ISAAC MORANO

**27**

Chapter Twenty Seven- Not so Safe

Back at their headquarters, a discreet, well-hidden office in an unmarked building, Catherine and Lucas entered through the secured entrance. The atmosphere inside was charged with the thrill of their successful mission, but the stakes were still high.

Lucas flicked on the lights, revealing a space lined with monitors displaying various feeds from their operations. The walls were plastered with maps and photos, a visual cacophony of their ongoing investigations. Catherine moved swiftly to the central table, where a laptop was already set up, waiting for the evidence they'd just procured.

"Let's see what we've got," she said, her fingers dancing across the keyboard as she connected the USB drive. The screen flickered to life, and a series of folders appeared—each labeled with intriguing titles.

Lucas leaned in closer, his eyes scanning the file names. "This is it. If this contains what I think it does, we can finally take down Safe and Secure for good."

Catherine opened the first folder, revealing a trove of documents. "Classified contracts, internal communications... and wait—here it is." She clicked on a file titled "Operation Overwatch."

As the document opened, she quickly skimmed through the contents. It outlined plans for illegal surveillance operations, detailing how the company had been tracking individuals without consent. Her heart raced. This wasn't just incriminating evidence; it was the key to exposing the entire operation.

"Lucas, look at this!" she exclaimed, highlighting a section that detailed specific targets, including activists and whistleblowers. "We have to get this out to the public."

"Absolutely. But first, let's extract everything we can. There might be more than just files," he said, his eyes gleaming with determination.

Catherine continued to delve into the folders, pulling up data sheets, video files, and a list of employees involved in the illegal activities. They worked rapidly, knowing time was of the essence. Each minute that passed made them more vulnerable to being discovered.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on the screen. "What's that?" Lucas asked, glancing over.

Catherine frowned, clicking on the alert. "It's a security breach warning. They must have noticed the downtime in their system since we hacked in."

"Damn it," Lucas said, his brow furrowing. "We need to finish up, now."

Catherine accelerated her efforts, transferring the most crucial files to their secure cloud storage. "We can't let them delete this evidence. We have to—"

Before she could finish her sentence, the lights flickered, and the room plunged into darkness. The backup generator kicked in, bathing the room in a dim, red glow.

"Great, just what we needed," Lucas muttered, reaching for a flashlight.

Catherine grabbed her phone, its screen illuminating her face. "We need to move. They'll be here any second."

With the USB drive still plugged in, she completed the transfer just in time. "Got it!" she exclaimed, pulling the drive free.

"Let's go!" Lucas urged, leading the way to the exit.

They slipped through the back door, navigating the narrow hallway that led to the stairwell. Catherine could hear the distant sounds of footsteps and voices—guards were on high alert.

As they descended the stairs, they could hear the alarms blaring, growing louder with each step. They reached the bottom and paused to catch their breath.