#17: The Thin Line Between Life and Death

The echo of footsteps grew closer and closer. Inside the warehouse, the tension was palpable, like a rope stretched to its limit. Dante held his gun steady, while Caio positioned himself next to him, holding an iron bar found on the floor.

“If this goes wrong, it’s your fault, hacker,” Dante grumbled, glancing at Lara, who was immersed in the laptop screen.

“Can you shut up? I need to concentrate,” Lara replied, without taking her eyes off the screen. Her fingers danced on the keyboard as she dealt with the layers of encryption.

“How long will this take?” Caio asked, sweat dripping down his forehead.

“If you guys stay quiet, maybe just two more minutes.”

Dante snorted, but held his ground. The sound of footsteps turned into voices, followed by the metallic sound of the door being broken down.

— They’re here — Caio muttered, gripping the iron bar in his hands.

The first men entered, guns drawn. Dante didn’t hesitate, firing at them to buy time. One of the bullets hit one of them in the knee, making him fall with a scream.

— HOLD! — Dante shouted, stepping back as Caio advanced with the bar.

Caio struck the second man hard, but three more appeared right behind him. Lara couldn’t afford to look. The numbers on the screen flashed frantically as she deciphered the system.

— One more minute! — she shouted, trying to concentrate in the midst of the chaos.

Caio’s Sacrifice

Caio was knocked down by one of the men, but before he could be immobilized, he used all his strength to push the attacker against a pile of boxes.

— Go on, keep going! — he shouted, even as blood dripped from a cut on his forehead.

— Caio! — Lara shouted, turning around for a second.

“Focus on what you’re doing, damn it!” he replied, with a smile that didn’t match the scene.

Dante fired twice more, stepping back to protect Lara.

“This is getting impossible!”

Lara pressed one last command on the keyboard, and a download icon appeared on the screen.

“I did it!” she announced, pulling out the device and putting it in her backpack.

“Great. Now, how do we get out of here?” Dante asked, firing another shot.

The Final Desperation

Before they could react, more reinforcements entered the warehouse. There were now at least seven armed men. Lara felt her heart race, but there was no time for hesitation.

“Through the side!” she shouted, pointing to an open window.

Dante covered the exit while Lara climbed the improvised structure. Caio tried to follow her, but one of the men grabbed him by the ankle. He kicked hard, but fell to the ground before he could climb up.

“Go, Lara!” he shouted, as another man held him down.

“No! We’re not leaving you!” she shouted, trying to climb down again.

“There’s no time! Just go!” Caio shouted, his voice full of urgency.

Dante pulled Lara by the waist and forced her to keep going.

“He’s right. We have no choice now.”

Lara looked back one last time, her eyes full of anger and sadness, before going through the window with Dante.

A Brief Victory

Outside, the two of them ran down an alley until they merged with the crowd at the port. The sound of sirens and drones faded away, but the sense of loss was overwhelming.

Lara finally stopped, panting, leaning against a wall.

“We left him…”

“He knew the risk,” Dante said, also out of breath. — And he did what he had to do to give us a chance.

Lara clenched her fists, her backpack still on her back.

— This isn’t right. None of this is right.

Dante put his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

— Let’s make this worth it. That data you took could end all of this.

Lara nodded, swallowing her anger and pain.

— They will pay. All of them.

And with that, the two of them disappeared into the crowd, leaving behind a friend and vowing that their sacrifice would not be in vain.