From A Producer To A Global Superstar

Max dropped his phone and exhaled before turning to his partner.

"Well, you heard the boss," he said, grabbing his jacket. "Let's move."

Bella nodded and pushed herself up from the chair, stretching her arms a little.

"Hm. Alright."

They walked out of the small safehouse office and headed toward the car. As soon as they entered, Bella leaned back in the passenger seat, letting her head rest against the seat cushion.

Max glanced at her as he started the engine.

"Are you that tired?"

Bella opened one eye and smirked.

"Yeah… what do you think? We've been awake for almost twenty hours."

Max chuckled. "Fair enough. Just sleep. I'll handle the driving."

Bella didn't argue. She shifted slightly, folded her arms, and closed her eyes.

The car moved out slowly.

And as they drove, Max's mind drifted.

***

Flashback — A Few Hours Earlier

Max and Bella stood over a large wooden table inside their temporary base, both of them bent slightly as they studied the blueprint of the lab.

The papers were spread everywhere — building layout, camera positioning, guard shifts, delivery times, ventilation routes. Whiteboards on the wall were filled with diagrams, arrows, and quick notes.

Bella tapped the blueprint with a pen.

"So this entire west wing is the storage section. Cold room, digital filing zone, freezer area. According to the informant, that's where they keep samples that failed the first check."

Max folded his arms. "Which means if there was any tampering— it's probably starting from there."

"Exactly."

Bella shifted to the next sheet. "Now, here's the issue. They've increased the number of guards. Last time we checked, it was eight. Now it's twelve."

"Four extra guards?" Max asked. "Why?"

"No idea. Either they changed the schedule… or someone suspects something."

Max rubbed his jaw. "If they suspected someone, they'd lock the whole place down. Adding only four guards means something else."

Bella nodded. "Maybe they're expecting new supplies."

Max sighed. "Which means movement. And movement means an opening."

The two of them studied the map quietly for a moment.

Bella pointed to the east entrance. "This might be our best bet. The delivery trucks arrive here. Between unloading and scanning, there's usually a fifteen-minute blind spot."

Max nodded slowly. "And camera reset cycle is every seven minutes. So if we time it right…"

"We enter between those two gaps," Bella finished.

Max looked at the diagram again. "Security cameras inside?"

"Twenty-two. But only three matter — these ones," she tapped the center hallway. "Because they cover the main junction. If we bypass those, the rest are avoidable."

Max exhaled. "Alright. So we use the equipment Dayo provided?"

Bella smirked. "Obviously. It's top-of-the-line. The jammer alone costs more than my apartment."

Max laughed. "Worth it."

Bella stretched a bit and leaned against the table. "So the plan stays the same. Enter through the east wing. Disable cameras. Extract the sample files. Copy everything digitally. And leave through the maintenance hallway."

Max nodded. "Yeah. Smooth and quiet."

Bella looked at him. "Let's just hope nothing unexpected happens."

Max shrugged lightly. "With Dayo as our boss? Unexpected things are almost guaranteed."

Bella scoffed and rolled her eyes. "True."

They both went back to reviewing the blueprint one last time.

The blueprints were spread out on the table. Max stood on one side, Bella on the other. Both of them were quiet now, eyes tracing routes, guard rotations, access points, weak spots. This was the last check before they made their move.

Bella pointed at the east wing.

"Max, this is still the best entry point. Two guards, one camera, and the loading dock covers your silhouette for at least ten seconds."

Max nodded.

"Yeah. I go in first. You stay by the van and control the feed. If anything changes, you alert me immediately."

Bella smirked lightly. "When do things ever stay the same?"

"Exactly why you're staying outside first," Max replied, folding the last sheet.

He checked his gear—jamming device, micro-scanner, gloves, the small flat torch that looked like a credit card, a mini cutter, portable drive, fake ID, and the small sterile containers Dayo prepared in advance.

Bella checked hers too, though she would join later.

"Just don't try to be a hero in there," she said.

Max chuckled. "I'll try."

They packed everything quietly and left the room.

***

Inside the Van — Minutes Before Entry

The lab building sat in front of them. Tall, white walls. Quiet parking lot. Perfectly clean surroundings. Too clean. Exactly the kind of place where illegal things hide under a spotless image.

Bella sat at the back of the van with three monitors opened. One showed external cameras. One showed a digital layout of the building. The last showed the real-time blocker system.

Max stood beside the sliding door, head lowered as he put on gloves.

"Sound check," Bella said.

"Loud and clear."

"Signal check."

"Strong."

"Heart rate stable."

Max shot her a look. "Seriously?"

Bella shrugged. "I'm monitoring everything. Don't complain."

He smirked. "Alright, I'm going in."

Bella opened the door. "Move."

***

The Infiltration Begins

Max slipped out, staying low behind the van for two seconds before crossing toward the loading dock. The timing had to be perfect — deliveries had left fifteen minutes ago. Which meant the dock was empty, but not yet rechecked by the guards.

Bella watched through the hacked external feed.

"Left guard walking toward the south corner," she whispered into his earpiece. "You have a window of about twelve seconds before he comes back."

Max didn't respond verbally. He moved.

He reached the wall, pressed his back against it, and slid sideways to the small maintenance door. He pulled out the forged card Bella created earlier and tapped it against the lock.

One beep.

Second beep.

Door unlocked.

Max slipped inside immediately.

Bella exhaled. "You're in."

***

Inside the East Wing

The hallway was long, white, silent. Max walked like he belonged there, even though he clearly didn't. The camera above blinked, but Bella already had its feed looped.

"Camera frozen," Bella said. "You're good for the next forty-five seconds."

Max nodded even though she couldn't see him.

He moved through the first hallway, then turned left toward the sample storage section.

A guard walked out of a side room suddenly.

Max quickly grabbed a clipboard from a shelf, held it against his chest, and walked forward confidently.

The guard glanced at him.

Max nodded. "Evening."

The guard nodded back without suspicion. "Evening."

Max didn't slow down until he reached the next section.

Bella whispered immediately: "Be careful, two more guards are heading your way from the central corridor. You need to cut across to the cold room before they reach the junction."

Max moved faster now. He approached the cold storage door and used the small code card to bypass the panel.

Door unlocked.

He slipped inside.

The moment the door shut, the temperature dropped sharply.

White shelves. Silver racks. Labelled boxes.

He pulled out the sterile containers Dayo gave him and began collecting samples according to the numbers Bella was reading out.

"Rack C-12, bottom row. Box number 44," she said.

Max located it, opened it, and carefully stored a portion of the sample into the container.

"Next," he whispered.

"Rack F-7. Second shelf."

He moved quickly but carefully.

The cold room wasn't the main target. The evidence was.

But Dayo wanted everything — samples, chemical ingredients, and documentation.

Max finished the last sample and sealed the containers. Then he moved into the ingredients section.