Page 29 of Rogue Hope
“Good work today,” he said instead. “Cipher underestimates you. That’s an advantage.”
She nodded once. “I hope. Let’s make it count.”
Watching her walk away, Finn surrendered to the cold certainty settling in his chest.
They were already too late.
16
The conference roomhad transformed into a war room—data screens, maps, and the low hum of focused conversation filling the space. Zara rolled her shoulders, trying to ease the persistent ache that had settled between her shoulder blades. The medication she’d discreetly taken an hour ago should have helped by now, but stress had a way of amplifying symptoms.
“The second demand will be substantially higher stakes,” she said, verbalizing what everyone already knew. “Something that proves definitive access capability.”
Ronan nodded. “Question is, what specifically will they ask for?”
As if summoned by the question, her secure phone buzzed. The team fell silent as she read the message aloud.
Phase two requires demonstration of sustained network penetration. Access the Federal Intelligence Archive at Blackridge Secure Facility. Retrieve file designation A7-2214X. Mr. Novak’s expertise regarding Blackridge’s security architecture would be advantageous.
She looked up, meeting Finn’s tense gaze. “Blackridge? That’s?—”
“A ghost site,” he finished. “Officially doesn’t exist. Remote mountain facility in Colorado. Houses physical archives too sensitive for digital storage.”
“How do you know about it?” Axel asked, suspicion evident.
“Because I helped design its perimeter security. I was CIA then, official and everything,” Finn replied evenly. “Before Paris. Before Cipher.”
The implication was clear. Before his betrayal. Before everything changed.
“This isn’t digital penetration,” Deke realized. “They want physical infiltration of a black site.”
“Impossible,” Griffin declared flatly. “Blackridge has three-layer security, military presence, and biometric checkpoints. Even with inside knowledge, you’d need weeks of prep.”
“Under normal circumstances,” Finn agreed, but his expression had shifted to something Zara recognized from their operational days—the calculating focus when he saw a solution others missed. “But there’s a vulnerability they don’t advertise.”
“Of course there is,” she muttered, unsurprised that he’d know something crucial the others didn’t.
“Blackridge conducts quarterly security system resets. Full shutdown of electronic countermeasures for approximately seven minutes while backup systems initialize.” His eyes met hers. “Next reset is scheduled for tomorrow. 0600 hours.”
“How convenient,” she remarked dryly. “Almost like Cipher knows the schedule.”
“He does,” Finn confirmed without defensiveness. “He has sources inside most secure facilities. That’s how he’s operated for years.”
“So we’re supposed to somehow get to Colorado, infiltrate a black site during a seven-minute window, retrieve a classified file, and extract—all in like ten hours?” Axel’s tone couldn’t disguise his disbelief.
“Ten hours, thirty-two minutes now,” Kenji corrected mildly, checking his watch.
Ronan remained characteristically calm. “Flight time in the Pilatus to Colorado is approximately three hours. We can do this.”
“Except for one problem,” Zara interjected. “Even with the security reset, we’d still need valid credentials to access the archive room. Not something we can fabricate in the available timeframe.”
Finn hesitated, drawing everyone’s attention. “There’s another way. But you’re not going to like it.”
“When do I ever?” she replied, already dreading his answer.
“I have access credentials,” he said simply. “Current ones.”
The room went still.
