Page 72 of Hollow Code
Pop! Bang!
Zadie flinched. Her hand jerked, and the laptop vibrated as the shots echoed through the valley.
She swallowed, keeping her gaze focused on the status bar. Ninety-eight percent…
"Sixth key is in," she said letting out a long breath and wiggling her fingers. "Building the backdoor now."
This was the part she couldn't rehearse. No matter how much Gideon could show her of what he knew of ORACLE, creating a permanent access point woven into its core architecture that would survive system updates, security sweeps, and anything Isaac or Finch threw at it needed to be invisible, durable, and bleed into the system like it belonged.
And it had to be done before the burn clock hit zero.
Or enhanced soldiers kicked down the door.
Her fingers pounded on the keys. She wrote the framework she and Gideon had designed together and made adjustments in real time to the architecture she'd just mapped from the inside.
"One through the south perimeter," Coulter said. "He's fast and heading for the east side of the building."
"I see him," Neve said. "Engaging."
The walls of the hub structure dampened the sound of the gunfire but couldn't kill it. Each burst vibrated through the concrete floor and into the soles of Zadie's boots.
"Wynn, he's coming your direction," Neve said. "East wall."
"I've got him." Wynn's voice was calm.
Zadie split her focus between comms and typing. Gideon stood behind her, hands on rifle.
"Shit," Wynn said, followed by a groan.
"Talk to me," Neve ordered.
"Grazed in the left arm. It's manageable, just need to take cover and treat it."
"I’ve got you covered," Scout said. "Do it now."
"On it."
Zadie sucked in a deep breath.
"You’re doing great," Gideon whispered. "You got this."
The code blurred, and she blinked hard to clear her vision. Her ribs throbbed. So did her knee, but none of that mattered. The backdoor was sixty percent built.
"Two more at the south fence," Scout said. "I don’t know if I can hold position."
"Coulter, fall back to the east wall," Neve said. "Tighten the perimeter around the hub."
"Copy."
Zadie wrote as fast as she could. Her fingers hammered the keys in a rhythm that had nothing to do with music and everything to do with survival.
The floor kicked beneath her chair and vibrated like it was a rocket ready to take off. Her teeth slammed together, and her fingers jumped off the keyboard. Debris peppered her back as pieces of the ceiling crashed into the server rack.
"What the fuck was that?" Gideon spun toward the door.
"Granade" Coulter said over comms.
"That’s too close." Gideon stood in front of Zadie as if that would protect her, but she appreciated the effort.
