Chapter 10 - Vance Protocol One
For two seconds, nothing happened.
Then, the roof of the freight car didn't explode inward—it surged with a three-thousand-volt electromagnetic defensive countermeasure built directly into the container's reinforced frame.
A blinding blue arc of electrical energy detonated across the top of the train car.
The tactical ropes attached to the hovering helicopters were instantly severed by the power surge, sending two black-clad contractors tumbling sideways into the icy waters of the Calumet River below.
The lead helicopter’s avionics fried instantly under the high-frequency EMP blast, its tail rotor spinning out of control as it veered violently away, crashing into an abandoned grain elevator on the riverbank in a massive fireball.
Inside the freight car, the lights flickered once, then stabilized as the internal auxiliary generators kicked in.
The remaining two helicopters aborted their assault immediately, banking hard to the east, fleeing back toward the lakefront as their systems sputtered under the regional blackout caused by the EMP pulse.
Evelyn stood frozen near the console, staring at me in absolute, speechless shock.
"That... that was an EMP weapon..." Evelyn whispered.
"It was my mother's defense system," I said, my hand resting calmly on the console desk. "She built it to protect this car."
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I turned to look at the tactical team, who were staring at an eleven-year-old girl in a soaked blue hoodie with holes in her sneakers as if I were a ghost.
"Get the manual override on the coupling," I ordered the team leader, my voice carrying the unquestioned authority of someone who had spent twelve years surviving on her own terms. "We have twenty minutes before federal authorities respond to that explosion. Move this train south."
