Chapter 13 - The Ghost in the Machine
Z
We retreated to a quiet private terrace overlooking the dark, swirling waters of the Rhine River below. The cold night wind whipped through Chloe’s emerald gown, but she didn't seem to feel it. Her mind was racing at maximum speed.
Mark Harrison joined us, pulling out a scrambled satellite phone.
"I just talked to our software engineering team in Rotterdam," Mark said, his voice tense. "Von Brandt’s men haven't hacked our ships from the outside, Chloe. They’ve installed a physical signal-jamming device directly inside the Duisburg Port Control Tower. At midnight, that device will send a high-frequency override signal to our lead automated cargo ship, the Vance Endeavour, forcing its rudder to lock toward the fuel barge."
"Can we shut the ship down remotely?" I asked frantically.
"No," Mark shook his head grimly. "The jamming device cuts off all external satellite signals. Once the ship enters the Duisburg narrow channel, it's flying completely blind."
"Then we have to physically destroy or remove that jamming device from the control tower before midnight," Chloe said, turning to Mark.
"The Duisburg Control Tower is heavily guarded by von Brandt’s private mercenaries," Mark warned. "I have three security men in Duisburg, but breaking into a secure German port facility in less than ninety minutes is nearly impossible without triggering a massive firefight."
Chloe looked down at the silver-embossed document von Brandt had given her. A strange, calculating expression crossed her face.
"Mark... who controls the secondary backup power grid for Schloss Brandt?" Chloe asked suddenly.
Mark blinked, caught off guard. "The castle has a private hydroelectric generator built into the cliff below us. Why?"
"Von Brandt’s private server room is located right here in the basement of this castle," Chloe explained, her eyes flashing with brilliance. "He coordinates his illegal port overrides through his master server in Schloss Brandt. If we sever his master connection, the jamming device at the Duisburg tower will lose its command code and default back to manual port control!"
"That server room will be locked behind biometric security," Mark noted.
"Which is why von Brandt is going to open it for us," Chloe said, a dangerous, beautiful smile appearing on her lips. She turned to me. "Mom, I need you to do what you do best."
I frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Twenty years ago, when you cleaned high-end corporate offices," Chloe said, taking my hands in hers, "you told me that whenever an executive panicked about a facility fire or a gas leak, the first thing they did was run to their private vault to save their most valuable assets."
Light dawned in my mind. "You want to create a fake emergency."
"Not fake," Chloe corrected, looking over at the grand stone fireplace in the ballroom. "Mark, can your team trigger the thermal fire-suppression sprinklers in the west wing of the castle?"
"Easily," Mark grinned, instantly understanding her plan. "A simple micro-EMP device near the main breaker will trip the central fire alarms, shut down the biometric locks, and force the castle into automatic emergency evacuation protocols."
"When the fire alarms go off, von Brandt won't evacuate," Chloe predicted. "He’ll rush straight to his basement server room to secure his encrypted drives. And we will be right behind him."
Chloe looked at her watch. The hands read 11:15 PM. Exactly forty-five minutes remaining.
"Let's go to work," Chloe said.
Ten minutes later, as the ballroom echoed with classical music and rich laughter, a deafening alarm shrieked through the stone corridors of Schloss Brandt!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! WARNING: THERMAL BREACH IN WEST WING. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.
Panic erupted instantly. Crystal glasses shattered on the floor as guests shrieked, rushing toward the main doors in a chaotic stampede. High-pressure water sprinklers burst open overhead, raining cold water down upon the expensive dresses and tailored tuxedos.
In the midst of the madness, von Brandt’s calm demeanor vanished. I watched from behind a stone pillar as he shoved past his fleeing guests, motioning wildly to his two chief security guards.
"The basement server!" von Brandt shouted over the alarm. "Secure the drive array now!"
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Von Brandt rushed down a narrow stone staircase leading beneath the castle.
Chloe, Mark, and I melted into the shadows, following the sound of his hurried footsteps into the dark depths of Schloss Brandt.
