"Hand over the device, Candace," the lead Enforcer commanded. "The High Council doesn't want blood, they want the formula."
"Whatever you call yourself, you're the only one with the encryption key. If that data isn't uploaded to the cloud by midnight, the Gilded Stone dies with you." Download Gilded Stone Candace Os09mo epub
She didn't wait for them to fire. She vaulted over the railing, the wind screaming past her ears. As she plummeted toward the lower levels, she hit the 'Execute' button on her wrist-link. "Hand over the device, Candace," the lead Enforcer commanded
Candace looked down at the street sixty floors below. The neon lights of the lower districts flickered like dying stars. She felt the weight of the epub file on the encrypted tablet in her bag—a digital ghost of a physical history. The code 'Os09mo' wasn't just a serial number; it was the date her father had disappeared into the mines: October 9th. She vaulted over the railing, the wind screaming
Candace looked at the rainy abyss, then back at the soldiers. She smiled, a sharp, dangerous expression. "Then they should have learned that some stones are too heavy to carry."
"You can't keep running, Os-09," a voice crackled through the comms-bead in her ear. It was Silas, the leader of the Underground. "The Sector Enforcers have locked down the port. They know you have the drive."
Suddenly, the terrace doors behind her hissed open. Three Enforcers in matte-black armor stepped out, their pulse-rifles humming.