Vixen - a dark romance story

Chapter 16

Christopher Bang/ Bang Chan

The room was filled with the hum of machinery and the steady blinking of countless green and red indicator lights. Rows and rows of servers and other equipment formed a labyrinth of wires and circuits, and the ozone-scented, cold air was dense with metal. Christopher moved with purpose, making his way through the labyrinth towards one particular server, the one that held the secrets they were after, the one that only the lead tech engineer had access to via electronic fingerprint recognition.

He found the server, the one that was larger and more advanced than the rest. It was guarded by an array of security measures, including biometric scans.
He knelt in front of it, his eyes roaming over the various security features. The only chance they had to get into this server was to use the engineer's identification, the one who was currently with Ray, blissfully unaware of what was going on in this room.

Christopher took a moment to steady himself, bracing his mind for what he had to do. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Got what we need. Proceed with plan."

The message was from Ray, short and to the point. If she had gotten the access they needed, then the final hurdle was the security in front of him.

He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and returned his attention to the server. Taking a deep breath, he began to work, his fingers flying over the keypad as he input the access code he had overheard from one of the Syndicate's employees. The screen flashed, accepting the code, and the first layer of security was bypassed.

The distant echo of footsteps reached Christopher's ears, a gentle and almost imperceptible tapping of shoes on the floor. He tensed, his senses sharpened as he waited for the sounds to get closer so he could determine whether it was Ray or someone else.
The faint footsteps grew louder, gradually becoming more distinct and recognizable with each passing moment, until they finally halted in front of the server room door. A brief silence followed, interrupted only by the whirring of the machines and his steady breathing.

Ray entered the room as soon as the door opened. Their gazes locked, and despite the tension in the air, a flicker of warmth ignited deep within his chest at the sight of her.

Although back in practical clothing, she still looked beautiful, accentuated by the shadows in the room that gave her an air of danger. In a few strides, she crossed the distance between them and stood by him in front of the server.

Christopher watched as she lifted her hand, her fingers poised over the fingerprint scanner. This was it, the moment they had been waiting for, the moment all their hard work would finally pay off. Ray pressed her finger against the scanner and the machine came to life with a soft, electronic hum.

The scanner flashed once, then twice, and the LED lights flickered rapidly as it worked to verify the identification. The seconds ticked by, each one feeling like an eternity as they waited, their breathing shallow and their bodies taut with anticipation.

The lights eventually became green, indicating that the code had been approved. The server's panel flashed open, granting them access to the files they had been after all this time. Christopher's shoulders sagged in relief as they got one step closer to their goal.

He noticed Ray peeling off the foil covering her finger and couldn't resist a small smile. His eyes followed her as she reached into her pocket and pulled out an external hard drive, the tool they would use for data transfer.

She handed him the compact and their fingers brushed briefly. It was an innocent gesture, but it sent a jolt of electricity through him, a sharp reminder of the attraction that still simmered between them, a fire never truly extinguished.

He pushed aside the feeling and turned his attention back to the server. The hard disk began to download the data as soon as he inserted it into the server; whirring and flickering.

Ray spoke after a while, her eyes fixed on the device. "Cameras status ?"

Christopher glanced at the small monitor next to the server, the one that showed the live feed from the security cameras. "All clear. We're good for a few minutes longer, at least."

He looked at the progress bar on the screen in front of him, the percentage of data downloaded slowly ticking upwards. It was taking longer than he would have liked, but there was nothing they could do except wait and hope no one came to check on the server.

He turned his attention back to Ray, and his eyes roamed over her face - the slope of her nose, the shape of her mouth, the curve of her neck. He was suddenly acutely aware of how close they were, the heat of her body next to his, the scent of her perfume wrapping around him like a sultry embrace.

"What about the guards? How did you manage ?"

Christopher shrugged, "Oh, you know, the usual. Distracting the ones patrolling the corridors with a fake emergency and taking out the one who was supposed to be guarding the server. A couple of tranquilizer shots and a few threats, nothing major."

Ray rolled her eyes, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.

He couldn't contain his chuckle at her reaction as he always found her eye rolls endearing.With a smile lingering on his lips, he shook his head and refocused on the progress bar displayed on the screen.

Ninety percent of the available data had been downloaded. They were almost at the finish line, he could feel it. But the closer they got to their goal, the more he felt this nagging sense of unease as if something would go wrong at the very last moment.

Ray leaned over the server, her brow furrowed as she studied the screen. The sight gave him a strange sense of reassurance. Her presence there with him made everything seem less uncertain, more manageable.

She seemed to sense his state of mind, because she looked at him, silently communicating support. He nodded, his heart swelling at her gesture. This woman always seemed to know exactly what he needed, even without him needing to say a word. It was a silent dance between them, a connection that had been there from the very start.

Just as the percentage hit a hundred and the download was complete, the door suddenly burst open, sending hurried footsteps through the server room.

Christopher turned, his heart leaping into his throat. Four armed guards stormed into the room, pointing their guns at them.

Christopher cursed under his breath, and instinctively moved in front of Ray, a silent shield between her and the looming threat. He was acutely aware of the fact that they were cornered, with nowhere to go. The guards were blocking the only exit, their weapons raised and ready to shoot.