Chapter 207
Based on their investigation, someone abroad was helping the Thirteenth Sigil launder their money.
If it entered those accounts, it would be gone for good.
“Relax,” said the youngest tech, “we’ve cracked the hardest part. Everything they do is under our noses.
If they hadn’t hacked the firewall ahead of time, it would’ve taken a whole day to break in.
But Allen had handed them a computer with backdoors pre–installed–skipping the hardest step.
Still, it was delicate work–they couldn’t afford to tip anyone off.
The real goal was to catch the accomplice abroad.
Back at the factory, Owen shrugged off his coat and laid it on the ground before being tied up. “Sit and wait,” he told Aría.
“Thanks,” she replied.
Watching Isaias’s painfully slow hacking, Aria sighed. “If Vanessa were here, this would be over in minutes.” She was so bored, she almost wanted to do it
herself.
Her voice carried through the earring, reaching Allen and Fryderyk.
“She complains about how slow they are, and it’s her money they’re stealing,” Fryderyk muttered, exasperated.
For Aria and Owen, “being kidnapped” was the least stressful job of the night; the tech team, on the other hand, was pounding away at their keyboards like their lives depended on it.
“Allen, got a lock–they’re in Masmubia,” one specialist said, zooming in on the map. “It’s a shell company, a lot of deposits are from Huthailia.”
“If we can hack their accounts, you three are heroes,” Allen said, fired up. “Get everyone from IT in here. This is the kind of case they write about in history books.”
With time tight, Allen remembered the computer Aria had brought.
There might be more contacts inside.
Hudson barked, “You two, come over for facial recognition.”
Without protest, Aria and Owen got up and did as they were told, so calm it made Hudson nervous. “Aren’t you afraid to die?” he demanded.
With the money transferred, they were as good as dead anyway.
Aria smiled. “Don’t you need hostages?”
Hudson’s gut twisted with a bad premonition. He kept a close eye on them, but as soon as Isaias called out, “Done!” Hudson snapped, “Let’s go!”
Isaias packed up his laptop and the group started moving out. Three cars waited outside, with six or seven people already climbing on board.
“Hudson, we only need one hostage. Let’s just kill the guy,” one of the men suggested,
Hudson shot him a cold glare. “If we kill anyone, it’s Aria. Don’t forget who she is.”
Blinded by the promise of ten billion dollars, it took Hudson a moment too long to remember. Suddenly, he swung his gun on Aria.
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Chapter 207
Owen leapt in front of het.
Everything happened in a split second.
They’d already worked their ropes loose.
Owen seized Hudson’s arm, preventing him from firing.
Aria, meanwhile, grabbed the nearest enemy, using him as a shield and launching four medical tools with her left hand–each one hit a vital spot dropping three attackers who hadn’t made it into the cars.
The last two men realized what was happening and opened fire, but Arla was already behind her human shield–the bullets tore into his body instead.
Hudson had always been wary of Aria, but when he saw those medical tools fly, his eyes shrank in terror.
In that heartbeat of hesitation, Owen wrenched the gun from Hudson, dodged a bullet, and took down the shooters.
Within seconds, Aria and Owen had dispatched six men.
“Hudson,” Aria called out, as more men started pouring out of the cars.
“Owen, take care of them–Hudson’s mine.”
Hudson, eyes wild, finally seemed to understand. His voice trembled with rage and fear. “You’re Echohawk?”
