“How are we going to jam them?” Adolph asked seriously after a brief silence.
Ryan’s words made everyone understand what needed to be done.
Tiger nodded and said, “Exactly. These fighter jets are running on a computer-controlled route, with the highest sensitivity and resolution. That means any interference would cause major issues across the system-that’s their only weakness. But, because it’s such a critical point, we’ve put in multiple layers of protection. Jamming it won’t be easy.”
As soon as Tiger finished speaking, the room fell silent.
Tiger held PhDs in both mechanical engineering and information technology, so when he said something was difficult, it meant it really was. He had led the team that designed this system, so his authority on the matter was unquestioned.
Echo, still rubbing her sore backside, slowly backed away as everyone else stood around the control panel, discussing the situation with serious faces. She figured it was best to stay out of Ryan’s way-if something went wrong and he decided to take it out on her, she’d be in big trouble.
But just as she took two steps, Ryan’s cold, emotionless voice cut through the air. “Come here.”
Startled, Echo froze, her eyes widening as Bill and Tiger both turned to stare at her.
She twitched her mouth and muttered, “What now?” as she reluctantly shuffled toward Ryan.
Seeing how slowly Echo was moving, Ryan frowned. She immediately forced a big smile and hurried over.
Without a word, Ryan grabbed her by the waist, pulling her onto his lap. Pointing at the program Tiger had pulled up, he said, “Crack it or jam it. If you succeed, we’ll call it even. If not, the consequences will be worse.”
Echo’s face instantly turned pale. Staring at the complex program in front of her, she thought, This is beyond top-secret military software-this is cutting-edge technology. If she knew how to do this, she wouldn’t be sitting here getting pushed around by Ryan.
Turning to glare at him, Echo snapped, “Are you kidding me? What makes you think I can do this?”
Ryan didn’t even glance at her. Instead, he grabbed the back of her neck and turned her to face the screen. “You don’t have a choice. Either you die here, or you live and go back. Your call,” he said, his icy voice making a cold sweat break out on Echo’s skin.
Tiger, standing nearby, noticed Echo’s pale face as she stared at the screen and frowned slightly. He had personally written the program with his team. If it were that easy to crack, then he wouldn’t deserve his reputation with Ryan. But now he was curious-did Echo actually have the skills to pull this off? Part of him hoped she’d find the weak spot and succeed.
“You sure you can do this?” Adolph asked, his eyes wide as he looked at Echo.
Fighter jets were fast, and while transport planes weren’t as quick, they weren’t slow either. If she couldn’t get this done in half an hour, they were out of options.
Echo stared at the program, her teeth grinding in frustration. She didn’t know how to crack this. Ryan was threatening her, using her life as leverage. It was infuriating.
Cobra, standing next to Adolph, noticed Echo’s pale face and how she wasn’t responding. He clenched his teeth and said, “Just treat it like one of those programs you hack when you’re stealing stuff.”
Adolph’s face immediately fell, and he glared at Echo. “So, she’s just a thief? What kind of skills does she have? I mean, really…”
“You looking down on me?” Echo’s face darkened as she glared at Adolph, clearly pissed off at his condescending tone.
Adolph raised an eyebrow, seeing how upset she was. “And do you have any skills that would make me think otherwise?”
“Enough!” Ryan cut off their argument, his brows furrowing in frustration. “Get on with it.”
Echo shot Adolph one last furious glare before quickly reaching for the keyboard, muttering angrily at Ryan, “Move. Let me sit down.”
Ryan’s face hardened slightly at her demand, but when he saw her hands already hovering over the keyboard, he stood up and lifted her out of his lap, giving her the seat. Everyone else stared in shock, but there wasn’t time to dwell on it.
“Damn it,” Echo cursed under her breath, not caring how much she had changed since meeting Ryan.
She’d gone from a cool, composed woman to someone who cursed like a sailor, and she was filled with nothing but rage as she glared at the screen.
Her fingers flew across the keyboard. He was threatening her life and mocking her all at once. She was livid.
She didn’t care if this was high-level tech-she was going to give it her best shot, as Cobra had suggested, and treat it like something she was trying to steal.
Life or death, that was her weakness.
Ryan watched as Echo rapidly typed, while Tiger quietly assisted her.
His voice cold, Ryan said, “Increase altitude and get into the shortest firing range.”
Upon hearing this, Cobra and the others immediately pushed forward on the controls. They ascended, surrounding Cecily’s planes, flying higher while maintaining their formation and a safe distance.
Cecily’s planes held their position, including twelve large transport planes and twenty-six smaller disguised fighters, steadily approaching the Australian coast.
“You’ve got ten minutes left,” Ryan said flatly as he stood beside Echo.
There were less than twenty minutes until they reached Australia, so Echo only had ten minutes to get it done.
Sweat began to bead on Echo’s forehead, her hands flying across the controls. Her face, once full of anger and frustration, had gone completely calm-there was nothing left but pure focus.
Adolph glanced over at the screen, seeing Ryan’s calm expression. He didn’t seem worried at all, as if he really believed Echo could crack the system. Though Ryan wasn’t completely relaxed, there was no sense of panic in his demeanor.
Adolph, clutching the comm frequency, turned to Cobra and asked, “Can she really pull this off? Does Ryan actually believe in her?”
Cobra shook his head. “No idea. But if she’s got even a one percent chance, Boss will squeeze it out of her.”
Adolph felt a bit speechless at that, watching Echo’s intense focus on the screen. He let out a deep sigh. Being with Ryan-was it a blessing or a curse for her? He was squeezing every last bit out of her.
“You’ve got one minute left.” Ryan’s voice was as calm and emotionless as ever, reminding Echo of the time she had left.
“Shit. Why are you yelling? I know!” Echo slammed her fist on the console, her face cold as she snapped back.
Time was something she was very sensitive to-she knew exactly how much was left.
Ryan’s expression darkened a bit, but instead of punishing Echo for her outburst, he just gave her a cold glance and said, “Prepare to accelerate. Open the cargo bay doors and get the selected team in position.”
The room was silent, but everyone followed his orders without question.
Echo stared at the rapidly moving data on the screen. Countless programs were running at once, and suddenly, a flash of light appeared.
Echo quickly pressed down on a key, and in an instant, the six advanced fighter jets flying below gave a slight shudder.
Bill, who had been monitoring them, immediately shouted, “Something’s off!”
The room erupted into action as everyone jumped to their feet.
Echo’s voice was cold. “I can’t crack it, but I can interfere. You’ve got a minute and twenty seconds, tops.”
Hacking wasn’t her strength, but disrupting systems was. No matter how advanced the technology, every program had its vulnerabilities.
Ryan’s voice cut through the air. “That’s enough. Speed up. Get us closer.”
At the same time, Adolph’s team surged forward toward Cecily’s plane, while the selected members positioned themselves by the open cargo bay, ready to board.
Cobra, Bill, and the others were all prepared-it had to be their best men.
Suddenly, one of the disguised fighters diving toward the target exploded into a fiery wreck.
Ryan and the others froze for a second, while Echo gritted her teeth. “Someone on that plane is messing with me. I can’t control this one.”
Her hands flew across the keyboard, trying to outmaneuver her opponent. The two sides were locked in a battle of control, giving neither the time to launch an attack.
Ryan’s face turned colder. “Get us over there. I’ll handle it.”
As soon as Ryan spoke, Bill, who had been standing at the cargo bay door, shouted, “No, I’ll go.”
At the same time, Tiger, who was flying the plane, yelled, “Boss, you can’t! It’s too dangerous!”