Chapter 4: Plan B

Nora P.O.V.

The keypad glowed faintly in the dimly lit vault as I carefully typed the password Cyber had whispered into my earpiece. My fingers trembled, not from fear, but from the adrenaline coursing through me. A sharp beep rang out, and I froze for a moment before the soft click of the lock disengaging brought relief. Slowly, I turned the circular grab handle of the vault, its metallic groan echoing ominously in the small chamber. With a final heave, the door creaked open, revealing a brightly illuminated space that momentarily blinded me.

There they were the twelve blue stones, gleaming in their flawless perfection, sitting neatly on a velvet tray in the center of the room. Their brilliance seemed almost surreal, a treasure coveted by countless others but entrusted to my care for retrieval. Yet, something else caught my eye.

In the middle of the vault stood another safe sleek, made of fine transparent glass, with a digital keypad embedded in the surface. You can not realise it was there unless you see the keypad suspended in the air. It was completely an illusion. My stomach tightened. Where this came from

“You did not tell me there was another safe,” I hissed into the earpiece.

“What?” Cyber’s voice crackled through the line, his tone immediately alarmed. “Another safe? He never mentioned a second one!”

“I thought he used to say everything to you..” I moved closer, cautiously inspecting the glass safe. It was so fine it appeared like I was able to touch the diamonds without any interruption.

The vault door closed behind me with a heavy thud, startling me. I whirled around, the sound amplifying the feeling of isolation. Before I could react further, a cold, mechanical female voice filled the room.

“Welcome, Gilberto.”

Gilberto was his middle name that he used to use for his work . I thought maybe Robert Sr. had changed it by now. If the security sound system is still taking his name that means he still has access to this lock.

“Cyber, we have a problem. I need another code. Something tied to him.”

Cyber’s voice wavered slightly, betraying his panic. “I… I do not know. He didn’t tell me anything about a second safe.”

I clenched my fists, frustration bubbling beneath my calm exterior. Time was ticking, and I couldn’t afford indecision. My bracelet vibrated softly, a reminder that less than a minute remained before the vault’s internal security would re-engage.

“Think, Cyber!” I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended. “Anything, a date, a phrase or anything he might have used.”

“I’m trying,” he muttered. “He was always secretive about these project. I do not know anything. He —”

Something clicked in my memory. A chance remark he had made once during when we went to visit him at his workplace. He was working on this project during that time. He usually gave us access to the lab but that day he was hesitant. When we went there he was working on the functioning of a digital lock . I was standing by him , watching him work on the lock ,when he made an offhand comment that stuck with me for reasons I could not explain. Taking a deep breath, I typed in the numbers, each press of the keypad feeling like a gamble with my life.

The final digit.

The safe emitted a soft chime, and the glass door slid open silently.

“It worked,” I whispered, barely believing it myself.

From the other end of the line, I heard a scraping sound, chairs being pushed back hastily as Cyber and others celebrated the breakthrough.

I reached into the safe and retrieved the twelve blue diamonds. Their weight felt significant in my hand, a physical manifestation of all the planning and risk that had gone into this operation. I carefully placed them in a hidden pouch within my belt, swapping them for a set of identical fakes.

With precision, I closed the glass door and turned my attention to the vault door. My hand twisted the handle, but it didn’t budge. Panic surged.

“The door’s locked,” I said tersely.

“I can not hold the system open any longer,” Cyber said. “I have to revert the security protocols. You’re out of time.”

I didn’t hesitate. “Plan B” I said.

Chaos erupted on the other side of the line. Voices overlapped, questions were shouted, but I tuned them out. My focus was on survival.

The lights in the vault shifted to a cold, ominous blue. A faint hiss reached my ears, and I glanced down to see gas seeping through the vents in the floor. Poisonous, no doubt. Before I could react, the gas ceased, and water began flooding the room at an alarming rate.

I unclasped my belt and hoisted it above my head, keeping the diamonds dry. As the water rose, my body began to float. Each second brought me closer to the ceiling. I pulled out a series of squibs from my bag, small explosives designed for situations exactly like this.

One by one, I affixed the squibs to the vault’s ceiling, precisely placing them along the seams where I knew the structure was weakest. The water was now at my chin. Taking a deep breath, I dove beneath the surface, swimming to the corner to take cover.

Click. The detonator button.

The explosion shattered the ceiling above me, sending fragments of metal and concrete raining down. I swam upward, emerging through the newly created opening. My teammates were waiting in the pipeline room above, their faces grim but determined.

One of them reached down and pulled me up, steadying me as I coughed up water and gasped for air. Another teammate immediately sealed the hole with a reinforced film to prevent any further flooding, while the third reset the vault’s internal systems.

“We need to move,” I said hoarsely, brushing water from my face.

We were on the toppest floor of the hall. After exiting the room with no time to waste, we parted ways. I sprinted down the corridor, covering my face with a black scarf.There was a window at the end of the hallway. Reaching a window I opened it and climbed out onto a narrow ledge.Keeping my back close to the wall I began to walk on the narrow passage.

The wind whipped against my drenched body as I edged along the wall toward a nearby tree. Its branches stretched toward me , long enough for me to catch them. With a deep breath, I leaped.

For a moment, gravity betrayed me. My foot slipped on the branch making me lose my balance but I caught the branch and I dangled precariously. Gritting my teeth, I swung my body a little and used the momentum to hoist myself onto the tree. After making sure my balance was right I stood up on the branch maintaining the balance to move to the next branch but the commotion attracted the attention of the guards patrolling the area . They flashed the lights near the wall causing me to push myself back against the tree trunk .

The light was moving where I was when one of them said “Maybe it was a bird”. They walked away . Moving swiftly from one branch to the other until I reached the one that was close to the wall . I jumped down and landed on the top of the wall. After that I climbed down from the wall and darted into the shadows.

Three blocks away, our car was waiting for me . The moment I climbed in, we sped toward headquarters, the diamonds safely secured.

At the base, we parked our car in the underground garage and took the elevator to the main floor. Within a minute the elevator opened on the main floor . I stepped into a busy office ,every member of the headquarters had their own cubicle, and people on high post had their own office. There is someone always up for your business because half of the organisation is filled with sexiest men.

Walking into the conference room I placed my almost dry pouch on the table and sat down on the empty chair in front of me before giving my boss a nod. The VP inspected the diamonds, his greed palpable.He lifted one diamond and held it against the light.

If I meet a person more greedy than this one I will change my name . I could clearly see dollar signs in his eyes.

“Gentlemen, I am taking my leave,” I said, leaving the room without another word.

I headed to Cyber’s lab.Upon reaching I knocked on his door when no response came. I entered the code and entered his room , only to find it was empty.“Where the hell is this guy?” I muttered, exiting the room.

The mission was over, but something about tonight felt far from finished. Only time will tell.