The narrow doorway was working—they couldn't all engage at once. Griff dropped the human shield, rolled left, came up with a fallen rifle. Three-round burst took one contractor in the vest—nonlethal but it put him down. Another burst forced two more into cover.
A contractor flanked left. Griff caught the movement, pivoted, but another came from the right. The rifle stock caught his ribs, driving air from his lungs. He went with the momentum, turning it into a roll, came up swinging.
His fist connected with someone's jaw. A knee caught him in the back. He stumbled but stayed upright, muscle memory keeping him moving. Strike, block, redirect. Every second bought with blood and bruises.
"Hostile is putting up a fight," someone said. "Get a taser."
That would end it. Griff pressed forward, trying to create chaos, make them bunch up in the doorway. The graze on his shoulder screamed with each movement.
Sarah was at the panel now, laptop balanced on one arm while she typed with her free hand. "Manual override initiated. Twenty seconds."
A contractor got behind him, ready to choke him out.Griff dropped his weight, threw the man over his shoulder. But two more were already on him.
"Fifteen seconds," Sarah called.
A fist caught his temple. The room tilted. Another blow to his ribs. He was going down, but he twisted as he fell, taking one contractor with him, buying precious seconds.
"Ten seconds."
Through blurred vision, he saw a contractor raising a rifle butt toward his head. No way to block it.
The prayer had been answered. Not the way he'd wanted, but forty seconds was almost up.
"Five... four..."
The rifle came down. Pain exploded through his skull.
The last thing Griff saw before darkness claimed him was Sarah's face, triumphant for an instant before the contractors grabbed her.
They'd done it. Both systems down.
Worth the price.
The rest was silence.
34
Sarah hitreturn even as hands grabbed her shoulders. The upload bar on her screen showed 100% for a split second before someone ripped the laptop away.
"Griff!" She tried to twist toward him, seeing blood pooling beneath his head, his body terrifyingly still.
"Sarah, we heard everything. Don't react. Don't let them know you have comms." Ronan's voice, barely a whisper in her ear.
"He's good," a contractor said, checking Griff's pulse.
They zip-tied her wrists while she watched the upload confirmation disappear from her laptop screen. All forty-seven payment streams had been redirected. The auto-trigger disabled. But had it worked? The financial architecture had been so complex, each account a different puzzle...
"Keep breathing," Deke's voice in her ear, using his counselor tone. "In for four, hold for four, out for four."
"Clear the room." A new voice, commanding. Familiar.
Senator Thomas Buckley entered, stepping carefully around Griff's unconscious form.
"Neutral face, Sarah. Show nothing," Maya coached.
"Sarah Winters." Buckley's smile was warm, grandfatherly, terrifying. "Fairly impressive, for a desk agent. You almost succeeded."
Sarah's heart stopped. Almost?
