Chapter 35
Bullets sparked wildly against the heavy steel pipes and concrete pillars as Cole dove for cover behind a massive industrial chiller unit. The Lazarus operatives were laying down a relentless, disciplined barrage of suppressive fire, preventing him from moving toward the elevator.
"I'm pinned," Cole grunted, checking his ammunition. He was vastly outgunned.
"Cole, the elevator doors are open, but I can't hold them forever!" Sarah yelled over the comms. "The Lazarus hackers are attempting a system reboot. If they succeed, you'll be locked on that floor permanently."
Cole knew he couldn't shoot his way out of this. He had to use the environment.
He looked at the massive, pressurized coolant pipes running directly above the operatives' position.
"Sarah," Cole said calmly, his tactical mind executing a desperate calculus. "Can you over-pressurize the coolant lines in sector four?"
"The Freon lines?" Sarah asked, confused. "Yes, I can bypass the safety valves, but the pressure will rupture the pipes!"
"Do it," Cole ordered. "On my mark."
He waited for a lull in the shooting as the operatives moved to flank his position.
"Mark!" Cole yelled.
Sarah executed the command. Deep within the mechanical systems of the skyscraper, industrial pumps roared to maximum capacity.
The heavy steel pipe above the advancing Lazarus operatives groaned ominously before violently bursting open with a deafening screech of tearing metal.
A massive, high-pressure geyser of freezing liquid Freon erupted from the ceiling, showering the operatives. The cryogenic liquid instantly flashed into a blinding, suffocating cloud of freezing white vapor, dropping the temperature in the sector to sub-zero levels in seconds.
The operatives shrieked in agony as the freezing chemical burned exposed skin and instantly blinded their thermal optics.
Cole didn't wait for the vapor to clear. He charged through the freezing, chaotic mist, his weapon raised, ignoring the biting cold. He sprinted past the incapacitated operatives, bursting through the heavy steel doors of the service elevator just as they began to slide shut.
He slammed his fist against the emergency stop button, sealing himself inside the metal box.
"I'm in the elevator," Cole gasped, shivering violently as the adrenaline spiked.
"Bringing you down to the subterranean parking garage," Sarah reported, her voice thick with relief. "Director Vance has an extraction team waiting at the designated rally point three blocks away. You just need to get out of the building."
The elevator plummeted smoothly, the digital floor indicator flashing rapidly.
Cole leaned against the cold metal wall, taking a deep, shuddering breath. He looked down at the heavy EMP casing strapped to his chest. He had the weapon. The world was safe.
But as the elevator passed the tenth floor, a sudden, violent jolt rocked the car. The lights flickered and died. The elevator ground to a screeching, terrifying halt, suspended in the dark shaft.
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"Sarah?" Cole asked, his heart hammering against his ribs. "What happened?"
"It wasn't me, Cole," a smooth, heavily accented Russian voice echoed through the elevator's intercom speaker. "It was me."
