"CAN WE ADOPT THEM?" THE MAFIA BOSS'S DAUGHTER BEGGED — HE LOOKED OVER AND FROZE IN TERROR!

The tension in the hallway was thick enough to choke on. The countdown was dropping rapidly: 01:45... 01:44... 01:43.

Theo took a slow step forward toward Vance, his head hung low, small hands clenched into trembling balls. "Don't hurt them, Dr. Vance. I'll behave. I'll complete the equations. Just turn off the gas."

Vance smiled triumphantly, a sneer of absolute intellectual arrogance spreading across his face. "A predictable emotional flaw, E07. Compassion is an algorithmic vulnerability. But don't worry, once we wipe your frontal cortex tomorrow, you won't remember any of this."

Vance reached out with his manicured hand to grasp Theo's shoulder.

In that split second, Theo looked up. His eyes weren't filled with defeat; they were ablaze with ice-cold, predatory calculation.

"Compassion isn't an algorithm, Vance," Theo whispered. "It's an override."

With blinding speed, Theo whipped out a silver object he had palmed from my tactical vest earlier: a heavy military-grade flare pen. He struck the striker cap and drove the magnesium tip directly into the high-voltage battery pack mounted on the hip of the lead exo-suit mercenary!

A blinding white flash erupted in the narrow hallway, accompanied by a deafening electric discharge that overloaded the mercenary's exo-suit circuits. The suit's servo-motors violently seized, sending the heavy soldier crashing backward into Vance!

"Open fire!" Dante roared.

The corridor exploded into a storm of lead and fire. My men unleashed everything they had into the mercenaries, using the close quarters to bypass the armor plating. I lunged forward through the smoke, catching Theo with my left arm, shielding him with my kevlar vest as bullets cracked like lightning against the concrete walls.

Vance scrambled on the floor, his glasses knocked away, desperately crawling toward his dropped detonator.

I arrived first. My heavy combat boot came down on his wrist with a sickening crack, crushing the bones beneath the heel. Vance shrieked in agony, rolling onto his back, clutching his shattered hand to his chest.

I scooped up the detonator, pressing the green cancel sequence. The countdown clock froze at 00:14.

The gas vents in the vault hissed to a halt, replaced by the roar of fresh oxygen pumps.

"Theo!" I shouted over the lingering gunfire. "The master key!"

Theo ripped the lanyard and digital keycard from Vance's neck, sprinting to the terminal. He swiped the card and pressed his eye back against the scanner.

*DUAL AUTHORIZATION CONFIRMED. SYSTEM PURGE ABORTED. DECOMPRESSING AIRLOCK.*

The massive five-inch titanium vault groaned, hydraulic seals releasing with a cloud of harmless white condensation. The heavy doors parted.

Sitting inside the sterile room, coughing but alive, were two tiny girls with raven hair and frightened, wide eyes. The moment they saw Theo, they let out tiny cries of relief and ran straight into his open arms, tumbling together onto the tiled floor in a heap of tears and whispered comfort.

I turned back to Dr. Vance, who was backed against the wall, bleeding, his face white with terror as Dante and my surviving men surrounded him with leveled weapons.

"You... you can't kill me," Vance stammered, his aristocratic voice reduced to a pathetic whimper. "I have investors... powerful senators... you'll bring the wrath of the entire federal government upon your family!"

I crouched down in front of him, leveling the cold barrel of my .45 directly between his eyes.

"Prometheus Vanguard is gone, Doctor," I whispered softly. "Theo just transmitted your entire encrypted server database, client lists, and research logs to Interpol, the FBI, and every major news outlet on planet Earth."

Vance’s eyes widened in sheer, catastrophic horror. "No..."

"Yes," I said. "And as for your investors? When they find out what you exposed, they won't come looking for me. They'll be too busy running for their lives."