Free Brainrush 05 - Everlast 02: Ephemeral by Richard Bard

onto the main screen. The lobby, elevators,
stairwells, rooftop, and sidewalks surrounding the building were all displayed.
The lobby and lower stairwells were crowded with scrambling tenants and passersby
eager to distance themselves from the gun battle outside. A score of his men mingled
among them, disguised to blend in, their weapons hidden, eyes searching.
    “No sign of him yet,” Zhin reported.
    “Patience,” Jiaolong said. “He’s coming. Remind the teams to
give him space so he can follow the breadcrumbs.”
    Min stepped forward, her hands caressing the bobbles in her braid.
“I still don’t see the need for the deception. Why not simply take him once
he’s spotted?”
    He held her gaze, sensed her excitement. “One doesn’t
capture a tiger with a headlong rush, sister. Better to lure him into a
camouflaged pit, yes?
    A brief shadow crossed her features, then vanished in the
same instant.
    Was that defiance?
    His eyes narrowed. The triplets had always been free to
voice their concerns. In fact, he found their advice invaluable. But they
always spoke with a respect honed from generations of tradition, even Min, who stood
apart from her sisters because of her tendencies toward a more aggressive
approach to matters. He shrugged off what he saw as a product of the moment’s excitement.
He pointed at the camera view of his lone man stationed within the CCTV
security room—the goat tied to the stake. “This is where Bronson will strike
first. He’s here for his family and friends and that room represents the only
sure route to identifying where they are located. The man is clever and I will
not underestimate him. He obviously has resources at his disposal. How else
could he have eluded our teams at the airport? So be it by bribe or blueprints
or dumb luck, make no mistake—he will have identified that room as his target. And
then I will have him!”
    Zhin said, “The teams are well-briefed and positioned
throughout the lower levels. They’ll hold back and follow the American at a
discreet distance, cutting off any chance of escape. And don’t worry,
Bronson—and whoever is with him—won’t get past unseen, despite the distraction
outside. There are only five entrances to the building and everyone of them is
cov—”
     “Rooftop!” Pak blurted out. “The door sensor has been
activated!”
    Jiaolong snapped a glare at Zhin. He rose to his feet and the
room stilled. Zhin met his gaze, nostrils flaring. They shared the blame for
the oversight and they both knew it.
    The moment stretched, until finally she motioned toward a
small wall safe beside the row of computer servers. They exchanged grim nods.
    We planned for this possibility, too, didn’t we?
    He approached the safe and pressed his eye against its
embedded retinal scanner. There was a click and a red armed light switched
off. With the internal explosive device now deactivated, he removed a gold
chain from around his neck and used the suspended key fob to unlock the safe. He
pulled out an external computer drive, unplugged its connectors, and handed it
to Zhin. She secured it in a leather shoulder bag.
    The true brilliance of the Passcode program lay in its
ability to deposit an undetectable rogue code within a network after it makes
its first incursion with a stolen password. It provided Jiaolong’s team with a
back door that could be used in the event the primary password was changed by
the user. Each breached network was then assigned an encrypted key that could
be used to access the buried code. The individual keys were stored on the drive
Zhin now held.
    Jiaolong’s eyes went flat. “Send a team to secure the garage
exit. Order the remaining men to get upstairs immediately. I want Bronson alive!”
He ushered Lin toward Zhin. “You’ll be safe with Zhin, my dear. She and Pak and
the engineers will escort you to the cars.” He turned to the two inside guards.
“Stay with them. On your lives!” They nodded, their assault rifles braced