Hayes looked at me for a long second, then nodded once.

“Keep behind me,” he said.

“What about me?” Turner asked, stepping forward.

“You stay here with Carter, Captain,” Hayes said. “And I suggest you start writing down every ticket you signed this month.”

Turner’s mouth opened to protest, but he stopped.

His eyes fell to the floor.

I slung my equipment bag over my shoulder.

“The transfer is complete,” I said, looking at the screen.

The green bar disappeared, replaced by a flashing red warning: *CONNECTION TERMINATED BY REMOTE HOST*.

“They know we’re looking,” I said.

“Then we have about five minutes before that transmitter goes dark forever,” Hayes said.

He reached up and gripped the handle of the heavy server room door.

He turned the latch slowly.

The door clicked open, a cool draft of air rushing in from the dark hallway.

From somewhere deep in the building, a fire alarm began to wail.

The siren pulsed in three-beat intervals, filling the narrow corridor with a flat, mechanical shriek.

I looked at the red strobe light reflecting off the brushed steel of the server racks.