Page 27 of Unbearable Player
They proceeded cautiously down the aisle, pausing at each door to listen for any signs of activity. Finally, they came to a heavily reinforced door with a complex electronic lock.
“This has to be it,” Brianne whispered, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
Reid nodded, examining the lock. “It’s more advanced than the others. Give me a minute.”
As Reid worked on bypassing the security system, Brianne kept watch. The corridor remained eerily quiet, but the tension in the air was palpable.
“Got it,” Reid murmured triumphantly as the lock disengaged with a soft click.
As they slipped through the door, the noise of the main floor faded away, replaced by an eerie silence. They found themselves in a dimly lit hall lined with doors.
They slipped inside, finding themselves in a state-of-the-art computer lab. Banks of servers lined the walls, their lights blinking in a mesmerizing pattern. In the center of the room stood a single workstation, its multiple screens displaying lines of complex code and what appeared to be financial records.
Brianne gasped. “Look at this. It’s not just my game they’re after. They’ve got plans for dozens of unreleased titles from major developers.”
She rushed to the workstation, her fingers on the keyboard as she assessed the situation. Reid kept watch by the door, his senses alert for any approaching danger.
“They’ve got a whole network,” Brianne said, her voice a mix of awe and disgust. “Shell companies, offshore accounts... This is bigger than we thought, Reid.”
Reid nodded grimly. “Can you download any of this information?”
Brianne bit her lip, considering. “It’s risky, but... yes. I think I can create a backdoor into their system. We won’t be able to access everything, but it should give us a way to monitor their activities and gather evidence.”
“Do it,” Reid said. “But be careful. We don’t want to tip them off that we’ve been here.”
As Brianne worked her magic on the computer, Reid’s mind raced with plans for their next move. They’d uncovered more than they’d bargained for, and he knew the stakes had just gotten much higher.
Suddenly, an alarm blared through the facility. Reid tensed, his bear instincts roaring to life.
“Brianne, we need to go. Now.”
She nodded, typing furiously for a few more seconds before stepping back from the workstation. “Done. I’ve created the backdoor and masked our intrusion. With any luck, they’ll think it was just a system glitch.”
Reid couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride at her quick thinking. “Impressive. Now let’s get out of here.”
They slipped out of the room, only to find the corridor filled with security personnel. Reid’s protective instincts kicked into overdrive. Without hesitation, he stepped in front of Brianne, shielding her with his body.
“Stay behind me,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.
The security team advanced, their weapons drawn. Reid’s muscles tensed, ready for a fight. But before he could make a move, Brianne tugged on his arm.
“Reid, wait,” she whispered urgently. “I have an idea.”
Before he could respond, Brianne stepped out from behind him, adopting a haughty, indignant pose.
“Excuse me,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain, “but do you have any idea who we are? We’re the special effects consultants for Cyberstorm 3000, and we were promised a tour of your facility. Instead, we’ve been wandering around lost for ages, and now you’re pointing guns at us? Wait until the convention organizers hear about this!”
Reid stared at her in amazement, impressed by her quick thinking and acting skills. The security team hesitated, clearly thrown off by her confident demeanor.
“I... uh... we didn’t...” one of them stammered.
Brianne pressed her advantage. “Well? Are you going to escort us out, or should we find our own way? I assure you, our social media followers would love to hear about how we were treated here.”
The security team exchanged uncertain glances before lowering their weapons. “Our apologies, ma’am,” the leader said. “There’s been a security breach, and we’re on high alert. We’ll escort you out immediately.”
As they were led back to the main floor, Reid couldn’t help but marvel at Brianne’s ingenuity. She’d turned a potentially disastrous situation into a clean getaway with nothing but her wit and confidence.
Once back in the main room, they quickly made their way through the crowd, away from the security guards. As soon as they were tucked into a corner, Brianne burst into laughter, the tension of the past hour finally releasing.