Kendrick—known in the underground world as Obscura—sat in his dimly lit room, fingers moving swiftly over his keyboard. The soft blue glow from his laptop screen illuminated his face, highlighting the tension in his sharp features. He was hacking into the building's security system, bypassing layers of protection one by one.
His mind worked as fast as his hands, running multiple simulations of what could go wrong.
One possibility: Eclipse fails to switch the diamond in time. He could extend the security deactivation, but if the system stayed down for more than seven seconds, alarms would blare, and guards would flood in. She might not make it out alive.
Another possibility: He sticks to the original plan, giving her exactly seven seconds to swap the diamonds. If she's even a fraction of a second late, the lasers will activate, and she'll be fried before she can react.
Neither choice was ideal.
But no—he had to trust her.
Eclipse had a way of defying the odds. She was reckless, unpredictable, and impossible to control, but she always made it out alive.
"Are you ready?" Obscura asked, his voice steady despite the storm of calculations in his head.
"Always!" Eclipse responded.
Through the surveillance cameras, he saw her—disguised as the building's chief security officer. She stood just a few feet from the diamond, muscles tense in anticipation.
She had already calculated the time in her head. For an ordinary person, reaching the diamond while bypassing the deactivated laser sensors would take three seconds. But Eclipse wasn't ordinary. She could do it in one. That gave her exactly one second to switch the real diamond with the fake and another second to retreat before the lasers reactivated.
More than enough time. Three seconds were all she needed.
No room for error.
"Go."
The instant Obscura's voice came through her earpiece, she bolted.
Her body moved like a blur, her steps barely making a sound against the polished floor. The deactivated lasers left a faint afterglow in the air, a reminder that her window was small. As she reached the display, she extended her hand—
Nothing.
The diamond wouldn't budge.
"What the hell?" she hissed, panic creeping into her voice.
Obscura's heart stopped. On his screen, a small red dot blinked beneath the diamond—an additional security measure he had failed to spot.
Damn it. A hidden lock.
He cursed under his breath.
"I couldn't get it! Something's holding it down! You damn moron, Obscura! Are you trying to kill me?! Do something, now! Seven seconds is almost up! You stupid—"
"Shut up," Obscura snapped, his fingers flying over the keyboard.
The hidden lock was more complex than the others. There wasn't enough time.
He had to make a choice.
Gritting his teeth, he overrode the main security panel and extended the deactivation period. The alarm would go off any second now. Guards would flood in.
"Retreat," he ordered.
Eclipse clenched her fists but obeyed, pulling back just as the laser grid flickered back on.
Damn it. She had been so close.
She forced herself to stay calm, taking deep breaths.
The second the alarm blared, she'd be surrounded. If she played her part right, she could pretend to be the chief and pin the blame on the lower guards. Confidence was key. If they suspected anything, she'd be dead.
But instead of alarms, the entire room plunged into darkness.
Eclipse's eyes widened.
Complete blackout.
She blinked, adjusting to the sudden darkness. Her enhanced reflexes allowed her to react faster than the guards outside.
"Obscura, you bastard—" she started, then smirked.
Obscura had cut the power.
The alarms should have still gone off, but—
Whatever. She didn't have time to think.
She sprinted forward.
The darkness worked to her advantage. Without the laser sensors active, she reached the diamond in seconds and swapped it out smoothly. This time, nothing held it in place.
A perfect switch.
Then she spun around.
Straightening her posture, she stormed out of the secured room, barking orders in the same deep voice as the chief she was impersonating.
"What the hell are you all standing around for?! Move!"
The guards stiffened before scrambling to check the electrical systems.
Eclipse didn't wait for them to realize something was off. She walked briskly down the hall, keeping her pace measured. The moment she was far enough from the main security checkpoint, she slipped through an emergency exit and out of the building.
The sun was still high in the sky, casting golden light over the city. But inside that fortress, everything remained dark.
Once she reached a safe distance, she pressed a hand to her earpiece. "I did it! Am I amazing or what?" she grinned.
Silence.
"Hey, Obscura, isn't the alarm supposed to go off even if the power's out?"
Still nothing.
Obscura, sitting in his chair at home, stared at his screen, his mind racing.
He had cut the power supply as a last resort, ensuring Eclipse had a window to escape. But the real reason the alarm never rang?
The system was outdated.
A quick check of the installation date showed the alarms hadn't been replaced in over a decade. If the backup batteries had degraded, they wouldn't have functioned when the power was cut.
She was lucky.
Too lucky.
Without bothering to reply, Kendrick shut his laptop, ripped the earpiece from his ear, and bolted from his chair.
He had somewhere to be.
His sister's high school graduation ceremony was starting soon, and he wasn't going to be late.
Meanwhile, Eclipse tapped her earpiece again. "Obscura? You damn mute, are you ignoring me again? I deserve at least a little praise—"
The line went dead.
She scowled, inhaling deeply to calm her frustration before sighing in resignation.
Whatever. She was used to his silent treatment by now.
Focusing on the real prize, she pulled her hood up and slipped into a hidden alleyway.
"Time to deliver and collect my reward," she muttered, a grin creeping back onto her face.