They turned the chair around to face me.

The blue light of the screen reflected off their glasses.

I stared at the face of the person sitting in the chair, and my grip on the weapon tightened.

“You’re late, Allison,” they said.

the blue light caught the edges of Grant’s jaw.

He looked thinner than he had six months ago, his cheeks hollow under the glare of the monitor.

“Grant,” I said, keeping the front sight aligned on his chest.

“You always did know how to ruin a moment,” he said.

He did not move his hands from the air.

On the screen, the progress bar ticked to 94%.

I stepped forward, keeping my distance, and reached out with my left hand.

I yanked the blue ethernet cable from the side of the ruggedized laptop.

The screen flashed a red error message: *Connection Terminated*.

Grant let out a dry, rattling laugh.

“It doesn’t matter,” he whispered. “Most of it is already gone.”

Behind me, the door frame creaked.

Major Harris and two tactical agents flooded into the room.