Page 116 of The Honeymoon Hack

Rav stood over us, his dark hair gray with concrete dust. He wasso tallfrom my spot on the ground. The rifle slung across his chest looked natural for him, although the shorts and running shoes were a sharp contrast to the black gear worn by the tactical team members. They were also emerging from cover positions, speaking quietly into their radios.

“The Pendragon team?” Will asked, sitting up but keeping one protective arm around me.

“Everyone got clear when you called the warning. A couple of minor injuries from debris, but everyone’s breathing.” Rav helped us both to our feet, steadying me when my legs wobbled.

“Lark?” I asked.

Will’s jaw tightened. “He got off one burst while we were fighting, before he smashed me into the server rack. When the team ordered him to drop his weapon, he tossed the rifle, but he pulled his pistol and…”

Rav put a hand on Will’s shoulder, as though telling him he didn’t have to say the words. “Lark triggered the detonation, then took his own life.”

“He was Fenix,” I said, as though Lark’s final words hadn’t made that obvious to my friends.

“Clearly,” said Rav. “Did he get what he wanted?”

They always did. Every time we went toe-to-toe with them, they always got away with what they wanted. “I uploaded a virus with the real Haddad files, so if they grab it all, their machines will be wiped. But I also uploaded the virus to the Meridian server, so who knows. Depending on how interconnected their systems are, one of the files will get them.”

Will and I followed Rav back toward the blast zone, cautious around the scattered debris. When we reached the edge of cluster fifty-seven, Rav stopped in front of me. “You shouldn’t see it.”

He blocked most of the view, but I could see the tops of the server racks. Half of the cluster where the Orchid and Meridian servers had been was completely destroyed, little more than twisted metal and blackened circuits. Smoke and a pale mist from the fire suppression system curled in the air.

Blood. At the top of the racks.

Lark’s blood.

“Brie,” Will whispered, pulling me close so I could bury my face against his neck.

“At least six racks destroyed,” Rav said. “The power’s out on all the surrounding servers.”

“Fire protocol,” Will said, not releasing his grip on me. “They all shut down when the suppression system is triggered.”

“All the data’s backed up,” I said automatically, as though reciting something I’d learned in my training videos. Yup. Still in shock.

“Except Haddad’s research.” Brooke’s words caused me to separate from Will. She was behind me, giving me the perfect excuse to turn away from the carnage.

“Excuse me,” said Rav, as he left to speak with the Pendragon team.

Brooke watched him leave, but continued. “Claire ensured the Orchid server wasn’t included in any backup procedures.”

Will wrapped his arms around me, pulling my back to his chest, probably ensuring I didn’t collapse. “So his research is gone?”

Brooke looked at me. “Show me what files you sent.”

I couldn’t use the KVMs in this section. Even if the power had been on, I couldn’t imagine standing anywhere near what had happened. We walked a few rows over, I pulled out the KVM unit, and connected to the first functioning server I could find. “What did I send them?”

“A biochemical weapon,” she said.

My fingers froze over the keyboard, and I spluttered, “A what?”

“Don’t worry,” she said, ridiculously calm, “it was incomplete data, with a lot of false leads in it. They won’t be able to use it.”

My fingers moved automatically across the keyboard, installing a Tor browser and navigating to the hidden server where I’d uploaded the files for Lark. The connection established, and I pulled up the directory listing.

Only one file sat there: haddad_research_supplement_v2.pdf.

Fuck.

The file I’d hidden the virus in.