Chapter 10 - The Sea in Your Eyes
Her green eyes fluttered open, dark and dazed, but focused on my face through the smoke. She coughed, a weak, rattling sound, but her hand reached up, her fingers trembling as she touched the wet skin of my jaw.
"Did... did the numbers finish?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the ringing in my ears.
I looked at the laptop screen behind her. The progress bar had turned a brilliant, solid green. UPLOAD COMPLETE. PUBLIC DATA DISSEMINATION SUCCESSFUL.
Above us, the sound of shouting and gunfire suddenly erupted, but it wasn't directed at us. Through the open hatchway, I could hear the distinct, clear sirens of federal law enforcement vehicles—the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, alerted by the automated broadcast that had dropped their secure coordinates along with the corruption files.
The clean-up crew was being arrested in the tower above. The loop was closed. The truth was out.
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Julian leaned back against the concrete wall, a peaceful, tired smile settling across his features as his eyes slowly closed. He was still breathing, his pulse weak but steady. He had held on just long enough to see his family's name cleared.
"We did it, Emma," I whispered, pulling her tight against my chest, burying my face in her wet hair as the first flashlights of the federal rescue teams descended into the cistern. "We're going home."
