I walked toward the light, my feet sinking into the thick carpet.

My heart beat with a slow, steady rhythm.

I stopped outside the door.

The blue light flickered slightly, casting long shadows across the floorboards.

I reached out and turned the brass doorknob.

It turned without a sound.

I pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

The room was a small office, smelling of ozone and leather.

On the desk in the center of the room sat a black ruggedized military laptop.

The screen was bright, illuminating the face of the person sitting in the leather chair.

A thick blue progress bar on the screen read: *Aegis Database Transfer: 92%*.

The person did not look up when I entered.

Their fingers were moving rapidly across the keyboard, typing commands into a terminal window.

“Step away from the console,” I said, raising my weapon and aiming it at the center of their chest.

The typing stopped.

The room fell completely silent, except for the hum of the laptop fan.

Slowly, the person took their hands off the keyboard and raised them in the air.