Page 85 of Shadows of the Past
“Max, you're wasting time,” Julia cuts in, all business.
“How much time?” I ask without looking away from Luna.
Julia’s eyes flick to her phone, then back to me. “Maximum two hours, I'd say.”
“Luna, I need your help, and I won’t take no for an answer.” I try to keep my tone light, but she’s not buying it. “At your former job, you worked for ErestonLabs, correct?”
She just nods.
“I need you to get into their system and deactivate a device.”
She freezes as she puts the pieces together, but instead of blowing up, she says quietly, “I don't work there anymore.”
A small, dark smile tugs at my lips. There’s steel in her voice. Maybe convincing her won’t be so hard after all.
“No, but your digital signature is in the system.”
She realizes it, and it shows in her eyes. “That's why you need me. You can't add signatures to the system, but you can use existing ones. But the problem is digital traces will remain. They'll know it was me.”
“Julia will take care of cleaning up after you. Nobody will know it was you, but I need your fingerprint for authentication, and more importantly, to modify the correct code lines so someone won't have that device active anymore.”
She weighs her options, turning it over in her mind. Her next question sparks something sharp in my chest.
“Who is this person and why do they have to die?”
“Someone who should have been in hell for many years already, but apparently even Satan doesn't want to breathe his air,” I grit out.
“I need more than that,” she says, chin lifted.
The fire in me burns hotter. We’re so close, so close to ending these horrors, and she’s standing in my way.
I can’t take it. My hand finds itself around a keyboard, which smashes against the wall. I storm up to her and grip her throat, not hard, just enough to make her meet my eyes. She tries to push me off, but she’s got no chance.
“I don't think I made myself clear, Luna. This isn't a request. You will modify those code lines even if it has to be with a gun shoved down your throat. Clear?”
“I won't kill someone until you tell me what they did,” she spits back, and I feel my vision blur with rage.
All I need is a few lines of code to save thousands of lives. Why can’t she see we’re not the villains here? We just saved her life. I don’t have time to explain Ivan’s entire empire.
“Maksim, what the hell are you doing?” Julia shouts, and her hand on my arm pulls me back to myself. I release Luna, forcing myself to step away. I’m not a monster. But sometimes, after all these years, violence feels like it’s built into my bones.
“My adoptive father,” I finally tell Luna.
She’s still wary, but before I can say more, Julia jumps in for me.
“This man trafficks people, Luna. And by people I mean five- to six-year-old girls who end up being sold to the most depraved minds. Boys who are beaten and starved until their entire soul breaks and they can be molded however they want.”
All those kids flash through my mind, begging, screaming and pleading for me to save them. All the times I shut down, locked the world out just to survive their cries.
Luna looks at me now and there’s no mistrust left, just pity and that, somehow, stings even more.
“I don’t need…,” but before I can finish she opens her mouth again.
“Why haven’t you done it yourself?” she asks, and at least now her voice isn’t hostile.
It takes me a second to find my words. If I want her help, I have to give her something back.
“That monster runs one of the largest multinational companies in Russia and Eastern Europe. He has branches in oil, gas, and weapons. If he dies, I'm his only heir.”
