A Point Of No Return

The alarms hit like a hammer, turning every step into a countdown, reverberating through the underground tunnels as Jessica, Leanna, Olivia, and Daniel sprinted down the corridor. Red emergency lights pulsed, casting long shadows against the damp concrete walls.

"We need an exit—now!" Jessica shouted over the deafening klaxons.

Leanna skidded to a stop, yanking up the digital map of the facility on her wristpad. "There’s a service hatch two levels up. If we can reach it before security locks the doors, we might have a shot."

"Might?" Olivia huffed, adjusting her backpack of hacking tools as she ran.

Daniel’s face was grim. "It's the only shot we've got."

Behind them, heavy boots pounded against the floor. Vanguard’s security was closing in fast.

Jessica motioned for the others to move. "Leanna, lead us. Olivia, break every lock you see. Daniel—hold the line."

They rounded the corner, only to find a reinforced steel door blocking their path. Olivia dropped to her knees, pulling out her hacking tool and connecting it to the control panel.

"Thirty seconds!" she called.

Daniel turned, raising his stolen pistol. "We don’t have thirty seconds."

Figures emerged from the dim hallway, armored guards with rifles drawn. A burst of gunfire ricocheted off the concrete as Daniel returned fire, forcing them to take cover.

Jessica gritted her teeth. "Olivia, faster!"

A click. A hiss of decompressing air. The steel door slid open just as Daniel emptied his clip.

"Go, go, go!" Jessica shouted, shoving Olivia through first.

They rushed up the narrow staircase, metal grates rattling under their boots. Jessica could hear the guards forcing their way through the door below. They reached the second level and burst into an abandoned maintenance corridor.

Leanna pointed ahead. "That’s the hatch!"

Jessica reached it first, wrenching the rusted handle. It didn’t budge.

"It’s sealed!" she snapped.

Olivia shoved her way forward, examining the locking mechanism. "It’s pressure-locked. We need to disengage it manually."

Leanna cursed under her breath. "We’re out of time!"

Gunfire erupted at the far end of the corridor. One of the guards had broken through. Jessica saw the flash of his rifle and dove to the side as bullets shredded through the rusted metal panels.

Daniel moved like he'd done this before. No hesitation. No flourish. Just bone-deep violence. With brutal efficiency, he drove his knee into the man’s stomach, knocking him unconscious.

"Get that hatch open!" Daniel barked.

Olivia yanked a screwdriver from her belt, jamming it into the mechanism. Sparks flew. The lock released with a pop.

Jessica threw the hatch open. A gust of cold night air rushed in.

"Climb!" she ordered, boosting Leanna through first.

One by one, they scrambled up, emerging onto the rooftop of the facility. Spotlights swiveled below, search teams fanning out across the compound.

Daniel looked over the edge. "It’s a twenty-foot drop. We need another way down."

Jessica scanned the area, then spotted their escape—a maintenance zipline running across to the adjacent industrial structure.

She turned to the others, Jessica's grin was grim. "Hope everybody packed light."

As Vanguard’s forces breached the roof access behind them, Jessica didn’t wait for permission. She hooked on and jumped, the line screaming as it tore through the night air. Below, sirens howled. Vanguard wasn’t letting them go without a fight.