Chapter 65 : A Dangerous Mission 2

Herman nodded slowly. "Yes, and also why there was never any record of them sending parts to Valega Technologies," he muttered to himself, unable to take his eyes off what he was witnessing, finally getting a piece of the missing puzzle that neither he nor Aishleen had ever been able to solve.

The reason for this was that there had never been any technological equipment manufactured in this factory, as had been reported.

Although Herman had known before that he would never find anything related to the relevant activities in this shadowy place, he never expected to find something hidden there instead.

"Looks like things are about to get interesting," he sighed, gritting his teeth, knowing that his task was far from over. Infiltrate, gather data, and get to safety.

Herman never really expected anything as he walked through the upstairs offices. He came to the place without any detailed information about the building, and certainly without any expectations at all, since no data about this place was kept anywhere. Everything was so hidden that he couldn't even find information about the layout of the building, which only made it harder for him to find what he needed.

*Infiltrate, search for data and run to safety,* he kept repeating to himself as he hurried through the office floor alone. A mantra he kept repeating in his head to push himself forward.

Herman had limited time and a lot of work to do before he had to return to the city. So he and Jacob decided to split up as soon as they reached the large atrium between the factory and the headquarters, where a group of people were gathered in the same way they had seen in the parking lot earlier. It was the only way to speed up Herman's search and get the job done while Jacob infiltrated the security entrance in case they were spotted.

"One hour," Jacob told him just before they parted ways. "In one hour, whoever makes it back to the gap in the fence should head straight back to the landing site. The plane will leave at dawn, with or without us."

*One hour,* he reminded himself. *One hour, take what you can and go,* he kept telling himself, trying to shake off the growing feeling inside him that things could go bad if he stayed too long. The only thing that allowed him to breathe was the fact that this office building was much more empty than the factory in front of it.

Just as his one-hour time limit expired, he finally found what he was looking for - after numerous attempts to scour the floors of the office building and fiddle with the few computers he came across along the way - when he finally sat down in front of a computer in one of the secure main rooms, tapping his frozen fingers on the keyboard as he tried his best to find the information he needed.

It didn't take long for him to insert the modified flash drive into the computer to collect all the data he found.

*I should have known,* he thought with a triumphant grin as his eyes fell on the names and lists that appeared on the screen. *This should do it. This will expose who they are and get rid of them once and for all.*

He ran a hand through his disheveled hair, noting that he should call John and arrange a meeting with *her* and the detective as soon as he got back, and he could already imagine the look on everyone's face when he presented his findings. It had always been an honor for him to surprise Aishleen and John - and everyone who knew and hired him - with his skills. He had been one of the best hackers in the country, and he knew very well how people recognized that.

And he knew that once he came back safely with this information in his hands, once he found all the answers to the entire case and everything he had worked on, he would be able to prove himself to the world once again. To show how great he was at what he did best.

His eyes were glued to the download bar that appeared on the screen, making sure that nothing would interrupt the process and that he would soon be able to return to Jacob and to safety. But as time passed, the sense of relief and pride that filled his mind was soon replaced by nervousness as he grew increasingly anxious...

Transferring files - 55% of the way

Herman continued to stare at the screen, which seemed too bright for his size, as the room was pitch black and should have been enough to hide his figure covered in all black clothing. He unconsciously began tapping his fingers on the table as he watched the numbers change slowly. *Too slowly*.

Transferring files - 65% of the way

"Damn it!" He cursed as he glanced at the small gap between the floor and the wooden door across the room, making sure no one came in while silently cursing his slow progress.

Transferring files - 75% of the way

The voices of the people he saw downstairs earlier began to sound to him as if they were getting closer, adding to the anxiety that filled his mind. He dismissed the thought, telling himself that maybe he was just imagining things, just because he was nervous. He shouldn't be nervous.

Transfer files - 85% of the way through

An hour won't be enough, he cursed as he looked at his watch and knew that time was running out.

A small buzzing sound came from somewhere in his pocket. Only now did he realize that the sound had been coming for quite some time. He was so focused on the task at hand, keeping an eye on the door to make sure nothing was threatening his safety, that he was completely oblivious to the little things going on around him.

He waited until it stopped, then heard it again.

He reached into his pocket for his cell phone, flicking at the screen just before lifting the device to his ear. The next thing he heard was Jacob's voice yelling at him from the other end, "Herman, where are you?"

"I found their main server, I'm downloading their files—"

"Herman, get out of there!"

"What—"

"Get the hell out of there! Now!"

He looked back at the screen just as the numbers had changed.

File transfer complete

Herman turned off the phone and put it - along with the flash disk he had clumsily removed from the computer - back into his pocket. It took only a few seconds to press the key to shut down the computer, and he quickly left his seat, but not before making sure that all the items were in their designated places on the table, just as they had been when he entered.

With long, careful steps, he reached for the door and opened it slightly, taking a quick look at his surroundings before leaving the room. He made sure that he had been careful, that the door was securely locked, and that the alarm had gone off when the lock was re-activated by the device that had helped him install the alarm system earlier. The hallway outside was still dark and empty, just as it had been the first time she had slipped through.

He quickly made his way back to Jacob, turning the next corner of the long hallway and heading straight for the escape route he had planned earlier. But his journey was cut short.

As he turned the last corner, there was a man with a slender body standing in the darkness, waiting for him. Herman stopped, not daring to go any further, not sure if the intruder meant any harm. He reached into the small pocket on his back and tried to pull out the gun he had prepared for defense; the gun John had given him, but he had never used because he had never faced danger when he was alone.

He stood up straight as the figure in front of him began to take a few steps closer to him, walking slowly until it reached the side of the hallway where the moonlight came in through the clear glass windows outside. At that point, the figure stopped and allowed itself to be illuminated by the dim light,

revealing itself to Herman.

Herman looked at him with his eyes wide open. The dark red suit the man was wearing seemed to glow in the moonlight. His eyes continued to stare straight ahead, ignoring the gun pointed at his chest and focusing more on the man's face.

Because compared to the gun, Herman felt more threatened by the way the man's eyes shone so maliciously behind his long, curly fringe, almost scaring him to death. Almost. But that was before the man showed his boxy grin of pure triumph and menace as he greeted Herman with a snarling voice.

"Long time no see, Herman Flynn."