Chapter 115: The Final Move

Chapter 115: Chapter 115: The Final Move The silence in the control room after Eleanor sealed the doors was thick with tension. Dominic and Marcus were catching their breath, crouched behind the barricade they had hastily assembled. Outside, the guards were regrouping, no doubt planning their next move. The crackle of static in Dominic's earpiece brought Eleanor's voice back to life. Sёarch* The Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

"You've got five minutes, tops, before they override the locks. You need to disable the grid, now."

Dominic nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Understood. Marcus, let's move."

They abandoned their cover, rushing toward the control room at the heart of the facility. Dominic's mind raced through the steps they needed to follow—bypass the internal defenses, cut power to the main servers, and initiate the blackout protocol that would effectively take down Volkov's influence over the grid.

The room was small but packed with high-tech servers and control consoles. Everything they needed to control the grid was right in front of them, but as Dominic looked at the array of switches and data streams, a deep sense of unease settled in. Something wasn't right

Marcus scanned the system. "This is too simple," he muttered. "Volkov's too smart for this to be the heart of his operation."

Dominic felt it too. "It's a decoy."

Just as the words left his mouth, a red light flashed on one of the consoles. Alarms blared throughout the facility. A new voice came over the intercom, calm and mocking.

"Well done, gentlemen," the Chessmaster's voice echoed through the room. "You made it this far. But did you really think I'd leave the control of an entire continent's energy grid in the hands of one facility?"

Dominic cursed under his breath. The Chessmaster had anticipated their move. Volkov's real plan wasn't here it was elsewhere, buried in a deeper layer of the system. They were running out of time.

"Eleanor," Dominic barked into his earpiece, "we've been played. This isn't the control center. Volkov's got a secondary hub find it now."

"I'm on it," Eleanor replied, her voice tense but steady.

Meanwhile, in Zurich, Alyssa and Laura faced a similar crisis. The server shutdown had only triggered more alarms, and the Chessmaster's voice still echoed through the vault, taunting them.

"You're predictable, Alyssa. All your moves, all your plans I've seen them before. You can't win a game when your opponent knows your every move."

Alyssa ignored the voice, her fingers working quickly to manually override the system's firewalls. "He's stalling us," she said to Laura, her voice calm despite the urgency. "Keep him talking while I shut down the backup servers."

Laura stepped toward the console's microphone. "You know, for someone who claims to be a master of strategy, you've made a lot of mistakes."

The Chessmaster's chuckle reverberated through the room. "And what mistakes would those be?"

"For starters," Laura continued, "you assumed we're working alone."

At that moment, Eleanor's voice came through Alyssa's earpiece. "I found it. Volkov's real control center isn't in London it's hidden offshore, in the South China Sea. The whole operation is tied to a single satellite relay network."

Alyssa's heart leapt. This was it the real key to stopping Volkov's plan. "We need to take down that satellite," she said, relaying the information to Dominic.

Dominic, still in the London facility, processed the new information quickly. "Marcus, we're leaving. We need to hit the satellite hub."

But before they could move, the Chessmaster spoke again. "You're too late. The satellites are already operational, and in less than 24 hours, my influence will spread across global energy networks, banking systems, and communications. Your world will change, and you'll be powerless to stop it."

Dominic's jaw clenched. "We've stopped you before, Volkov. And we'll stop you again."

Volkov's response was chilling. "Perhaps. But at what cost?"

The line went dead. Dominic could feel the seconds slipping away. They had no choice but to make their final move head for the satellite control hub and disable the Chessmaster's entire network. It was a long shot, but it was the only chance they had.

"Eleanor," Dominic called, "find us a way to the satellite relay. We've got to end this now."

Eleanor's voice was urgent. "I'm working on it, but there's a problem the satellite hub is protected by a military-grade defense system. You're going to need more than just a computer to break in."

Marcus, always calm under pressure, looked at Dominic. "Then we find a way in. We've got no other choice."

In Zurich, Alyssa and Laura were already moving. The Chessmaster had underestimated them, and now, armed with the knowledge of the satellite hub's location, they were racing to get to the nearest airport.

Dominic's team regrouped and made their way to a covert airfield. Eleanor had secured them a plane, and within hours, they were airborne, heading for the South China Sea. The flight was tense. There was no guarantee they could stop Volkov in time, and every minute brought them closer to his endgame.

As they approached the satellite relay, nestled on a remote island, the reality of their situation hit them. The island was surrounded by defenses drones patrolling the skies, armed guards on the ground, and a naval blockade stationed nearby. It was a fortress.

"This isn't going to be easy," Marcus said, surveying the island through binoculars.

"We don't need easy," Dominic replied, steely determination in his eyes. "We just need possible."

As the team began their final approach, the clock ticking ever closer to zero, Dominic knew this was it. The Chessmaster's game was reaching its end and it was time for him to make his final move.

The fate of the world was now in their hands.