyes began to glow with electronic energy as I placed my hand on the door handle. For Nicolai, I would risk everything. And when this was over, when he was safe again, I'd finally tell him what he meant to me—a home, when I'd never allowed myself to have one before.
The control room was a tech junkie's wet dream—wall-to-wall monitors, multiple workstations, and enough processing power to run a small country. Under different circumstances, I might have taken a moment to appreciate the setup. Right now, all I could think about was how I was going to bend every circuit and processor to my will until they gave up Nicolai's location.
"Clear," Yuri announced after sweeping the space, his gun still at the ready. "Do your thing."
I approached the main console, fingers hovering over the keyboard as I assessed what I was dealing with. The screens displayed security feeds from throughout the facility, status reports, and a complex building schematic that made my heart sink.
"This is military-grade encryption," I whispered, more to myself than to Yuri. The system was far more advanced than I'd anticipated—multiple security layers, biometric authentication requirements, isolated network architecture.
For a brief moment, doubt crept in. What if I couldn't break through fast enough? What if Nicolai was suffering while I fumbled with firewalls and access codes?
I pushed the thought away. If O'Rourke could build it, I could break it. That was the one constant in my life—electronic systems bent to my will, not the other way around.
"Good thing I'm better than military-grade," I muttered, cracking my knuckles as I settled into the operator's chair.
My hands moved to the keyboard, but I knew that was just for show. The real connection would happen directly between my mind and the machine.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and let my consciousness expand outward, feeling for the electronic pulses that made up the facility's nervous system.
The sensation was always difficult to describe—like dipping my hands into a rushing stream of data, feeling each bit and byte flow through my fingertips. The initial connection made my skin tingle and the air around my hands shimmer with faint blue energy.
"You sure you can handle this?" Yuri asked, positioning himself by the door, weapon at the ready. His tone tried for casual, but I caught the undertone of concern.
I didn't answer immediately, too focused on navigating the first layer of security. My fingers danced across the keyboardwhile my mind worked on a deeper level, sensing pathways and backdoors invisible to normal hackers.
"I've got this," I finally replied, as the first firewall collapsed under my assault. "Keep watch. This might take a minute."
Yuri grunted acknowledgment, dividing his attention between the corridor outside and occasional glances at me. I could feel his unease—not just about our situation, but about my abilities.
